Christy Carlson Romano is giving an update on her vision after a clay pigeon shooting accident in 2025.
“I was peppered with birdshot at about 250 feet away, and I was struck in a fat pocket under my eye and also in my forehead,” Romano, 42, told Fox News Digital in an interview published on Saturday, October 24. “I still have birdshot behind my eye about a millimeter away from anything critical.”
She continued, “And if it were to move, I would go blind. So, we’re hoping that doesn’t happen.”
Romano and her husband, Brendan Rooney, were out shooting clay pigeons with friends for his 42nd birthday in 2025 when she was hit with birdshot. Romano explained at the time that she had been struck multiple times in the face.
“My oculoplastic surgeon had said that, usually, he’s taking people’s eyes out, kids, because they’ve been shot with a Nerf gun,” Romano told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “It just so happened to hit the right fat pocket right under the eye. And I really almost survived through a miracle because I think there was any amount of outcomes when it came to having birdshot striking my skull and my face.”
Romano, who shares two daughters with Rooney, noted that the experience changed her perspective on life.
“I, at one point, thought that I was going to die,” Romano, who details the incident in memoir Once Upon a Trainwreck, shared. ” And when you have children, you can’t help but start to see the world completely differently after an accident like that.”
In 2025, Romano shared that she was “very grateful” to the first responders who took care of her after the incident.
“I was hit in 5 places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye,” she wrote via Instagram at the time. “Unfortunately a fragment got lodged behind my eye and it is too risky to remove surgically at this time. Doctors will continue to monitor me (I can see normally at the moment).”
She continued, “With everything that happened, all I can think about is how grateful I am to be alive. I love my daughters, husband, family, and friends so much. I saw my life flash before my eyes and I’m telling you, hug the people around you every chance you can. Life can change in an instant. 🙏.”
