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LEHI — As firefighters across the state warned of the potential hazards of fireworks that are improperly handled and ignited, a woman cautioned families Monday that the risks extend beyond those to land and property.
Kryshelle Houghton lost the use of her left eye when some fireworks tipped over and fired in her direction during a New Year’s Eve celebration seven years ago.
“This one was called ‘Lucky Seven’ and it tipped over and it was just shooting out everywhere,” Houghton said. “All of a sudden, I just kind of, you know, looked down and (my left eye) was bleeding.”
Houghton immediately was blinded in the eye.
“They went in and put a buckle around my eye to hold my retina onto it,” Houghton described of one of the resulting procedures.
Multiple surgeries failed to restore Houghton’s sight, and pain only increased in recent years.
“That’s when we decided to take my eye out,” Houghton said. “I had to go two months without an eye. That was probably the hardest part.”
Houghton, a radiology technician at Intermountain InstaCare in Orem, recently had a prosthetic eye with a hand-painted iris attached to her muscles so that the prosthetic would move along with her other eye.
“It’s better than it was,” Houghton exclaimed, laughing.
Houghton said she wasn’t doing anything risky at the time of her injury — simply standing on the driveway well away from the fireworks.
Utah Valley Hospital’s Trauma Services team recently circulated several safety tips related to fireworks, including not allowing young children to light or play with fireworks, knowing caution labels and performance descriptions, lighting fireworks away from houses, dry leaves, brush and grass, avoiding attempts to relight fireworks that don’t light, having a responsible adult present to supervise, and keeping a bucket of water handy at all times.
Houghton warned other families to be careful and to understand all the possibilities when fireworks come into play.
“It could have happened to anyone,” Houghton said. “People always think it can never happen to you, but you don’t know.”
