Handball star loses eye - encourages protective eyewear

July 27, 2010

Karol Bielecki is a Polish handball star who lost an eye during a match against Croatia six weeks ago. He is now preparing his return to the team while also taking precautions to protect his eye health from suffering another blow, TheNews.pl reports.

Bielecki lost his left eye during the match when he collided with another player. Doctors tried saving the eye but were unsuccessful. He has not let this ordeal keep him from enjoying the sport he loves.

"I feel more secure, have regained my self-confidence. I want to play at the level I did before and I believe that I will succeed," he told the news source.

He now wears protective goggles to help ensure that an accident like this will not happen again.

"It's for the good of his health. We must do everything to protect the right eye," rehabilitaiton specialist Dr Thomas Katlun told the news provider.

The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends that athletes wear protective eyewear to avoid doing any damage to their eye health.