A young golf star from Australia who nearly lost his eye after a freak accident is sharing how his life — and career — has changed now that he’s blind in one eye.
Jeff Guan, 20, said he was in “unbearable pain” when he was hit by a stray golf ball in September while competing in a pro-am tournament.
“The instant ringing and pain rushed to my head, and I dropped to the ground. Voices sounded pretty muffled, and the next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance being transported to a hospital with skin patches containing high doses of Fentanyl,” Guan said in a statement, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
There, he spent weeks in the intensive care unit due to the severity of his injuries. Medical officials say it will take up to a year for Guan to fully recover, and he won’t be able to use a golf club for six months. He still has not regained eyesight in his left eye, per the outlet.
During his hospital stay and now five weeks after, Guan said that many thoughts about his golf future ran through his head.
“During my nights in hospital, I almost drowned in thoughts about the injury and my future in the sport. Not only was I utterly distraught by the news I had received, but the whole situation made me very depressed and somewhat angry,” Guan said according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Anxiety about my future was swirling in my mind. I was utterly distraught. It has come at a tremendous cost and has significantly affected me and my family. Why did this happen? How in the world am I supposed to recover, return, and be the same player I was, or even better? I felt so devastated and lost,” he added.
Despite his possibly permanent injury, Guan said that he is not angry with the person responsible for his accident — and as of now, he has not spoken to them.
“They have reached out to Golf NSW and Golf Australia while I was in hospital, but I didn’t have any contact with anyone at that stage. I don’t blame anyone at all. It was just a freak accident,” he said.
Hopeful that his golf career will resume, Guan said that if playing the sport is no longer in his future, perhaps coaching could be an alternative.
“These four weeks have been the toughest of my life, but I am stronger mentally and will be ready to conquer any obstacle in the future,” Guan said.
