06 March 2024 , 15:52
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A teenager has been struck in the eye with an arrow and left with potentially "life-changing" injuries.
Fifteen-year-old James was rushed to hospital in an ambulance after he was hit and brought to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham with his mum after a day out at an archery centre went wrong. The youngster's treatment featured in the latest episode of the Channel 4 TV show 24 Hours in A&E.
Along with James the programme showed a man who had been in a car accident and a joiner who suffered a head injury in a work accident. After hearing from a few staff members about life in the job and the general day-to-day, the work began as James came in.
Dr Ian was informed of the "penetrating eye injury" and explained how the main concern was how deep the arrow had gone, as behind an eye socket there is not much space until you reach the brain. He said: "This isn't going to be a little scratch in their eye. There's something more going on."
Adding that an injury like this could be "life-changing" or even "life-ending." Concerns were then raised when James struggled with his vision, and it was shared that he had suffered a nosebleed. Dr Ian made sure that nobody would touch his nose, also due to the proximity to the brain.
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The episode was hard to watch, with viewers hoping that James had not lost his vision and would be ok in the end. A scan was carried out to determine where the injury was specifically and also if James had broken a bone.
As the scans were ongoing, James' mum Sara gave a piece to camera and explained how James was "a happy-go-lucky kid" but had always been a bit "different." It was not until he was around seven or eight years old when they moved to the UK that he was diagnosed with autism.
She went on to share that when James was younger he would hurt himself when he experienced strong emotions and that this had happened recently as well. She described it as "heartbreaking." Later in the episode mum Sara and James could be heard joking about how the hospital probably doesn't get a lot of cases like this before Sarah added: "Maybe they do. We are in Robin Hood country."
Scans showed that James needed to go to eye casualty to plan ongoing treatment and work out if there was a fracture. Dr Ian explained the plan to the pair, and advised: "Be kind to yourself, look after yourself, give yourself a little internal hug.”
James was referred to an eye specialist, and it was confirmed that his eyeball was intact. The doctors then checked for bleeding and swelling at the back of the eye, and there was no constriction of the optic nerve but it was found he did need an operation on his damaged eyelid.
The operation was a success, and James said he felt "very lucky." He added that it was difficult to imagine losing his sight, but what the experience has really taught him is that he shouldn't do archery. Many people took to X to praise James and Dr Ian with Louise Clarke writing: "James was so incredibly brave. That must have been so challenging for him. Bravo"