Woman, 28, who survived White House lightning strike reveals how 950 million volts burned her NERVES

A charity worker who survived a 950-million-volt lightning strike opposite the White House that killed three others has spoken out about her horrific injuries — and the grueling road to recovery.

Amber Escudero-Kontostathis, 28, was in Washington, DC, for her birthday when six lightning bolts struck where she was standing in the space of half a second, emitting an electrical output of about 950 million volts.

The bizarre weather on August 4 broke her nerves, melted her watch on her wrist and stopped her heart — and her recovery has also been marred by chronic pain and survivor guilt.

The strike killed Brooks Lambertson, 29, a vice president at City National Bank, and James and Donna Mueller, 76 and 75, who were visiting the capital for their 56th wedding anniversary.

Escudero-Kontostathis (pictured) planned to celebrate her 28th birthday on the day of the strike and waited for her husband to pick her up to go out for dinner

The group hid under a tree during a summer storm, which was then struck by a lightning bolt and flash of lightning caught on camera.

Amber survived, but suffered terrible injuries, forcing her to use a walker. She was forced to shower for three hours to soothe her wounds, but continued to scream in pain the entire time.

Speaking of her recovery, Amber told the Washington Post: ‘Everyone has been optimistic. But I just want to know if any of my nerves are terrified. Like not coming back. Is there a way to test that?’

When she saw a video of the first responders performing CPR on the scene, she said, “They put so much force on me. They almost jumped on my chest.’

Without watching the videos, she said she has no recollection of what happened.

When they began resuscitating her, Amber recovered just long enough to squeeze a nurse’s hand and lock eyes with an officer — but her heart stopped again for 13 minutes.

And talking about her difficult recovery, she added: “No matter what I experience that day, no matter how much pain I’m in, I try to hold on to the fact that I’m the lucky one.

Her iPad, which had been near her abdomen during the attack, exploded, causing severe burns to that part of her body

Five months into her recovery, she told her doctors she was experiencing mind-boggling sensations due to how the intense lightning strike had affected her nervous system.

First responders give amber compressions to the site of the lightning strike

“The one who feels anything.

‘By a miracle I didn’t survive. I survived because good people, complete strangers, ran into danger in the middle of a storm to save me.”

Amber said her injuries were so intense and she was in so much pain that she could only scream for hours in the first few weeks after the event.

But after a while she followed every scream with a whisper, “But I’m thankful.”

Nearly a year after the event, Amber revealed that she still has no feeling from the lower part of her back to her upper thigh and can’t feel where her legs go.

She said, “It’s like floating on a box on my tailbone.” I feel pressure on the box, but nothing else.”

Five months into her recovery, she told her doctors she was experiencing mind-boggling sensations due to how the intense lightning strike had affected her nervous system.

She told them she felt a “grinding pain, like grains of sand” trying to penetrate the pores of her skin.

Amber constantly experienced hot and cold sensations – with the sensations of burning and freezing at random times of the day. She felt piercing needles in her toenails, bruises in her bones, and a twist in her right foot.

Brooks Lambertson, 29, and James and Donna Mueller, 76 and 75, were all killed by the lightning strike in DC on August 4

She said it felt like a mechanical gear was spinning in her ankle — the direct point where the first lightning strike hit her body in a fraction of a second.

Her iPad, which had been near her abdomen during the attack, exploded, causing severe burns to that part of her body.

At first, she had to shower for three hours every day to scrub the wounds to prevent infection.

And on her chest, the lightning left intricate red marks that have been compared to the roots of a tree, marking the intricate system of veins and arteries in her body.

She said she was waiting for her husband to pick her up so they could celebrate her birthday while looking for non-profit Threshold Giving near Lafayette Square.

Last year, the charity worker said she thought her shoes were the deciding factor in her survival, as they were large rubber-soled platform sandals made by Doc Martens.

Still, the lightning bolt pierced through the ground and shocked her body, rushing her to the hospital in critical condition as she struggled to breathe and suffered severe burns.