WLB
10-13-2005, 01:44 AM
Weight flies inside angler's eye
A freak accident saw an angler's lead weight fly through his eye socket and become embedded inside his cheek.
Darren Williams, 34, of Wrexham, had a five-hour operation to repair his shattered cheekbone with a metal plate.
The machine operator was on a fishing trip on Anglesey when his line became snagged and the weight flew up.
"I was so lucky - if it had been a few millimetres in the other direction then I would have lost my eye," he said.
He is keeping the weight as a souvenir after doctors gave it back to him.
"It's my lucky weight now. I will carry it around with me," said Mr Williams, of Acrefair.
He was fishing with friends at Llyn y Gorse, near Llandegfan on Anglesey, when the freak accident happened on Saturday. "I was fishing when the line got snagged on something and as I pulled it, I just felt something hit me on the face and knock me to the floor," said Mr Williams.
"To be honest, I didn't know what had happened, but when I put my hands to my face they were covered in blood.
Emergency operation
He thought the weight had just hit him and bounced off.
"But my mates ran over to me and they could see the tip of the weight sticking out of my eye socket".
Mr Williams, who works at Wrexham chemical plant Flexys underwent an emergency operation at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, where surgeons took the weight out.
Surgeons removed the weight and rebuilt his shattered cheekbone with a metal plate.
"They showed me the X-ray and I just couldn't believe it," said Mr Williams, who is recovering at home after spending two days in hospital.
Mr Williams said he expected to be off work for some time.
He did not catch anything on that trip - but said the accident had not put him off fishing
Check out the pic here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/4315748.stm?html
A freak accident saw an angler's lead weight fly through his eye socket and become embedded inside his cheek.
Darren Williams, 34, of Wrexham, had a five-hour operation to repair his shattered cheekbone with a metal plate.
The machine operator was on a fishing trip on Anglesey when his line became snagged and the weight flew up.
"I was so lucky - if it had been a few millimetres in the other direction then I would have lost my eye," he said.
He is keeping the weight as a souvenir after doctors gave it back to him.
"It's my lucky weight now. I will carry it around with me," said Mr Williams, of Acrefair.
He was fishing with friends at Llyn y Gorse, near Llandegfan on Anglesey, when the freak accident happened on Saturday. "I was fishing when the line got snagged on something and as I pulled it, I just felt something hit me on the face and knock me to the floor," said Mr Williams.
"To be honest, I didn't know what had happened, but when I put my hands to my face they were covered in blood.
Emergency operation
He thought the weight had just hit him and bounced off.
"But my mates ran over to me and they could see the tip of the weight sticking out of my eye socket".
Mr Williams, who works at Wrexham chemical plant Flexys underwent an emergency operation at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, where surgeons took the weight out.
Surgeons removed the weight and rebuilt his shattered cheekbone with a metal plate.
"They showed me the X-ray and I just couldn't believe it," said Mr Williams, who is recovering at home after spending two days in hospital.
Mr Williams said he expected to be off work for some time.
He did not catch anything on that trip - but said the accident had not put him off fishing
Check out the pic here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/north_east/4315748.stm?html