Experience: I lost my hands after being electrocuted by 14,400 volts
As the scrap metal touched the power line, everything went black
In 2010, I’d been working in Colorado, in one of the world’s most dangerous professions. As a lineman, it was my job to maintain and repair electrical power lines. I knew the risks, and had already witnessed them when my brother, who worked in the same field, lost his right arm in 2008. That same accident saw a colleague lose his life. I began to question whether it was a career I should stay in. I told myself I wasn’t a quitter, but after 13 December 2010, everything changed for me.
On that day, I was standing on a platform, working on a power line. I was cutting a wire to size and wanted to throw some scrap on to the ground. My colleague was down below me, and I didn’t want to hit him in the head, so I spun around to throw the piece elsewhere. The power line above was protected by a plastic insulating cover, I was being very careful, but in that tiny second the wire touched a part that wasn’t wrapped up. Then 14,400 volts charged through my body. Everything went black.
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