A distraught mother has revealed how her teenage son almost died after his religious cross necklace electrocuted him “like a hot coil” in a freak accident that left the jewelery singed into his flesh.
Danielle Davis, 38, was awakened by a piercing scream coming from her son Rayce Ogdahl’s bedroom on the night of April 30.
The mother-of-six went to investigate, before coming across the horrifying sight of her 16-year-old son covered in “burns” on his neck.
Rayce told his mother that his own necklace had electrocuted him after the cross chain came into contact with an exposed prong of a socket.
Shocking photos show Rayce’s neck and collarbone charred black with the imprint of his chain etched into his vivid red skin.
Rayce Ogdahl, 16, nearly died when his religious cross necklace electrocuted him in a freak accident.
The necklace burned into her skin on the night of April 30, after the cross “made contact with the barely exposed tips of an extension cord plug,” according to her mother.
Rayce ripped the chain from his neck and dropped it on his bed, where it left a three-inch burning hole in his mattress.
After ripping the chain from his neck, the cross and necklace left a three-inch burning hole in Rayce’s mattress.
The teen was rushed to the burn unit at Integris Health Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit to help treat his injuries.
Danielle, who lives in Yukon, Oklahoma, feels lucky that she did not lose her son that night and urges others to remain vigilant around electrical cords, cables and outlets.
The mother said: “It was a normal night and we had only slept for about an hour when we heard a noise and then heard screams from Rayce’s room.” We thought maybe she was playing a video game and was getting frustrated.
‘Then I heard him shout ‘mom’ and my son was standing in the hallway. He said, ‘I’ve been electrocuted.’ It was my necklace.’ There were charred collars around his neck.
And the smell was horrible. The whole house smelled of burnt hair and skin and electrical burns. We started calling 911 to ask for an ambulance.’
Danielle said her son had explained that he was in bed before turning around to get comfortable when he heard something fall off the bed.
He wanted to make sure his phone was still charging so he could set his alarm for school the next day, but as he leaned to the side, nothing could prepare him for the terrible accident that was about to happen.
“She said she leaned out of the bed and when she did, the cross necklace around her neck made contact with the barely exposed prongs of an extension cord plug,” Danielle continued.
“He said he was fully conscious throughout the entire process and knew he was being electrocuted. Since it was all metal, it made a complete circuit around his neck. It was like a hot coil.
And he has burns on his hands when he tried to break the chain he was wearing around his neck… It was a thick and heavy chain.
The teenager suffered second, third and fourth degree burns and will now be scarred for life.
Rayce was rushed to hospital after the incident in which doctors told the family he had endured “enough amps to kill him”.
Mum Danielle Davis, 38, pictured with Rayce Ogdahl, 16, before the horrific accident.
‘The crazy thing was that during the electrocution he welded part of his chain to the charger. And the cross pendant on the chain melted three inches into the mattress through the sheets of his bed.
‘He said this all happened in a matter of seconds and he visibly saw sparks coming out of his neck. He told me his whole body hurt and he thought he was going to die.’
Rayce was rushed to hospital after the incident in which doctors told the family he had endured “enough amps to kill him” and monitored his heart function for the next few days.
The teenager had suffered second, third and fourth degree burns and will be scarred for life by the strange accident.
Danielle, a housewife, said: “You can see the pattern of the necklace on his neck. It has left a significant mark.
‘He has many scars. They’re talking about doing a skin graft, but Rayce doesn’t want that unless it’s medically necessary.
‘It’s almost his entire neck that is covered in scars. It goes from the chin to the collarbone. The incident has definitely made Rayce much more self-aware. It was very revealing.
‘We are very grateful that he is okay. He could have easily died that night. It was surprising that she was still conscious and could still alert us. It would have been a different story.
‘When it comes to your phone, there is no text message or notification that is important enough to have your phone on your bed. Anything can happen and Rayce is proof of that.
“Pay attention to your cords and I would recommend anyone not to use extension cords at all.”