Acid attack on Bolshoi director Sergei Filin:
05 Dec '13 11:582 editshttp://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/world/europe/russia-acid-attack-filin/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
Man, I feel for him. I suffered EXACTLY the same thing, not as severe but it did nearly cost me my vision. I had just that day gotten a set of contact lenses for the first time and it was wonderful how much better my vision was than wearing my usual glasses, I am very nearsighted, like 20/240 or so.
My first job in the semiconductor world was at a place called General Instruments in Chandler Arizona WAY back in 1982.
So totally unfamiliar with that world, I was assigned to repair some kind of furnace that had bad transistors in it.
The job unexpectedly took over 6 hours and unbeknownst to me, I was working directly across the isle from a sulphuric acid wet bench station where they did some kind of etching using that acid.
Unbeknownst to anyone was the fact that the air supposedly being drawn out of that bench was in fact in need of repair because the air instead of going up the chimney was in fact seeping down the isle and across to the very machine I had been working on for hours.
Of course I was totally unaware of the danger.
So it turned out to be thanksgiving weekend and my family was living in Venice Beach, California while I was making arrangements for everyone to move to Phoenix.
So I get on the plane for the short right to LAX from Phoenix with no hint of trouble.
Halfway through the flight, my eyes turned flaming red and I was subjected to pain I never have felt before or since. I was in absolute agony, my eyelids and eyes having been subjected to sulfuric acid vapors for 6 solid hours and when I left work that day I was seemingly fine.
But like I said, the flight home, less than 2 hours and I was in such pain I was going out of my mind and the flight attendants had no idea what to do with me. It was obvious I was in pain and my eyes were totally red so they knew I wasn't faking. I had taken out the contacts but of course too late.
So my wife ran me to an emergency room and they put novacaine liquid in both eyes which helped for about 15 minutes but I was in absolute agony even before we got home in Venice Beach.
I was in agony for 3 whole days before my eyes even BEGAN to recover, almost lost all my vision but it came back after 3 days of total agony.
I thought for sure I was going to be blind forever.
It was without a doubt the worse time medically for me for my entire life.
I know exactly what Filin went through except I came out of it with my vision more or less intact.
5 years later I went to an optometrist with the idea of getting contact lenses and they fitted me with a pair of the new ones that breathed well and so forth. 5 MINUTES later my eyes were flaming red and painful again.
10 years after that, I again tried an even newer version of contact lenses, supposedly even better and the same thing happened. Instant red eye and pain.
So to this day I dare not try contacts. I am fortunate that is ALL that I am left with from that ordeal. His was far worse, and my acid attack was not the result of violence.
It makes me shudder to this day those awful weeks back in '82.
Man, I feel for him. I suffered EXACTLY the same thing, not as severe but it did nearly cost me my vision. I had just that day gotten a set of contact lenses for the first time and it was wonderful how much better my vision was than wearing my usual glasses, I am very nearsighted, like 20/240 or so.
My first job in the semiconductor world was at a place called General Instruments in Chandler Arizona WAY back in 1982.
So totally unfamiliar with that world, I was assigned to repair some kind of furnace that had bad transistors in it.
The job unexpectedly took over 6 hours and unbeknownst to me, I was working directly across the isle from a sulphuric acid wet bench station where they did some kind of etching using that acid.
Unbeknownst to anyone was the fact that the air supposedly being drawn out of that bench was in fact in need of repair because the air instead of going up the chimney was in fact seeping down the isle and across to the very machine I had been working on for hours.
Of course I was totally unaware of the danger.
So it turned out to be thanksgiving weekend and my family was living in Venice Beach, California while I was making arrangements for everyone to move to Phoenix.
So I get on the plane for the short right to LAX from Phoenix with no hint of trouble.
Halfway through the flight, my eyes turned flaming red and I was subjected to pain I never have felt before or since. I was in absolute agony, my eyelids and eyes having been subjected to sulfuric acid vapors for 6 solid hours and when I left work that day I was seemingly fine.
But like I said, the flight home, less than 2 hours and I was in such pain I was going out of my mind and the flight attendants had no idea what to do with me. It was obvious I was in pain and my eyes were totally red so they knew I wasn't faking. I had taken out the contacts but of course too late.
So my wife ran me to an emergency room and they put novacaine liquid in both eyes which helped for about 15 minutes but I was in absolute agony even before we got home in Venice Beach.
I was in agony for 3 whole days before my eyes even BEGAN to recover, almost lost all my vision but it came back after 3 days of total agony.
I thought for sure I was going to be blind forever.
It was without a doubt the worse time medically for me for my entire life.
I know exactly what Filin went through except I came out of it with my vision more or less intact.
5 years later I went to an optometrist with the idea of getting contact lenses and they fitted me with a pair of the new ones that breathed well and so forth. 5 MINUTES later my eyes were flaming red and painful again.
10 years after that, I again tried an even newer version of contact lenses, supposedly even better and the same thing happened. Instant red eye and pain.
So to this day I dare not try contacts. I am fortunate that is ALL that I am left with from that ordeal. His was far worse, and my acid attack was not the result of violence.
It makes me shudder to this day those awful weeks back in '82.
