Four survive lightning strike
By Jana Renn, Loudoun Times-Mirror
August 2nd, 2005
A calm younger brother, a rapid response and an
automated external defibrillator – together,
these three elements may have saved the life of Lucketts
resident Shawne Harlow.
Shawne, 20, brother Shayne Harlow, 15, friends Mike
Hetrick and Brandi Shelton, 20, and a dog were struck
by lightning July 27 at about 5:40 p.m. in the driveway
of the Harlow home on Newvalley Church Road near Lucketts.
Of the four, only Shawne remained hospitalized Tuesday.
He's in critical condition in Washington Hospital
Center's burn unit, said hospital spokesman LeRoy
Tillman. Friends said Shawne is improving.
Shayne was released from Washington's Children's
Hospital Friday. Hetrick and Shelton were treated
at Inova Loudoun Hospital.
Friends say the four were planning to go fishing
when they were caught off-guard by the strike, which
hit a tree while they were underneath.
"The storm came from the west, and it got real
dark and then started raining real hard," said
Lt. James Hobbie, president of the Lucketts Volunteer
Fire Co.
"But then it started to lighten up like it was
going to clear off, and that's when the lightning
really started to come down. Apparently, they were
just waiting for the rain to stop a little bit more
before they left."
After Shayne was struck, he was able to get to his
cell phone and make the 911 call. "I've just
been struck by lightning," he told dispatcher
Jason Russell.
When asked to be more clear, Shayne enunciated, "Struck
by lightning."
He gave Russell his address and phone number so rescue
crews could be sent.
"There's four of us," Shayne said. "My
brother's not breathing. ... I can't move my legs
right now."
Russell kept Shayne on the phone until career firefighters
from the Lucketts Fire Co. arrived.
According to technician Ed Butler, the team assessed
the situation and decided to focus its efforts on
Shawne, who was in cardiac arrest.
The other three were responsive, and the dog was
deceased, Hobbie said.
"We performed CPR on [Shawne] for a couple minutes,
shocked him with the [automated external defibrillator]
and got a pulse back on him," Butler said.
The AED used is a common model where pads instead
of paddles are placed on the victim's chest, said
technician James Best. The device, sold over the counter,
gives audible instructions, telling whether to shock
the victim or not. No medical expertise is needed
to operate it.
However, the AED is not waterproof, so Shawne was
moved into a shed before the device was hooked up.
"The first time they did it, it advised no shock,
so they did CPR for another minute," Hobbie said.
"Then they analyzed again, and it advised to
shock. The machine is really foolproof."
While the Lucketts crew responded to Shawne, Loudoun
Rescue worked on the other three victims.
|
