California orthodontist Cara Hodgson electrocuted by power lines during Thailand vacation

A well-known influencer and orthodontist revealed she’s “so grateful to be here” after being electrocuted by downed power lines during her dream trip to Thailand last month.

Dr. Cara Hodgson broke her silence on New Year’s Day when she revealed to Instagram why she’d been MIA for weeks since leaving for her Thailand vacation.

“In the blink of an eye it could all be taken away,” the California orthodontist started her caption under a post of her in a hospital bed. “Lucky to be here, 2024. Life is so precious. One second you have it, and the next second it can be taken away from you just like that.

“I had a freak accident on my trip and was electrocuted by power lines and ended up blacking out and being rushed to the ER in Thailand. It’s been the worst 10 days of my life – going in and out of hospitals fighting to regain my strength and fighting for my life. I am so lucky to be here today,” the caption reads on.

Hodgson, a graduate form UC Berkley and UCLA, first posted to her Instagram story apologizing to her more than 25,000 followers for not keeping them updated on why she went dark “for the past 12 days.”

The orthodontist didn’t give specifics on what exactly happened, or how she got electrocuted, but emphasized how she’s “lucky to be here today.”

“Hi everyone. Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past 12 days. Still don’t have a lot of energy to type it all out but just posted about why I’ve been gone,” she wrote on her Instagram Story on Jan. 1. “In short, I am just so lucky to be here and to get to ring in 2024. Don’t ever take it for granted. Love you all.”

“I’m still not out of the woods yet — going to be a lot of upcoming doctor appointments, big lifestyle changes, need to regain my strength, my weight, and need a lot of help to recover from the PTSD of it all,” Hodgson added. “There are still unanswered questions, but I’m just so grateful to be here.”

The content creator’s post included photos of her IV line while she was strapped to a hospital bed, affirmations from her journal she shared, and get well soon gifts.

Followers rushed to Hodgson’s comment section to show their support and wish the recovering orthodontist a speedy recovery.

“Omg!! Sending love and prayers and hoping for a speedy recovery ❤️,” one user wrote.

“So sorry for what happened! You are strong and so wonderful.. you’ll get through this! Sending you big love and positive vibes 💕,” another person commented.

“You’re such a fighter car and I’m so so grateful for it ❤️ love you and can’t wait to make more memories together this year!!!,” a friend of Hodgson’s typed.

Hodgson ended her letter with a reminder to followers the “precious privilege it is to be alive” and how thankful everyone should be for the little things.

“2023, you’ve taught me something I think we all need to be reminded of when we get caught up in the little things: What a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love…just being alive, being able to breathe, eat, talk, move your body, is something grand and something to be celebrated. ✨🫶🏽.”