A teenager’s eye ‘exploded like a grape’ in a car crash when the sun blocked her view just meters from her school.
High school student Kylie Dean was driving to a marching band performance in September, but her mother, Kelly Dean, said Kylie was “blinded” by the sun, causing her to gently “roll” in the car in front of her at a stop sign.
While the crash occurred at a low speed (less than 10 mph) and the impact was light, Kylie was sitting very close to the steering wheel due to her small stature (barely 6 feet tall).
This caused her to hit her head against the steering wheel, causing her right eye socket to ‘shatter’ into pieces.
Doctors said her eye exploded “like a grape thrown against a wall.”
Kylie Dean was taken to hospital after her crash, which left her right eye socket ‘shattered’
The teen arrived at the hospital covered in blood and with a bruised right eye
The collision left the 18-year-old with damage to her iris – the colored part of the eye – and her tear duct torn.
Kyle also had a broken nose, broken teeth and facial wounds.
Kelly said she was notified of her daughter’s accident by an alert on her phone and immediately rushed to the scene.
When she found her daughter, the mother of four said both she and the white Chevrolet Trax she was driving were covered in blood and she feared her daughter would die.
Kelly said: “She had just left the house and was down the street. Where we live it is on top of a valley, so you have to go through the valley to go to school. There isn’t much to block the sun and she was blinded by it.
‘She was stopped at a traffic light and there were cars in front and behind her. She became a little disoriented by the sun and thought the lights had turned green and rolled into the car in front of her. She was barely going 10 miles per hour.
‘It was such a slow speed so there was minimal damage to the car. It was a fender bender. She had her seat belt on, but because she is only five feet tall, she is sitting very close to the steering wheel.
‘Although the crash was so low, when her head went forward, the impact was almost perfectly aligned with her right eye socket with the steering wheel. It was a freak accident.”
Kelly added, “(As I approached the scene), she was covered in blood. Her face was covered, her arms, pants and it was in the car.
‘At that moment I thought 100 percent that she was going to die. Even though I know she’s okay now, when I close my eyes, when I close my eyes, I still see her covered in blood.”
Kylie was rushed via ambulance to Akron General Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio and quickly underwent emergency surgery to close her eye.
Despite being released from hospital five days later, Kylie was still unable to see out of her right eye.
The prospective student will have to have prosthetic eye parts made by a specialized company in Germany and dental implants placed to regain her sight and smile.
Kelly now has one GoFundMe page to raise the estimated $30,000 needed for Kylie’s plastic surgery. She said not all procedures are covered by their insurance because some, such as dental implants, are considered cosmetic.
Because the crash happened at such a low speed, not much damage was done to Kylie’s car
Kylie was rushed to Akron General Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio and underwent emergency surgery to close her eye
Before undergoing surgery, Kylie underwent an MRI and ultrasound, with doctors confirming that her right eye was ‘ruptured’.
They said her injuries were “one in a million” due to the low impact of the crash and suspected her facial trauma was caused by hitting the steering wheel.
Kelly said: ‘They said all the bones in her eye socket (in her right eye) were shattered.
“(The doctor) couldn’t even tell me the number of breaks. It was completely shattered. Her nose was broken and there was a cut on her face from the inner corner of her eye.
“They said it was a rare, one-in-a-million accident.
“During the surgery, the ophthalmologist said her eye was like if you took a grape and threw it at the wall, it was almost like it imploded.”
After her operation, Kylie spent five days in hospital in ‘excruciating’ pain and will have to undergo two more operations to make sure her eye is healing properly.
Kylie also had injuries to her cheek and teeth and will need dental implants
Kylie still can’t see out of her right eye, but doctors saw no evidence that the retina – the part of the eye that sends vision signals to the brain – was torn.
If this is still stuck, doctors may be able to restore her vision, but her mother said the teen will need to have prosthetics implanted because the iris and lens have “disappeared.”
A prosthetic iris is an artificial replacement that is surgically implanted to replace a damaged or missing iris. And a prosthetic lens is intended to color or mask an eye that is damaged or deformed.
Kelly said that getting Kylie the money to go through with the plastic surgery would mean “the world” to her daughter and give her a better future.
She said: ‘She’s only 18. This is the beginning of her life and she needs her teeth. She is a music player and she needs structure in her mouth.
‘We have good insurance, but they don’t cover dental implants at all because it’s considered a cosmetic procedure and not a necessity. This will cost at least $20,000 in dental payments.
‘She can then have the good eye on the left measured. These measurements can then be sent to a company in Germany that makes prosthetic eyes.
‘Her right eye and her muscles would have to learn to see and use them again, but there is hope.’
Kylie will have to undergo two more surgeries to make sure her eye is healing properly and will have prosthetic eye parts implanted
The teenager hopes to raise money to undergo dental implants so she can continue playing music
The teen’s mother added: ‘It would mean the world to her to get enough money to go ahead with the operation.
“(Music) is everything she is and everything she has worked to become and without (the plastic surgery) she loses that.”
“I just want to give this back to her and her future.”
Kylie had only passed her driving test a month and a half before the accident and it significantly disrupted her senior year.
The keen musician said she never thought she would suffer such traumatic injuries from the low impact and that raising money for surgery would help her get her life back.
Kylie said: ‘When I first crashed I didn’t even know I was injured. I’m super shocked that it was such a serious injury.
“Having the GoFundMe and getting the money for the procedures would help me get back to the way I was before the accident.
‘I’ve lost so much because of it. I just want to be able to do everything I did again.’
Kylie added: ‘If I don’t get the implants and plastic surgery I won’t be able to play instruments, act or drive.
‘It’s very important for my future and life right now. It’s all I do and it will be all I will do.’