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Injured model Lauren Scruggs has lost her left eye, her family has confirmed.
The model, who has been walking and talking since her devastating plane-propeller accident, underwent a surgery Wednesday afternoon, during which surgeons removed the eye.
Her family has been providing updates on the website CaringBridge.org; they posted the news on Wednesday evening, writing that the procedure “consisted of removing her left eye, which included nerves.’’
Though the news is a disappointment — the family had initially hoped the eye could be salvaged — surgery "went as planned" and “unbelievably well,’’ they wrote. Scruggs will now wear a prosthesis, which will be "part of our journey and the healing process," wrote the family, to replace the eye, which was badly damaged in the Dec. 3 accident.
Story: Lauren smiles: Injured model reaches new milestoneThe 23-year-old model and fashion blogger suffered lacerations to her face, a fractured skull and a severed left hand when she walked into a still-spinning propeller at Aero Country Airport, about 30 miles from Dallas. She was moving in the darkness toward the front of the plane — possibly to thank the pilot, who was a friend of hers. Within a week of the accident she was able to walk and talk, but is in severe pain.
Story: Injured model walks, sees own face for the first timeDoctors had to take her off pain medication for the surgery on Wednesday afternoon. “Along with the pain she was already experiencing with her arm and shoulder injuries, the removal of the left (eye) is also very painful,’’ the family wrote on CaringBridge.
The deeply religious family is also praying for Scruggs to regain her appetite.
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