A landscaping contractor struck by a powerful electrical discharge on Montreal’s North Shore two weeks ago considers himself lucky to be alive despite an amputation.
“I never took it badly. It happened, it happened. “It could have been much worse,” Karl Duchesneau reports calmly as he lies in his bed at the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM), where he has been resting since August 21st.
On this day, the 30-year-old landscape gardener was trimming an impressive tree on a customer’s property in Lachute.
Mr. Duchesneau sat on top of a 15-foot scaffolding, calmly lifting his hedge trimmers.
Here we see the large tree that Karl Duchesneau was pruning. You can also see the scaffolding, the long hedge trimmer and the electrical cables. Courtesy of Karl Duchesneau
To protect himself from the numerous wasps buzzing around him, the young man covered his head with a hood, thus restricting his field of vision.
Too close
The only problem was that there was a medium voltage line nearby with around 12,000 volts. And unfortunately his long and heavy tool would have gotten too close.
“My eyesight was limited. I have not noticed it. We’ve always been careful. It really was a careless mistake. “I wasn’t on my guard,” admits the man, who has around ten years of experience in this field.
At that moment, Karl Duchesneau felt an electric shock run through his body.
“It’s pretty gripping. You hear the current buzz. “You can feel it going through you,” he confides to our representative who recently visited him in his large isolated room in the burns unit.
Fortunately, the force of the impact knocked him to the ground.
“That saved me. Otherwise I would have been stuck there until I cooked. I had two broken ribs. But it was a blessing,” the survivor puts it into perspective.
His colleagues rushed towards him in panic.
Knee
“I was conscious. I knew it was serious, but I still had my resources. I was on adrenaline. I didn’t feel the pain,” Mr. Duchesneau recalls.
The latter suffered third and fourth degree burns on his left hand and right foot. He has since had part of his foot amputated.
“It burned between my toes on the first day,” he laughs, referring to the phantom pain.
We can see here that his right foot was amputated in half. Courtesy of Karl Duchesneau
The thirty-year-old now faces a difficult decision: amputation at the knee or gradually, observing his body’s reaction.
However, this second option would mean a months-long blocking period in the CHUM.
“We tend to amputate the knee. We want to make the best choice. I don’t want it to limit me,” explains the tennis and badminton fan, who, despite his optimism, sometimes stares into space, lost in thought.
JONATHAN TREMBLAY/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
For his part, Miguel Duchesneau is excited to always have his younger brother by his side.
“I was sure he was dead,” his brother says. He is lucky in his misfortune. There are some who really don’t look good and end up with burns. He’ll be able to use his legs.”
The brothers Miguel and Karl Duchesneau during the Journal’s visit to the CHUM. JONATHAN TREMBLAY/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
keep distance
A Hydro-Québec representative confirms that Karl Duchesneau is indeed “very” lucky to be able to share his misfortune.
“It can be assumed that the discharge was at least four to five times greater than that of a cardiac defibrillator. There could be more,” explains Francis Labbé, spokesman for the state-owned company.
JONATHAN TREMBLAY/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL
The main stakeholder would like to take the opportunity to warn those who carry out such work.
“If you don’t feel comfortable at heights, don’t go there,” warns Mr. Duchesneau. You have to be alert and aware of your surroundings.”
“Stay away from cables,” adds Mr. Labbé. You must maintain a distance of at least three meters. Because electricity can reach you. There is no need to touch the wires.”
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