Abingdon man struck by lightning while in his living room

Aidan Rowan was on his PlayStation last Monday (September 5) when he heard a “loud crack” followed by a “heavy sensation” in his body at about 10.30pm.

The 33-year-old, who lives in Abingdon with his 32-year-old husband Aaron, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital where he was told it did “look like” he had been struck by lightning.

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After being monitored for eight hours, he was allowed to go home with only some pain medication.

He said: “I was on the sofa playing a game where you play as a stray cat and it was thundering outside.

“There was a very loud crack of thunder and I sort of felt a very heavy sensation all over and then a searing heat in my right arm where there are now burns.

Aidan Rowan, from Abingdon, in hospital after being struck by lightning while playing video games in his living room. Picture credit: Aidan Rowan (Image: Aidan Rowan)

“It took about a minute to come back to my senses, I felt very, very confused. I went upstairs and asked my husband for a wet towel as I didn’t know what had happened but my arm was burning.

“He asked what that smell was and it was me burning. He then called his parents to take me hospital. He said he could see my arm blistering as he watched.

“We got to the reception and Aaron said something had happened and it may have been a lightning strike and everyone turned to look at me.

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“I was rushed though to an assessment room and they said it does look like it was a lightning strike. Nine doctors from different departments came to look at me and I was put on a heart monitor and had some blood tests.

“At first my heart rate was erratic but when I was level for about four hours I could go home.”

The hobbyist blacksmith now has long scars on his right arm as well as a “starburst-shaped” burn on his right hand.

He said doctors believed the lightening “bounced of the water and through the window” after hot weather had made the ground hard causing rainwater to sit on top.

“We just couldn’t really process it at the time,” he said. “After a few days it started to mentally affect me realising that I could have died.

“My friends were very concerned especially in the first few days but once people realised I was okay there have been a quite a few jokes about Thor.”

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Mr Rowan said despite the incident it hasn’t put him off playing video games in the living room.

He added: “It was just really crazy.”

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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