A minor-league pitcher lost his eye in a freak accident while doing exercise.
Philadelphia Phillies minor leaguer 22-year-old Matt Imhof, was injured while in Florida, the team said.
Imhof was injured during an exercise routine after a game at Brevard County’s Space Coast Stadium, a Phillies official said.
Imhof was struck in the face while using a rubber resistance band, which
was attached to a wall. The mounted base broke off the wall, and hit
the young man in the face and head.
Imhof suffered severe damage to his right eye and it had to be removed.
After surgery, Imhof posted a photo of himself in the hospital on
Instagram, and he wrote: “As many of you know, I had an accident. A
large piece of metal hit me in the head and eye, resulting in a
fractured nose, 2 fractured orbital bones, and most significantly, the
loss of vision in my right eye.
“I was immediately taken to the ER, and then transferred to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the #1 eye hospital in the world.
That night, the doctors informed me that the damage to my eye was
extreme and essentially that my eye had been crushed like a grape.
“The doctors told me that they were going to do everything possible to
reconstruct it, but in all likelihood, I would never regain sight in my
right eye.
“The first surgery was somewhat a success, but overall nothing had
changed. After discussions with my family and my doctors, it was decided
that the best chance I had to live a normal life was to have my right
eye removed and have a prosthetic one put in.
“This decision was not an easy one to make, but to me it seemed like the
right one, so on Tuesday afternoon, I went forward with the surgery.
I’m currently still in Miami, recovering from surgery but I’m doing
well.
“This has been the hardest week of my life, but I’ve had amazing support from my family and friends to help me get through it.”