The Electric Shock that was almost the End

      Be advised: this post has some content that honestly makes me slightly queezy just writing it. But then again, I have a very weak stomach...

     Yesterday, I was standing at the front desk at work in Greenwood when a loud crash boomed outside and I looked out to see two smashed vehicles careening through the intersection. It almost appeared in slow motion as I watched the air bag deploy and saw the fear in a young woman's eyes. My boss was out there checking on them even before I could step out. Though the 3 women involved were clearly shaken up, they appeared to be mostly okay. Both vehicles had to be towed away.

Still, it shook me up a bit to witness that accident happening so close. It reminded me of a June day eight years ago when I was passed out in the driver's seat of our car, while Adrian sat next to me with a huge gash in his our arm. But it was no car accident...      

     The sun shown bright that day as I sat on our newly built deck reading a magazine. We were just a week away from moving into our first home, the one that we had built in Greenwood, Del. Adrian was inside the house hooking up our washer and dryer when the peaceful morning was shattered with a terrifying scream! 

I had never heard a sound like that come from my husband before. It felt like I could not move fast enough as I tried to leap from my chair and run into the house to find the source of this desperate cry.


     My husband came out of the laundry room with an enormous gash in his right forearm. It was several inches long and so deep and wide that I could clearly see the muscle beneath his skin… Gags. Somehow, I held it together and quickly grabbed a towel for him to rest his arm on and said, "Get in the car!"

This is the dryer in our Greenwood home that caused the frightening electric shock

     We were both in shock and just reacting quickly, so I didn’t think to call anyone before we left. I just wanted to get him to the hospital a.s.a.p. The nearest hospital was about 20 minutes away in Seaford.

     As I drove, Adrian’s arm began to bleed more heavily in the passenger seat beside me. It was more than I could handle. My head began to spin and my stomach lurched as that all too familiar feeling came over me. I was going to faint. I knew it.

In an attempt to fend it off, I rolled down the window, stuck my head out and tried to sing. It wasn’t going to work. With no time to spare, I pulled over to the shoulder and put the car in park. My world went black.

Amazingly, Adrian remained aware and sent a text to his parents that said something like, “An accident happened. Julles fainted. On way to hospital. Please come get us.”

They were just 10 minutes away and hopped in their van right away. Later they said they had thought we had a car accident from his message…thankfully, we were able to avoid that.

Before they arrived, I began to emerge from my unconscious state and slowly gather recollection of what had just happened. A man was standing by my window looking alarmed by our situation. He offered me a drink of water out of a rather nasty plastic cup. Thanks, but no thanks. He was trying to be helpful, but we let him know help was on the way.

Soon Adrian’s parents pulled up and we were on our way again, this time with me lying down in the back.

At the hospital, we had a most interesting ER Doctor with a great sense of humor. He asked what happened. Adrian explained that he had been working on installing our dryer and had just plugged it in. He was trying to adjust something inside when the 220 electric volt shocked his arm and held him there. He had to brace his left arm against the wall to pull free. The powerful electric shock cut his arm open.

The doctor listened, almost intrigued. He asked Adrian why he had put his left arm on the wall instead bracing it against the dryer, which would have been the more natural instinct. Adrian didn’t know, that was just his response. The doctor went on to explain. He said that it was amazing Adrian was sitting there with just the arm injury. If Adrian had put his left arm on the dryer to pull away his right arm, the electric current would have passed through his heart. That shock could have easily killed him!

Suddenly, we were humbled and thankful that there was only a huge gash on his arm. Adrian’s life had been spared again. It was not the first time he’d experienced a brush with death, and it would not be the last.  

The doctor proceeded to stitch up his wound. He trimmed off a long piece of skin that was dangling from Adrian’s arm, held it up and said, “Do you want a beggin’ strip for your dog?” Gross.....but it brought some levity to our dramatic morning.

Though it has been eight years since this event happened, there remains a large scar on Adrian’s forearm. It serves as a constant reminder that life is fragile, yet he is resilient.

   Adrian's scar has faded over the years, but it still covers a large area on his forearm.

When Adrian’s seizures began three years later, we did question whether this event could have any impact on his brain activity and be a contributing factor to the seizures' sudden arrival. I believe the doctors agreed that it was possible, but not likely.

      We leave you with 3 life lessons from this experience.

    1. Always be aware of the power of electric and its dangers.

    2. Call for assistance when a minor trauma has occurred, especially if you’re prone to faint.

    3. Be thankful for the little miracles in life. Be thankful for life.

If you look closely, you can see the scar on Adrian's right 
forearm about a year after the incident.