Hiker Loses Eyesight After Branch Pierces Into Eyes In A Freak Accident During Hiking

A Texas man lost his eye after a tree branch pierced through it while he slipped and fell during a hiking trip in Canada.

Edward Steinkamp, an aeronautical engineer from Allen in Texas, met with the freak accident while hiking with his son Bret, on the West Coast Trail in British Colombia’s Pacific Rim National Park on May 3, NY Post reported.

"What started as a beautiful experience with stunning views turned suddenly tragic" when the 67-year-old Steinkamp fell onto the tree branch while he was walking on the log to avoid wading through deep mud, Bret said.

The tree branch pierced through Steinkamp's left eye and rammed into his brain, and it then had to be surgically removed after he was airlifted to a hospital.

"He ended up with a stick puncturing his brain through his eye and needed to be airlifted by Pacheedahl First National Guardians to Victoria General Hospital," Susan Lowe, Steinkamp's friend who organized a GoFundMe page for him said.

After the tragic fall, Steinkamp lost vision in one eye and had to undergo a second surgical procedure to drain the infection.

"Ed is now fighting infection and is in much pain. It has been determined he has lost sight in one eye and is fighting an ongoing fever," Lowe said, as reported by Toronto Sun.

Meanwhile, Lowes said she hopes to raise money to support Steinkamp's family as they have already incurred "enormous costs" for his treatment, including brain surgery, CT scans, and airlift rescue.

"This fundraiser is so that Ed can concentrate on getting well and not worry about how he will take care of his family or pay for these bills," Lowes said. "Ed has touched so many of our lives with kindness and laughter. He has never turned down any one of us whenever we have asked for help or in our time of need," the page added.

Last month, a hiker from California who went missing after he went for a hike at the San Gorgonio Peak was found dead at the bottom of an 80-foot waterfall in the San Bernardino National Forest.