Relatives believed the bizarre home cure would take the energy from the lightning strike out of Ana Ballesteros\r
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This teenager agreed to be buried alive to cure crippling back pains after she was struck by lightning.\r
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Ana Ballesteros, 18, was covered up to her neck for three days a week in her garden.\r
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The bizarre home cure saw her placed in a giant hole which was filled with earth.\r
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Relatives believed this would “take the energy” the lightning left in her.\r
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The teenager was struck by a bolt as she walked to college recently.\r
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She was treated in hospital but continued to suffer back pain she claimed prevented her from walking properly.\r
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She began quirky ‘therapy sessions - which involved her being buried for up to four hours a day over three days.\r
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Ana said: “Doctors study medicine but not lightning.\r
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“I know that getting into that hole Im going to get better because these are ancient things.”\r
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Her gran Blanca de la Rosa said: “What were doing is taking the fire out of the light, the heat out of the energy.”\r
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Anas mum Milena added: “Locals told me before I took her to hospital that wed be better off burying her instead to take the energy from the lightning away.\r
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“Im praying she comes out okay.\r
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She cant walk properly and the burns she suffered on her feet cause her pain. I trust in God.” It is not known if the treatment, which began earlier this week, worked.\r
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Local doctors have expressed their scepticism.\r
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Walter Gomez, who works out of a clinic in the regional capital Monteria, admitted there were a lot of ancient beliefs among the community about how to cure storm victims including burial.\r
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But he added: “Theres no scientific proof that burying a patient who has been struck by lightning has any beneficial effects for their recovery.”
