When a mysterious object smashed into her face and she felt blood trickling down her throat, Adele Curran’s first thought was that she’d been struck by a bird while watering her plants. But the reality was much worse.
A crossbow arrow, fired by a neighbour who lived 30 metres away from her West Auckland home, had hit Adele (42) between the right eye socket and the bridge of her nose, burying itself 3cm deep in her skull.
Just before she shut her eyes in pain and shock, Adele caught a glimpse of something strange protruding out of her own face. “I could feel the blood going down my face and in my nose and throat, then I saw the arrow shaft sticking out. It was a thick arrow shaft, not a thin one,” she says.
“Because I went into survival mode, I don’t remember feeling any pain. All I knew was that I had to get through this.”
Adele began to scream, alerting her son Ryan (16), who ran outside and was horrified to see his mother with an arrow sticking out of her eye. Adele’s natural reaction was to immediately try to pull the arrow out, but Ryan insisted she left it in place for medical experts to remove – something he had learned from watching the Discovery Channel.
“oy son is my hero,” says Adele. “He took control, called the ambulance and dealt with the police. He kept telling me it was best to leave the arrow in.”
The ambulance arrived within 10 minutes and took Adele to hospital. Although the pain had become intense, Adele says she remained conscious throughout the whole ordeal. “I was totally in control and just concentrated on keeping still,” she says.
At Auckland Hospital, doctors had to saw off the shaft of the arrow to fit Adele into a scanner that would show them how deep the bolt had gone. Surgeons discovered that the arrow had lodged in the bone of Adele’s skull, stopping it from penetrating her brain and killing her.
In fact, it was found that if the arrow had entered her face just one centimetre further, it would have killed her instantly. Adele underwent emergency surgery to remove the arrow, followed by another gruelling operation to save her eye that was dislodged from its socket by the impact.
“If my son, who is taller than me, had been standing where I was, then it would have gone right through his chest and he would be dead,” shudders Adele. “In many ways, I’m very lucky. It could have been much worse.
“The man who fired the shot was a 35-year-old carpenter, who had been given the crossbow for Christmas. He was playing with it in his backyard when one of the arrows was fired towards Adele’s house.
Refusing to be named, he told journalists at the time that he was aiming at an old stereo speaker when the crossbow jammed and, while he was adjusting the safety catch, it went off without warning. He immediately went to help Adele and her son as soon as he realised his arrow had hit her and sent Adele flowers while she was in hospital for a week.
Adele, who still needs regular check-ups, says she is not angry with her neighbour, but calls his actions “idiotic”. The police are still investigating the accident and the man could yet face serious charges. Unlike firearms, there are no licensing requirements for crossbow owners.
Adele believes what happened to her is a perfect example of how dangerous the weapons can be and she wants tighter restrictions placed on owning them. “Crossbows are not toys. They should be treated like firearms. To get a firearm license people have to go on a course to learn how to use them safely. It should be the same for crossbows.”
Although Adele has not lost her right eye, she still has problems with it. “oy vision is blurry. I can see some definition but not much, and the eyeball has moved out of place in its socket. Hopefully it will come right soon.”
Two months after the accident, Adele still hasn’t been back to work but hopes she’ll be able to return soon. “The doctors have told me that it will be at least a year until I’m good again.”
She says the ordeal has been life-altering and the bubbly mum is sure it’s the support from her family and her son that keeps her positive. “At times I have a bit of a cry but I know I can’t turn back the clock. What happened to me is rare and I know I have to just get on with life.”
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