By Charles Swanson
The Press Democrat
SANTA ROSA, Calif. — Jennifer Eversole immediately knew something was wrong when she put what she thought were her allergy eyedrops in her right eye Saturday afternoon.
“I was getting ready to do grocery pickup and I was talking to my 5-year-old, so I grabbed the bottle (off the dresser) without looking,” Eversole said in an interview. “I went to put it in my right eye, and it wasn’t coming out at first, so I squeezed harder instead of looking at the bottle. It instantly started to burn.”
The Santa Rosa mother of six had accidentally grabbed super-strength glue for false nails that was sitting next to her eyedrops and glued the eye shut, as she shared in a TikTok video Saturday night that has been viewed more than 4.5 million times.
“I started freaking out,” she said.
https://www.tiktok.com/@mamaeversole/video/7240636430526025006
After she and her fiance were unable to get the glue out themselves, they called the city’s nonemergency line. Eversole says nearly a dozen firefighters and an ambulance showed up. She was transported to a local emergency room, where doctors applied antibacterial ointment and eye-numbing drops before removing the glue.
“They cut my eyelashes and then they were able to cut the glue in between my eyelids,” she said.
After that initial procedure, Eversole posted the experience on TikTok, which she uses to talk about her journey as a mother and survivor of domestic violence as well as share memes and jokes. While some of her previous posts have gained moderate attention, she says she did not expect Saturday’s post to go viral as it did.
Many of the viewers wished her well, but not all and the negative comments were hard on her, she said.
“I have pretty thick skin, but it does kind of suck when they’re talking about me as a parent, those things aren’t nice to read,” she said. “But if you’re going to go viral online, not everyone is going to be nice. That kind of attention comes with it.”
More importantly, Eversole’s eye is going to be fine, and she’s expected to retain her 20/20 vision.
“I didn’t understand how much I valued having two eyes until I had one,” she said.
In her initial TikTok and in subsequent follow-up video, Eversole says many commenters admitted to making the same mistake or shared stories about children making that mistake.
“Seeing how many have made that mistake with nail glue in the comments, I wish they would make the bottle different shapes,” she says. “I just hope somebody learns from it and doesn’t make the same mistake I did.”
Eversole also said that she learned that eyedrops can be fatal for children if swallowed, adding that her drops are now in a locked box with medications. The bottle of nail glue is now in the garbage, she said.
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