Failures and how to come back from them - Hot Wire

Hot wire is hot! on July 10th I was electrocuted by the electric fence and I was grounded to the metal barn. How does this happen you ask well it didn't seem to take much. Our pigs are a little like puppies at times and Bob my 1 year old KuneKune got excited because Herbie was inside the barn eating in peace without Bob pestering him. I opened the barn door from the inside to head into the pen with a shovel in my hand to do a little work. As I opened the door Bob came barreling in very excited and I tried to shut the door so he couldn't. He was headed towards my knees and I have bad knees. In my attempt to back up I lost my balance and fell back onto the hot wire with my hand still on the metal barn door. I felt the electricity go through the left side of my back, through my chest an heart, up my neck, down my arm and through my hand. Luckily there are no amps in electric fencing just volts so its very painful but I'm still alive. I was incredibly sore for 4 days, I couldn't move my left arm because it hurt my back, my heart felt funny, I had a killer headache and was nauseous. As the pain in my body subsided the headache and nausea did not, turns out the electricity gave me another concussion (a concussion is a neurochemical disruption not a "brain burse"). I have been dealing with this ever since with multiple lingering symptoms and seeking further medical attention.

What I learned:

1. Get out of the pigs way! They are dense and strong. I now just let them go and shake food to get them to follow me if I need.

2. Don't place the fence perpendicular to the opening of the door right next to the door. Take the fence out farther then turn it.

3. Seek medical attention sooner and don't try to tough it out at work the next day. I am a physical therapist and should know better.

4. The fence that we have is meant for swine and cattle and turns out it is 8600 volts.