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    Local 12-year-old recovering after being shot in the eye with a BB

    (Lander, WY) – On August 13, 12-year-old Kainoa Miller was hanging out with friends by the river near City Park while her family listened to music when she was suddenly struck by something in the eye.

    Her mom, Nichole Miller, shared it wasn’t clear what happened at first since her glasses were untouched, but an x-ray at the hospital revealed a BB in her eye.

    Kainoa was flown to Salt Lake City, where they performed surgery to clean and seal the wound until they could get it stabilized enough to remove the BB.

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    Tight-lipped teens kept what happened to themselves until the Lander Police Department got to the bottom of it a few days after the initial injury.

    Someone jokingly aimed the air pistol at Kainoa and thinking it wasn’t loaded, pulled the trigger, according to Nichole.

    The BB was finally removed on August 25, and she’s been in a prone position to keep her head down since then.

    Kainoa was back in SLC today, September 15 for her third surgery.

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    “I don’t really know what procedures they’re going to be performing,” Nichole shared with County 10. “They’ve spoken about a scleral buckle. They’re just trying to get the retina to reattach to the eye.”

    It isn’t clear yet whether or not they will be able to save the eye, or whether or not her vision will return. Everything is dependent on how the eye handles the surgeries, she shared.

    A GoFundMe has been set-up to help with medical and other expenses related to their travel back and forth to SLC. Click here to donate.

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