Article published December 20, 2001
Surgeon wields scalpel on man's glued eyelids
Alleged prankster faces felony count
By JASON WILLIAMS
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A scalpel was used this week to reopen the left eyelids of a 20-year-old University of Toledo student after another student used Super Glue to seal them shut.
Aaron Laser, of 100 South Huron St., had surgery Monday to open his eye after the Dec. 9 incident at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house.
Mr. Laser, a junior majoring in political science, said yesterday a doctor removed most of his eyelashes, but no stitches were needed after the procedure, performed at an outpatient surgical center.
His vision is fine, but he must apply a gel to the eye for treatment for a week.
"It looks pretty gross," he said.
The alleged prankster, John Muckridge III, 19, a fraternity member from McDonald, Ohio, who lives in the fraternity house, was charged with felonious assault and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 5 in Toledo Municipal Court.
He could not be reached for comment.
UT police said the incident was not a fraternity hazing prank, but definitely different.
"We don't run into this on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis," UT police Chief John Dauer said yesterday. "It's unusual and not very intelligent."
Police gave this account:
Mr. Laser was at the fraternity house visiting friends when he fell asleep on a sofa because he was tired from working at a local car wash.
While asleep, someone wrote on his face with a marker and glued a receipt from the Student Union bookstore to his head.
One of the friends tried to remove the receipt, but couldn't.
Mr. Laser could not open his left eye. About 8 a.m., Mr. Laser left the house, but realized he couldn't drive because of the vision problems.
"I had no idea what I was going to do," Mr. Laser said. "I was going to drive to the hospital."
He flagged down a UT officer, who took him to Toledo Hospital.
Emergency room doctors were able to cut the receipt from his hair, but they did not part the upper and lower left eye lids. The doctors were concerned about the chemicals in his eyes and referred him to a doctor the next day.
While he was waiting for surgery, Mr. Laser missed his fall semester final examinations and work.
"I couldn't drive a vehicle or anything. I was stuck at home."
UT officials and his teachers are working with him to accommodate his situation so he can make up his examinations.
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