Washington

‘Duct Tape Challenge' Leaves Washington Teen Severely Injured

A dangerous new game becoming popular among teens sent a 14-year-old Washington resident to the hospital with 48 stitches, a shattered eye socket and a brain aneurysm.

Skylar Fish was severely injured playing the "Duct Tape Challenge," a trend circulating on social media in which the participant is taped up and is recorded on video trying to break free. Whoever removes the tape the fastest "wins" the challenge. 

Skylar took the challenge Jan. 16 with two of his friends. According to his mother, Sarah Fish, Skylar volunteered to be duct taped first, and was standing while taped up when he lost his balance. The fall caused Skylar to hit his head, and his friends immediately called 911. 

Skylar suffered extensive facial injuries. After a three-hour surgery, Skylar was left with metal plates and screws, and was on a temporary ventilator after the operation. His left eye socket shattered, and his facial injuries required 48 stitches and caused a substantial scar.

Doctors are still unsure if Skylar will be able to see out of his left eye, but Fish said her son's pupil reacted slightly to the light, a positive sign. Despite Skylar's improvements, Fish was deeply affected seeing her son in the hospital.

"That was the worst part for me — seeing my son helpless," Fish said.

Skylar, who was moved from Harborview Medical Center to a pediatric hospital on Monday, is set to be sent home Friday.

"Every time I look at him, I smile," Fish said. "Every time I talk about him being alive, I smile — I smile because my son's alive."

Fish, who hadn't heard of the "Duct Tape Challenge" prior to her son's injuries, wants to use Skylar's story as an opportunity to shed light on the dangers of these seemingly harmless viral games.

"(Skylar has) learned his lesson," she said. "Kids are just going to be kids, be we just want to bring awareness."

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