‘Soles of my feet still hurt’
When Marilyn Corson's sister was electrocuted, she rushed to her aid. But when she touched her sister's arm, she received an electric shock herself.
Eighteen months later, she still suffers from pain she attributes to that day.
Christine Rowley, 66, was using a homemade etching machine to burn designs on wood at the back of the old Inangahua general store in Inangahua Junction when she died on December 3, 2020.
Corson, 70, lived across the road from the shop. A member of the public told her he had found a woman dead in the shop.
She went through to the back of the shop and touched her sister's arm. The resulting electric shock caused burns to her hands, feet and face.
‘‘I had the imprint of my bracelet on my wrist. When I got the shock, I must have touched my face and my bracelet burnt my face. I had burnt hair follicles, hands and feet,'' she said.
Corson was helped by members of the public and was sitting outside when an ambulance arrived. ‘‘They told me to go home, take a couple of Panadol and go to bed.''
An ambulance care summary says she was fully assessed and had normal vital signs, but St John since apologised for the care provided.
Corson said before the shock, she was fit and active and spent hours gardening. She said this was now impossible with ongoing headaches and burning sensations on her hands and feet.
‘‘My stomach was a big hard ball after the shock and the soles of my feet still hurt. I have to wear socks and gloves. If I get cold they burn. You can't imagine the pain when it gets cold.''
Corson went to her doctor about a week after the shock with severe pains in her head, neck, abdomen, hands and feet.
She was sent to a psychologist, referred for imaging tests and treated for depression.
ACC covered her for posttraumatic stress disorder and said she could possibly have more counselling.
A medical report said no cause for the abdominal pain had been identified.
An MRI found an unusual lesion in her brain and underlying separate area of white matter which could represent an old stroke, but did not identify any acute changes from electrocution, according to ACC.
The West Coast Primary Health Organisation provided six sessions of counselling.
She attended a concussion service, which noted she still had headaches and sleep difficulties.
ACC offered her a social rehabilitation needs assessment last October, which she declined. A permanent injury claim was still being assessed, ACC said.
University of Otago Professor of Emergency Medicine Michael Ardagh said electric current burns tissue and nerves wherever it passes through the body. It also causes muscles, including the heart, to contract leading to either the heart stopping or palpitations.
Master Electricians chief executive Bernie McLaughlin said a domestic electricity supply carried 230 volts.
How much current went through a person's body in an electric shock depended on how wet their skin was. Anything from two to 200 milliamp of current can be fatal.
He said it was important to seek medical assessment after a shock as the heart palpitations could continue and cause a heart attack for some hours afterwards.
He advised Kiwis to have residual current devices installed on their switches, which cut off the supply before it reached fatal levels.