It was a freak accident turned miracle for a Sydney family travelling to Melbourne.
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The Barkers, still reeling from the death of a relative, were thrust into full-blown emergency while lunching at a cafe in Jugiong last week.
One-year-old Thomas Barker suffered excruciating pain as the table number, which was made of iron, became lodged into his eye socket.
“I looked over in horror,” his father Chris said.
“I leapt over and pulled the table number from his eye.
“When the paramedics arrived they said ‘we need to get him to a major hospital right now’.”
Thomas was rushed to the base hospital in Wagga and did not come out of emergency surgery until late at night.
Mr Barker said the work of paramedics and hospital staff saved his son’s eyesight and was effusive in his praise for their professionalism.
“Public hospitals sometimes get a bit of a bad wrap in the media, but these guys were phenomenal,” he said.
“With the surgeon himself, with the highest respect to Wagga, we were pleasantly surprised to see someone so highly respected in the industry.”
The Barkers were accommodated at Ronald McDonald House during the course of their stay in Wagga.
Mr Barker hailed it as a “miracle” his son’s eyesight was able to be saved.
He described the injuries as “quite severe”, as the iron table number had badly severed his tear duct and resulted in lacerations around his eye.
He said the table number was mere millimetres from the central part of his eye.
“That’s the miracle,” he said.
“It was probably less than a millimetre.”
Thomas is still recovering from the incident that nearly claimed his eyesight.
But Mr Barker said indications were looking good for a full recovery.
“It came out as good as can be expected,” he said.
"It's been a pretty rough week but we're glad it turned out as it did. I really cannot stress enough how phenomenal the paramedics and hospital staff were.”
Mr Barker said other people he met along the way in Wagga spoke to the good reputation of his son’s surgeon.
The surgeon who operated on Thomas declined to be interviewed, but a spokeswoman for Murrumbidgee Local Health District said the doctor considered the ordeal as all in a day's work.
"I think that's an indication of a pretty good guy," she said.