John lucky he didn’t lose eye
A 13-YEAR- OLD Glenealy boy was lucky not to lose an eye after falling off his bike while cycling through a woods and landing head first into an illegally dumped toilet cistern almost completely covered by leaves.
Doctors feared John McElhinney’s eye had suffered long-lasting damage, particularly his tear duct. A facial wound above the eye was almost down to the bone.
‘The consultants said it was miraculous that his eye hadn’t been permanently damaged. he’s a very lucky boy’
A 13-YEAR- OLD Glenealy boy was lucky not to lose an eye after falling off his bike while cycling through a woods and landing head first into an illegally dumped toilet cistern almost completely covered by leaves.
Doctors feared John McElhinney’s eye had suffered long-lasting damage, particularly his tear duct. A facial wound above the eye was almost down to the bone.
After two hours of surgery, consultants expressed their amazement that no permanent damage had been caused.
On Saturday, December 17, John was cycling through a wooded area near to his home so he could go mountain biking with some friends in Carrick. The large piece of ceramic which he landed on after his fall was almost entirely covered in leaves, apart from a sharp edge coming out of the ground.
John immediately knew he was in trouble due to the amount of blood spilling down his face but he still managed to remain calm. His parents, Lizzie and Mark, were away at the time so he contacted his granny, Elizabeth Mallen.
‘He stayed cool and remained very logical about everything,’ said his mother, Lizzie.
‘He had a mobile phone with him and contacted my mother. He was on trails at the time so said he would go out onto the road to meet her. He knew he was in a bad way but couldn’t actually physically see the injuries because they were on his face. He also told her to bring a towel because of the amount of blood.’
Another passing motorist, David Driver, stopped and remained at John’s side until his granny arrived.
His wound was cleared at Care doc in Wicklow town, who informed him that he needed to go to Crumlin Hospital immediately for surgery.
‘We got an awful shock when we first received the call to say John was injured, but an even greater shock when we saw the extent of his injuries in Crumlin,’ said Lizzie.
‘Crumlin were fantastic. Straight away they said he needed specialist care. They were concerned that his tear duct might have been damaged. The cut near his eye was much deeper than first anticipated. It nearly went all the way down to the bone.
‘He was two hours in surgery and the consultants said it was miraculous that his eye hadn’t been permanently damaged. He’s a very lucky boy.’
Fragments resembling bone were found in the wound and CT scans and x-rays were required to make sure no bones were fractured. A return trip to Crumlin confirmed that he hadn’t suffered any fractures.
John described where the accident occurred and his father Mark, along with siblings Ronan, Mary and Una, eventually found the dumped cistern and removed it from the woods.
The fragments found in John’s wounds which resembled bone instead turned out to be shards from the ceramic cistern.
‘I was so angry when wwe found the piece. We walk that route through the woods to school every day, as do other families,’ said Lizzie.
‘It’s just pure laziness to dump something like that in such a scenic and well-used area. It just highlights the perils of illegal dumping. We all know dumping looks awful but this just demonstrates the whole health and safety aspect associated with it as well.’