FM & Lightning Strikes

[Guest guest]

Lightning Strikes By Toby Mead

Nat'l FM Assoc. Newsletter, Vol. 5, No.18

The clouds moved in quickly, and I decided it was time to get out of

the pool before things got nasty. It didn't look like Mom, who was

changing into her suit, was going to get much of a swim before the

storm. As she came out onto the deck I looked up, and then TWACK. It

felt like someone hit me in the chest with a sledgehammer. The blow

threw my body into a backward arch. The arch must not have lasted

long because the next thing I knew I was lying face down, just

outside the pool. The lightning had thrown me out of the pool,

causing a scrape on my knee.

My mother had seen the whole thing. When she exited the house onto

the deck, she looked down at me in the pool and watched the 1.5- to

2-foot-wide bolt of lightning strike me. She said she'd never before

seen such a vertical lightening bolt in our wooded, rolling hills

part of the country.

She called out, " Are you hit? "

At this point I was already facedown on the ground and taking an

inventory of what was working. Fingers and hands okay. Feet and toes

okay. Head and neck okay. My delayed response to Mom's query

was, " Yes, I'm hit. " I heard myself say it and remember

thinking, " That sounds stupid. We're not in a war zone, we're in our

backyard. " Obviously I was a little stunned by the event and slow to

respond in general. I could see sheer panic on Mom's face, but she

was ready to act. She was waiting for my direction. I was conscious

and everything seemed to be working properly, so I told her not to

call 911—that I was just fine.

As I got up and dusted myself off, the storm moved in and it started

to rain. We headed for the house. I moved a bit slowly, but got out

of my wetsuit and returned to the kitchen. Then I announced,

somewhat incredulously, " I don't hurt. "

Having suffered from the constant severe pain of fibromyalgia for 6

to 8 years, I didn't believe what I said—so I said it again. Mom's

eyes lit up with sheer happiness. I will never forget that look.

I felt weird. After so many years of constant pain, it really did

feel weird not to have any pain. Well, no fibro pain. That little

scrape on my knee was stinging a bit, but that kind of pain is

hardly noticeable when you are familiar with fibro-pain. So the knee

stung a bit, but no hip pain, no shoulder and neck pain. This was

different—and this was good.

Ah, but not to worry—the pain returned in 20 minutes. While that was

extremely disappointing, the experience was a positive one. I

remembered what it feels like to be pain-free, and I'm hopeful that

we'll soon have a cure for fibromyalgia.