Christy Carlson Romano Says She Still Suffers from ‘Birdshot Behind My Eye’ a Year After Firearm Accident Nearly Blinded Her
Christy Carlson Romano Says She Still Suffers from ‘Birdshot Behind My Eye’ a Year After Firearm Accident Nearly Blinded Her
Raven BrunnerSun, October 25, 2026 at 5:01 PM UTC
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Christy Carlson Romano.Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty; Christy Carlson Romano/Instagram -
Christy Carlson Romano said in a new interview that she is still dealing with the aftermath of being shot in the face by a stray birdshot last year
The incident happened when the actress was shooting clay pigeons to celebrate her husband Brendan Rooney’s birthday
Romano said, “I thought I was going to die”
Christy Carlson Romano is still dealing with the aftermath of being shot in the face by a stray birdshot last year.
“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. I still have birdshot behind my eye about a millimeter away from anything critical,” the actress, 42, told Fox News Digital.
“If it were to move, I would go blind. So, we’re hoping that doesn’t happen,” Romano added.
Christy Carlson Romano.Credit: Christy Carlson Romano/Instagram
Romano told Fox News Digital, “I, at one point, thought that I was going to die.”
“When you have children, you can’t help but start to see the world completely differently after an accident like that,” she continued, referring to her two daughters she shares with husband Brendan Rooney.
The Vulnerable podcast host also expressed gratitude for her survival. “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 the news outlet.
She added: “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 previously opened up to PEOPLE about the scary experience, stating, “It has definitely taught me how to appreciate life.”
“The birdshot is one millimeter from anything critical in my eye, which is a pencil tip away, and the fact that I have this birdshot, not just behind my eye, but it’s also in my forehead, and every now and then, I blink, and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, there’s something in there,’ “ continued the Even Stevens alum.
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Romano, who still also has fragments in her face, added, “I think that I basically survived a medical miracle.”
Brendan Rooney and Christy Carlson Romano attend the 12th Season of ATX TV Festival at Stateside on June 1, 2023 in Austin, Texas.Credit: Rick Kern/WireImage
The former child star first spoke out about the incident in February 2025, when she said in an Instagram video that she was shooting clay pigeons in Texas to celebrate her husband’s birthday.
Romano detailed that she was shot by “another party” who “unsafely fired in the wrong direction.”
“I was hit in 5 places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye,” she explained at the time.
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Rooney shared a message of support in the comments section of his wife’s initial social media post, writing, “You are the bravest, toughest, most stoic and badass woman I have ever met.”
“I am so thankful you are alive. I am so thankful you are the mother to our children. I wouldn’t know what to do without you,” he added.
Romano recounts the incident and more in her new memoir, Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Rise and Fall of a Child Star, which is now available to purchase wherever books are sold.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
