It’s now two weeks after the fourth of July and we continue to hear about severe firework injuries. Now, one Fullerton teen is trying her best to stay positive despite an injury that may cost her her eyesight.
Taylor Kim’s family said they started the summer with a lot to look forward to.
“She was so excited we were all so excited this fall,” her father, Robert Kim, said. The recent high school graduate was looking forward to starting a new internship
“My dream is to be a nurse. I just want to help people,” the teen said.
Now wearing protective glasses at one of her many eye doctor appointments, she said she’s afraid her bright future is anything but, after a firework at a July 4th gathering shot straight into her left eye
“We were all just playing outside. I just turned around and the firework was already lit and it just – exploded like a grenade,” Taylor said.
Ambulances rushed her to Pomona Valley Hospital.
“This firework came at her eye with tremendous force,” said Dr. Mark Barak, medical director of Empire Laser Eye Center. “There’s a lot of damage to the left eye and her vision is very poor at this point, it’s hard to predict what the end result will be.”
Taylor’s family started a Gofundme account to help with mounting medical bills. They say hope people see that fireworks – of all kinds can be dangerous.
“Unfortunately this one incident of someone’s careless act being negligent, disregard for people – the severity of possessing such a magnitude object. Just like a firearm you don’t play with firearms, why would you play with something like this?” Robert said.
Taylor, holds back her pain as she sends a message to others.
“Don’t think of it as a toy and launch everywhere wherever you feel like it,” Taylor said. “I just want to fight and still become a nurse because I can still see with my right eye, but because of this eye it won’t stop me.”
Source: NBC Los Angeles