After being struck by lightning near his home in 1980, an old man who had been blinded in a terrible accident regained his sight. Edwin E. Robinson, a former truck driver, was able to see for the first time in 9 years after becoming blind as a consequence of a highway accident.
“It(his sight) isn’t completely restored” said Robinson’s wife, Doris. “But he can see straight in front of him, which he has not been able to do in 9 years”
“You read about things like this, but you can’t really believe them,” she said.
When Robinson sought shelter beneath a poplar tree near his home in this Portland suburb during a thunderstorm, he was struck by lightning.
“It sounded like someone snapped a whip. The next thing i knew, I came to, face down in the water at the foot of the tree,” he recalled. His wife said he apparently was unconscious for 20 minutes.
weak and dehydrated, he return to his bedroom for a nap. “My legs were like rubber, my whole body felt like it was trembling,” he said. The lightning also broke his hearing aid.
“When i got up in the evening, I was sitting in the chair in the front room. I could see the plaque on the wall, and I could see the clock. But the clock kept fading in and out.” he said. His wife found him in his bedroom.”I can see you! i can see you! i can see the house! i can read! ” she quoted him as saying.she also said he was able to hear perfectly without his hearing aid.
Robinson was evaluated by Dr. Willian F. Taylor, who confirmed that he has returned both sight and hearing. Taylor said the rubber-soled shoes Robinson was wearing when struck by lightning may have saved his life, calling it “one for the books.”
