Woman Who Gouged Out Eyes Outside Church While on Drugs Recovering, Relying on God to 'Guide Her Path'
A 20-year-old woman, who was found gouging out her own eyes in a drug-induced haze while outside of a church, is now recovering from the horrific incident and is relying on God to guide her path as she faces life without sight.
While high on meth, Kaylee Muthart gouged out her eyes with her hands next to the South Main Chapel in Anderson on Feb. 6. While hallucinating, Kaylee fought off good samaritans and first responders who tried to help her. Eventually, a team of deputies were able to control the young woman and fly her to the trauma unit at Greenville Memorial Hospital, where she was declared completely blind.
More that two weeks later, Kaylee's mother, Katy Tompkins, revealed that her daughter is recovering and gives God all the glory for sparing her life.
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"I want to thank you all for all of your prayers! Yesterday was a very good day," Tompkins wrote in a Facebook post. "Kaylee is doing so well and just amazes me. She will up front tell you that God is guiding her path. She gives Him all of the glory. Yes, she does have her moments but her doctors and team are so impressed with her progress, considering! She even did a cartwheel yesterday. She gives me my hope to not be sad like my heart wants to be. I want to thank everyone that has been reaching out with prayers and positive thoughts because it helps us get through!"
Tompkins concluded the post with Matthew 5:16, which says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
In a previous Facebook post, Tompkins said God's presence has been evident throughout Kaylee's recovery.
"We can see Him working in her life," she said. "Thank you for ALL of your prayers because God is truly hearing them. Yesterday was another good day. Kaylee is more joyful than the day before. Through all that she has been through, God has reignited her spirit!"
Kaylee reportedly started using methamphetamine — an illegal stimulant that increases the amount of dopamine in the brain — about six months ago and quickly became addicted.
Tompkins told People Magazine she tried to convince Kaylee to get help, and just days before her hallucinogenic episode, Kaylee told her mother she would enter rehab the following week.
"The day before it happened, which was my birthday, I was getting ready to have her committed, just to get her off the streets and away from it," she said. "But I was too late."
The day of the horrific incident, doctors believe Kaylee used meth that was likely laced with another chemical, which caused her to have hallucinations that the world was "upside down" and hear voices that told her to "sacrifice her eyes" in order to make it to Heaven.
"This is something you never think is going to happen to you, but it did," Tompkins said. "A lot of the mothers I talked to have kids that have been addicted to heroin for 10, 15 years and I'm like, 'How did you get through it?' My daughter was doing it for six months and it literally tore me up."
Now, Kaylee will likely receive prosthetic eyes to preserve her facial structure and keep bacteria out of the cavities. Once she is released from the hospital, Kaylee will move back in with her mother. Tompkins has also set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for a seeing-eye dog, which has surpassed its $8,000 goal.
"Like so many, she fell victim to the dangerous reality of methamphetamine," the GoFundMe page reads. "As we prepare for the long road to getting her situated in her new life we are asking for your help. The journey will no doubt require many things to allow her to live a full life. But If Kaylee's story can help just one person, something good can come of this tragedy in our family. We are truly grateful for all the prayers and help we've received thus far and ask that you give whatever you can and continue to pray for us. The sooner we can provide Kaylee with a service dog, the sooner we can help her get back on her feet. God Bless."
While she adjusts to life without sight, Tompkins said her daughter, now drug-free, is "doing wonderfully," given the circumstances.
"I don't know how I'm getting through it, but she has given me strength. It's weird to say, but she uplifts me right now and she's the one that can't see. That's just the kind of person she is," Tompkins said. "I'm thankful. It's a horrible thing, but I'm still thankful because God spared her life."
According to statistics, meth addiction is one of the fastest-growing drug trends in America. The 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that approximately 1.2 million people (0.4 percent of the population) reported using methamphetamine in the past year, and 440,000 (0.2 percent) reported using it in the past month.
