'Lucky' cyclist recovers from lightning strike

[August 05, 2009]  BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A 44-year-old bicyclist struck by lightning in north-central Colorado while training for a triathlon is out of the hospital after temporarily losing her sight and motion in her arms.

Terri Menghini said she had finished 78 miles of a 100-mile bike ride Monday in Boulder when she saw a dark cloud overhead and lightning in the distance.

Menghini said she was on the crest of the hill when lightning struck within 100 feet of her.

"There was one lightning bolt and within a minute, the second one got me," she said.

The mother of five says she lost consciousness and when she woke up, her vision went from blurry to black and she couldn't move her arms. She was taken to the Boulder Community Hospital and was released Tuesday.

Menghini, who is from St. Louis, Mo., but stays in Estes Park west of Boulder every summer, said all that's left from her close call is a bad road rash and a cracked helmet.

"I was just lucky. So I'm going to go buy a Powerball ticket now," Menghini said.

But she was disappointed when doctors said she couldn't compete in a half-triathlon Sunday. Doctors are monitoring her heartbeat, which was erratic when she was first admitted.

It looks like she'll be able to compete in the Ironman triathlon later this month.

"My training, I'm still going to do it," Menghini said. "I've been an athlete my whole life, and I'm not going to stop that."

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Information from: KMGH-TV, http://www.thedenverchannel.com/index.html

[Associated Press]

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