A nine-year-old boy has lost his eye after he was shot by a nerf gun pellet.
Taylor-Jay Ravicini of Swansea in Wales already had trouble with his eye — he was hit with a toy arrow six years ago, which made his eye more sensitive than usual.
The original incident occurred when the boy was only three years old; it left Ravicini blind in his left eye.
“I was there with my three children and everything just happened in a flash,” Ravicini’s mother said about the nerf gun incident, according to the New York Post.
She is currently trying to build up a crowdfunding account so that she can buy her son a prosthetic eye. In addition to the medical issues, her son is being bullied about his eye.
“What are the chances of an accident happening twice in the same eye?”
She continued, “I was downstairs and I heard a devastating scream and my heart [sank]. I couldn’t even go to see him. I sent my partner, as I knew something had happened. Taylor’s eye was full of blood and it was causing a build-up of pressure. Doctors told us that he risked losing sight in both eyes if we didn’t remove the damaged one.”
She added, as the Post reported, “I really don’t want people thinking I am a bad mother.”
Her main goal now is getting her son a convincing prosthetic eye so that he can avoid some of the bullying he’s recently endured.
“What are the chances of an accident happening twice in the same eye?”
“I am constantly worrying for him and what will happen next. It has just been one big emotional roller coaster,” she said. “I hope people understand how much he needs this prosthetic eye.”
“Let’s NOT ban Nerf, please,” one Twitter user responded to the story, obviously referring to knee-jerk reactions to ban guns every time they are used in a crime.
Another responded, “In other news, cost of Nerf guns increases substantially without reason.”
The crowdfunding page for Taylor-Jay Ravicini is through GoFundMe.
“After this, i was given a permanent bespoke prosthetic eye,” reads a note on the crowdfunding page, presumably from the child. “Unfortunately, its [sic] doesn’t look as good as my [temporary] one and i would like to raise enough money to go and see a private ocular prothesis specialist so i can get a more realistic eye made for me.”
It continues, “After many trips to the hospital where i was given treatment to reduce the pressure in my eye, it just kept filling back up with pressure. We were referred to an eye specialist who was concerned about my good eye and the sight that i have in it. He told me that there was a condition that would look for protein in my good eye and start to eat away at my good eye … It wouldn’t find protein in my bad eye.”
The family is trying to raise $3,100 for a new eye for the child.
For more on Taylor-Jay Ravicini and his recent accident, check out the video below:
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