JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Some summer fun nearly cost an 8-year-old Georgia boy his eye after an arrow pierced his face just below the eye socket last week.
Samuel Crews' mother said he was playing outside with a neighbor's grandson in Folkston, Georgia, when an arrow from a bow and arrow toy the two were playing with ricocheted off a tree and struck Samuel in his right eye.
Now he's being treated by a retina specialist at UF Health Jacksonville.
Channel 4's Adrienne Moore spoke to the spunky, resilient second-grader Wednesday, and he was eager to take off his eye patch and reveal his injury -- and also wanted to explain how to keep other kids safe.
"I was putting a target up, and I went to get down," Samuel explained. "He shot it, and it hit the side of the tree and hit me."
He said the pain felt sharp and on a scale of 1-10 was a 20.
"You could actually see the retina protruding and hanging out from under his eye and immediately you know, 'This is bad,'" said Lency Crews, Samuel's mother.
Lency rushed her son to the hospital where he underwent a six-hour surgery to repair his detached retina. The arrow did not touch Samuel's brain.
"He can see some light, so (it's) God's blessing," Lency said. "There is hope that he may be able to get some type of eyesight back in there."
But even with more surgeries scheduled, Samuel is adjusting by making his new plastic eye patch a conversation-starter, along with an important message to steer clear of the toy that nearly cost him his eye.
"I ain't going to set no target up," Samuel said, laughing. "I'm only going to set it up on the floor, not on the tree no more."
Samuel was quick to point out that this accident isn't going to keep him from playing football or pursuing any other sports.
His next doctor's appointment is Monday, when he'll find out when he'll have his next surgery.
Anyone wishing to contribute to Samuel's medical expenses can send donations to:
Samuel David Crews Medical Fund
First National Bank FNB South
4322 2nd Street North
Folkston, GA 31537