"I was like a flaming ball": Man struck TWICE by lightning shares his story
<p dir="ltr"><em>Content warning: This article contains graphic content.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">Ten years after a freak accident killed and revived him, New Zealand man Troy Hall is sharing his recovery story.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/new-zealand-man-killed-then-brought-back-to-life-by-120000-volt-powerline-electrocution-shares-story-of-survival-c-4989811" target="_blank">Speaking to<span> </span><em>7Life</em></a>, 32-year-old Mr Hall admitted he is “still battling demons” after he was struck by 120,000 volts of electricity twice in the same day.</p>
<p>He hopes his story - which he has not spoken openly about before - inspires other burn victims to keep fighting.</p>
<p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846520/2e946d2bbca6449cab6c9484a3127404518fe165.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/804183b76228482694a00b127f46d34a" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Troy Hall suffered severe burns across more than half his body. Image: 7NEWS</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">In 2011, Mr Hall was working in picking fruit in an avocado orchard.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The then-22-year-old had been working outside in the rain all day, climbing up and down cherry pickers to reach the highest fruit.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His father John warned him to be careful of the overhead power lines, but Troy laughed off the warning as one of the lines “crackled” above them.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He now says that act was “fearless and arrogant”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As his shift was about to end, Mr Hall searched for phone reception to call his then-partner and let her know he was finishing up and heading home. He managed to reach her after climbing up a cherry picker, then he made his way back down.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I was about four and a half metres away from the power line, but you know power jumps,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">What happened next was a blur for Mr Hall, but his dad has since helped him piece together the story.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I just remember blacking out,” he recalled.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The pair believe that, due to the wet weather, an arc of electricity jumped from the nearby powerline and delivered 120,000 volts through the right side of Mr Hall’s head.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The shock instantly killed him and he dropped to the ground.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But, the young man was struck again, this time through his chest, which the pair believe brought him “back to life”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It was only a few moments later, but it blew my chest up and restarted my heart,” Mr Hall said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It lit me up from the inside… I was like a flaming ball.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">He recalled that everything went instantly dark.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I couldn’t see or feel anything, I didn’t really understand what was going on,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As Mr Hall tried to stand up, his dad came to aid and yelled at him to “stay down”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His co-workers and dad worked to try and “damp out” his body, which was engulfed in flames.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I could just hear everyone panicking and crying,” Mr Hall said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Dad was yelling at me to ‘just stay in the water’.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">By the time the ambulance arrived, his body had swelled up to five times its size and more than 60 percent was covered in third-degree burns.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 375.3846153846154px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846518/a817b3a257c8b33aeb00890ab6ed49564a60d6a7.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/61e8e9a1fa224341babafa0f3c950cd7" /></p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Troy spent months recovering, and says he is still “battling demons”. Image: 7NEWS</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">“The doctors told me I probably would never walk or talk again,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I was trying to talk but couldn’t.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Despite facing the possibility of losing his right leg and arm, Mr Hall thought to himself, “‘I will f***ing show you’”.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A few weeks later, he took his first steps and regained his voice shortly after.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But, after undergoing multiple skin grafts taken from his legs, he lost an ear and sight in his left eye.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I have a prosthetic ear now, it looks so realistic - I just pop it on!” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s actually a great party trick … the kids love it,” he laughed.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mr Hall has maintained that the last ten years have been far from easy, but that his recovery was due to his seven-year-old daughter Nevaeh.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I couldn’t have gotten through this without her,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I am so grateful she is in my life and I tell her that every time I see her.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">With help from his dad and friends Richard and Viv, Mr Hall got back on his feet and has since started his own avocado business called Crispy Avo.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I certainly underestimated the power of electricity,” he admitted.</p>
<p dir="ltr">With his continuing recovery, Mr Hall said he is still coming to terms with his appearance, but that it pales in comparison to current world events.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s a first world problem,” he said.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: 7NEWS</em></p>
