![\"66410](\"https:\/\/evergy-safety.com\/educator\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/66410_Elec_Safety-SMART_subpage_bnr_1970x220_trans.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>
Shock Survivors<\/h1><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i>Print your certificate<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/i>Print your certificate<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/i>Print your certificate<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>
![\"Curt](\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/curt_brinkman-200x234.jpg\")
At 16, Curt Brinkman knew climbing a power pole was dangerous. He just didn’t realize how dangerous.<\/p>\n![\"Cliff](\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cliff_meidl-200x236.jpg\")
In November 1986, while using a jackhammer to break up a concrete slab, Cliff Meidl received a severe electric shock. Cliff didn’t know that power lines carrying thousands of volts of electricity were buried in the concrete. When the jackhammer dug into the power lines, the electricity shot through the jackhammer and through Cliff.<\/p>\n![\"Cliff](\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/cliff_meidl_kayak-200x149.jpg\")
As part of his rehabilitation, Cliff began to canoe and kayak and became one of the best kayakers in the world. He competed at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, and again at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, where he was the flag bearer for the United States team.<\/p>\n![\"Headshot](\"..\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/carissa_picci-200x251.jpg\")
“It was raining,” Carissa remembers. “I was in my high school parking lot about to get into my mom’s car. I had just closed my umbrella. All of a sudden, I saw a bright light, and I felt lightning go through my body. I got extremely warm and started shaking. My mom saw the whole thing. She said I just lit up.”<\/p>\n