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Duct Tape Challenge: 14-Year-Old Almost Dies Playing ‘Harmless’ Game

By Effie Orfanides
Published on: 07:39 PST, Jan 26, 2016

The Duct Tape Challenge nearly cost a boy his life. According to the New York Daily News, 14-year-old Skylar Fish was participating in the Duct Tape Challenge with some of his friends when he seriously injured himself. The Washington teen had played the “harmless” game with his friends a few times, but likely won’t be playing any more. He received 48 staples in his head, and is lucky to be alive today.

Kids nowadays are participating in this so-called Duct Tape Challenge, in which a person gets wrapped up in duct tape and must try to free themselves. Often times, people are tied to something like a pole — which Fish has done in the past. This time, however, his friends taped him up while he was freestanding — and he fell while trying to break free.

“He fell while attempting to break out of it — and hit his head on a window frame, then smashed onto concrete, crushing his left eye socket and causing a brain aneurysm, his mother said.”

The Duct Tape Challenge accident may have been preventable, but it’s hard to keep one’s balance when limbs are taped down. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Skylar Fish had been recovering from his Duct Tape Challenge accident at the Harborview Medical Center for just about a week before he was moved to the Seattle Children’s Hospital.

The brain aneurysm that Fish suffered could have cost him his life.

Fish’s mother, Sarah, said that there’s a chance her son will never regain his vision from the accident.

“When he fell, he hit the corner of the window frame. It crushed his whole eye socket and pinched off nerves in his eye. It was really scary, just seeing my son like this. I want people to stop and think that there are so many risks to any of these challenges. They’re dangerous.”

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Fish family with medical bills and other expenses incurred during Fish’s recovery. Taking a cue from the Duct Tape Challenge, Sarah Fish named the campaign, “Skylar’s Recovery Challenge Fund.” So far, nearly $500 of the $5,000 goal has been donated.

“So many friends and family ask how they can help, I honestly really only want everyone to pray for my boy and educate as many people as possible about the risks of these ‘challenges.’ If you would like to donate to Sky’s fund, it will help with any costs from this point we may need help with during his time of recovery!! Thank you so much in advance for all the prayers, thoughts, kind words and followers with their loving support!!!”

The Duct Tape Challenge may seem harmless, but it can obviously be dangerous, as Fish learned. Although he doesn’t remember much from the incident, Skylar Fish wants other kids to be mindful of the potential dangers that come along with playing with duct tape in such a manner.

“Teach other kids not to do it. When I think about it, like, I become sad, and then really happy. I’m happy because I survived it. I almost died,” he said, according to the New York Daily News.

The Duct Tape Challenge is just the latest thing to sweep the country. If you remember back a few months ago, people had been participating in the Cinnamon Challenge (where people would attempt to eat a teaspoon of cinnamon, which is also quite dangerous). Of course, the Duct Tape Challenge won’t be the last strange and dangerous “game” of its kind, either.

What ever happened to riding bikes until the street lights came on?

[Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]

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