With medical adviser Stephen A. Shoop, M.D.
Cliff Meidl’s heroic determination to succeed despite physical adversity is inspiration personified. That’s why the kayaker was chosen by his teammates to carry the the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games. But Meidl is more than a hero he’s a miracle. In 1986, then a 22-year-old construction worker, Meidl accidentally struck three buried power lines with a jackhammer. A 30,000-volt electrical explosion blew off part of his scalp and launched him out of the ditch. He teetered on its edge before he fell back in and touched the live lines one more time, crisping his legs.
Cliff Meidl’s heroic determination to succeed despite physical adversity is inspiration personified. That’s why the kayaker was chosen by his teammates to carry the the U.S. flag in the opening ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games. But Meidl is more than a hero he’s a miracle. In 1986, then a 22-year-old construction worker, Meidl accidentally struck three buried power lines with a jackhammer. A 30,000-volt electrical explosion blew off part of his scalp and launched him out of the ditch. He teetered on its edge before he fell back in and touched the live lines one more time, crisping his legs.
Meidl went into cardiac arrest for two minutes but was revived only to be told both of his legs would probably have to be amputated.
“Sometimes I wonder how I lived,” the Olympian says.
So did his doctors.
“The electrical energy essentially blew out both knees and one of his toes,” says Malcolm Lesavoy, clinical professor of plastic surgery at UCLA and a private practice specialist in burn reconstruction. Unlike most burns, electrical burns tend to damage from the inside out, cauterizing tissues, veins and arteries deep within the limbs and leaving them unable to circulate blood.
In a pioneering procedure, Lesavoy and UCLA orthopedic surgeons repeatedly removed large amounts of clotted infected tissue inside his legs before detaching part of his calf muscles to form flaps to cover Meidl’s knees.
“Amazingly, he hung on,” Lesavoy recalls, “and his legs were saved.”
Formerly a promising soccer player, Meidl was left unable to run he still can’t and is barely able to walk. But his friends, including high school beach buddy and Olympic volleyball hopeful Eric Fonoimoana, encouraged him to take up a new sport.
“There was plenty of water in the ocean, and I didn’t have to run, so I chose kayaking.”
Against all odds, a decade later Meidl earned a spot on the 1996 Olympic team. In 2000, he joined the elite 15% of athletes who qualify for two Olympiads.
Now a financial analyst and motivational speaker, Meidl will address next week’s Construction Safety Council annual conference in Chicago. Feb. 4-10 also is National Burn Awareness Week.
“If we can just get the message out that these electrical injuries are common but preventable in both industry and the home, we’ll save lives.