A 23-year-old babysitter in Ennis, Montana says a moment of play with Nerf guns turned into a medical emergency after a child shot her directly in the right eye, leaving her temporarily unable to see and with lasting differences in her pupils.
In Ennis, Montana, a typical babysitting afternoon lasted only until a child rounded a corner and fired a Nerf gun straight at Sarah Bell’s right eye.
Bell, 23, said she was watching five boys between the ages of 1 and 11. She remembered walking in and seeing everyone eager to play with the toys. “When I got there, they all wanted to play with their nerf guns,” Bell told Newsweek. “I myself have had nerf guns as a kid, so I saw no issue with that.”.
The group was nearing the end of play and getting ready to move on to lunch when the situation shifted. Bell said the second oldest came around a corner and “shot me directly in my right eye.”
The pain hit immediately. Bell described her eye as “super watery and swollen,” and said it burned when she tried to open it. She held it with her right hand while she tried to wipe away tears and clear her vision. but nothing helped. “All boys dropped their guns and said we didn’t have to play anymore,” Bell said. “The boy who shot me almost started crying because he felt so bad. They were helping me get tissues and things.”.
Bell’s parents returned about 10 minutes later, shortly after the incident. She said she explained what happened and that they were apologetic. At that point, she could still see, though her vision was blurred.
What came next was harder to control. Bell said the situation worsened after she left the house—especially in bright light. She began to experience cloud-like vision, and the panic set in. She called her mom, who lives in Oklahoma, and told her she could no longer see out of her right eye.
Bell then drove home, taking 30 to 35 minutes and trying to stay calm. “I tried to call my boyfriend… but he was asleep,” she said. “So I continued my way home very slowly and carefully.”
By the time she reached home, she said her condition had deteriorated further. “Blood had formed in the bottom of my eye. [I] had lots of pain and I still couldn’t see. ” Bell said. Her boyfriend took her to the emergency room, where doctors initially struggled to identify the problem due to limited equipment. She was then referred to an ophthalmologist days later, where the full extent of the injury became clearer.
Bell said specialists told her she had bruising above her eye inside the eyelid that made the area sore when she looked around. She was also told there was “a hole between my iris and cornea. ” and that the injury disrupted how her eye dilates. The damage affected her vision and left one pupil larger than the other.
Her eyesight, Bell said, had deteriorated to 20/70—meaning she could see clearly at 20 feet what a person with normal vision can see from 70 feet away.
She was prescribed steroid eye drops and medication to help restore normal function. Bell said the cloudiness improved after about a week, but her recovery took longer. Even now, she said she has sensitivity to sunlight and some artificial lighting.
Her vision has since returned to 20/20, but she is still living with a physical difference: her pupils measure 0.6mm apart, with one larger than the other.
Since the incident, Bell has shared her story on TikTok under the handle @hanginwithsb. She hopes her experience changes how people treat Nerf guns—especially around children.
“My message to others who use nerf guns is to please wear eye protection,” Bell said. She added that the toys are not advertised as much in that way. and urged parents and children to take simple precautions. “Goggles. glasses or sunglasses—anything is better than risking a child’s. friend’s or family member’s vision. ” she said.
Ennis Montana Nerf gun injury babysitter eye injury ophthalmologist vision recovery TikTok @hanginwithsb eye protection