Florida woman loses eye after freak accident with retractable dog leash: ‘Put my entire life on pause’

A Florida medical assistant was left permanently blind in her right eye, needing surgery to remove it following a freak accident when her large dog lunged for a rabbit during their walk.

Daniella Abreu, 24, and her 60-pound Husky, Blu, were on a nighttime stroll around their Stuart, Fla. neighborhood when the pooch spotted the wandering bunny on August 7, 2023.

Abreu used a rope leash to control Blu because of the dog’s size, but her usual leash became too frayed.

She resorted to using an old retractable leash, which gave out when the dog detected the rabbit.

Abreu was struck in the face with the retractable leash’s handle and started gushing blood during the “traumatic” incident.

“As he was running one way and I was pulling the opposite way, the friction of the leash just snapped back and repelled, hitting me right in my eye,” Abreu told PEOPLE. “It happened so fast but I knew it was bad immediately. The force of the leash was so traumatic.”

After the freak incident, Abreu says her “flight or fight mode kicked in” and she ran home screaming to her parents.

“My mom got to me first and I just fell into her arms and got really pale. My dad, oh my goodness, his face was so frightened and terrified, she recalled.

“Even though it may not have been a life or death situation, at that moment, I obviously didn’t know. I knew it was a pretty severe situation though. I was losing a lot of blood and eventually I just passed out,” Abreu added. “All the shock going through my body just overpowered the feeling.”

Abreu was rushed to a trauma center in Fort Pierce, an hour away from her home due to her severe injuries.

The accident split open her eyelid and she suffered a fracture under her eye and a detached retina.

Abreu underwent X-rays and a doctor stitched her eyelid back together, but then her adrenaline wore off as she dealt with the accident’s excruciating aftermath.

“The pain was a 10 out of 10. I started hysterically crying because it was so bad,” she said.

Abreu underwent emergency surgery in Miami and was ruled that she was permanently blind in her right eye with no chance of salvaging her vision.

Abreu underwent four additional surgeries, with doctors confirming the severity of the damage ultimately leading to her eye being removed.

She says she was bedridden for the first few months, sleeping often as a way to both heal and grieve, according to the outlet.

“Even to this day, I still don’t believe it’s true,” she admits. “I had to put my entire life on pause. I went from being a super active girl — on a competitive dance team, working out on the side, a full-time job — and I basically had to take a year off of life.”

Abreu has experienced severe migraines, PTSD and anxiety and panic attacks because of the incident.

“The emotional and financial impact is heavy for this beautiful family,” the crowdfunding campaign read

Abreu’s neighbors of over 15 years created a GoFundMe following the incident, saying money raised could help her recovery with the hope new medical technology could repair her vision.

She has started seeing a therapist and after her final surgery in June, was fitted with a prosthetic eye that will serve her for three to five years before needing to be replaced.

“I had to basically relearn everything,” she said. “When you have both eyes you’re used to opening them at the same time. But my right eye was stitched close so I had to gradually learn how to only open my left eye, which was straining and it caused me more pain.”