Paintball blackens student's future

Bandra teen loses vision in left eye playing arcade game

Amit (13, name changed), a resident of Bandra, may never be able to see again with his left eye.

His parents allege that their son lost his vision in the left eye when he played a game of Paintball at Atria Mall in Worli on August 30. Amit was accompanied by friends and cousins, all in their early teens.

"We were hoping against hope that he would recover completely, but we could comprehend the extent of the damage only a couple of days back," said Amit's mother.

She complained, "The authorities only provided some ice and asked him to proceed unescorted to the nearby Podar Hospital."

The aggrieved mother added, "My son was asked to sign some declaration forms before the game commenced. But is the signature of a 13 year old unaccompanied by an adult valid?"

Ophthalmologist Dr Ryan D'Souza, said only a miracle can help Amit regain his vision.
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"The injury has been caused by a high velocity, blunt object, which has completely damaged the lens. It had to be surgically removed.
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The retina too has been scarred beyond repair.

During the operation we also found traces of a white chemical around the eye, like the one found in Paintball, which proves without any doubt, the cause of the injury," explained D'Souza.

What's paintball?

Paintball is a sport in which players compete, in teams or individually, to eliminate opponents by hitting them with pellets containing paint from a special gun called a paintball marker.

The Other Side

Ravindran Pillai,u00a0 spokesperson, Atria Mall, said all precautions are taken and safety gear is provided to people who come to play Paintball.

In this particular case, the necessary first aid was provided and doctors from Podar Hospital were also summoned to attend to the child, who in all probability, got a bit carried away and removed his eye gear during the Paintball fight.

Every player has to sign a disclaimer and is given a set of rules that specify that at no point, the player can remove his safety equipment, including the eye protection gear.

54 lakh
The approximate number of Americans who play Paintball