Lightning Victim May Be Home Soon

Suffering no more than mild burns, singed hair and a slight case of amnesia, a Canyon Country man struck by lightning is quickly recovering from his injuries and may be home as soon as today.

Doctors at Northridge Hospital Medical Center said Guy Arnone, 30, who was knocked unconscious by a lightning bolt during a freak rainstorm in Calabasas on Thursday afternoon, was initially listed in critical condition.

But Friday, Dr. John Alexander said Arnone is eating, talking and doing well. He is expected to fully recover his memory.

“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about lightning,” said Alexander, director of hyperbaric medicine at the hospital.

Alexander said less than 20% of those hit by lightning are killed. Its effects are different from high-voltage electrocution because of the relatively short duration of the shock, which lasts between 1/10,000 and 1/1,000 of a second.

“It either kills you or you walk out of it just fine,” he said.

The side effects for survivors can include respiratory problems and temporary amnesia.

“When we told him that he was struck by lightning, he said, ‘Wow, I had no idea,’ ” Alexander said. The memory is more vivid for employees at the Calabasas travel agency, the Reservation Center. They saw Arnone get hit in an adjacent parking lot. Assistant manager Joy Grinel, who wrapped a jacket around Arnone’s head after the lightning strike, mostly remembers the smell.

“It was strong like burnt toast, and when I went home I took so many showers trying to get the smell off me. It was terrible.”

Jason Schneider, manager at the Reservation Center, helped revive Arnone. The former emergency medical technician heard the bang from his second-floor office, rushed to the parking lot and administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“It was raining so hard that I couldn’t tell if he was still alive,” Schneider said, “so I gave him two breaths and he came to.”

Arnone’s wife and 3-year-old daughter are eagerly awaiting his return home, hospital spokeswoman Deborah Moore said.

Alexander, who had previously seen Arnone for a lung condition, said he had never treated a lightning victim before, but knew what to do.

“I just read the book,” he said.