Mark Sanford: Wear These Goggles Next Time, And Don't Try And Cover It Up

S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford injures eyes, misses campaign event
JIM DAVENPORT- Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford injured both of his eyes while under stage lights for about an hour, his wife said Monday as he missed a campaign event. The Republican seeking re-election was injured while under the lights at a groundbreaking ceremony Sunday afternoon, his wife Jenny Sanford said. He was resting, taking eye drop medication and received temporary contact lenses to help with discomfort, she said. He hoped to rejoin his campaign later in the day. "I'm assuming that if he rests them, rests this morning, he'll have a full recovery," the first lady said Monday. Sanford began having problems with his eyes after a groundbreaking ceremony for City of Light, the new headquarters and production facilities for Inspiration Networks, led by televangelist David Cerullo. The event was held in Fort Mill, about 15 miles south of Charlotte, N.C.
After the event, the governor complained about feeling sunburned and his eyes hurt, his wife said. He went to the doctor Monday morning and returned to the Gov.'s Mansion, telling his wife he had burned his corneas.
"I can attest that he was in great pain last night," the first lady said. "He's feeling better now ... a couple of more hours of keeping his eyes closed might help." Dr. Steve Masone, president-elect of the South Carolina Optometric Association, explained that an "intensely bright light source can dry out the surface of the eye."
It's "equivalent of a sunburn on the surface of your eyes," Masone said. That surface tissue, the cornea, regenerates more quickly than the retina, although a severe cornea burn could cause permanent damage, he said. Richard Davis, chairman of University of South Carolina School of Medicine's ophthalmology department, said it was unusual the lights alone would cause the injury. "Stage lighting doesn't typically cause corneal injury," Davis said.Davis said Sanford could have an "underlying dry-eye condition" that might have worsened by the stage lights. Typically, ultraviolet light, like the sun, causes corneal injuries, Davis said.
John Roos, the senior vice president for communications and research for Inspiration Networks said studio lighting was used for the live broadcast.
"There's nothing out of the ordinary," Roos said. "There was no special anything, just normal television lights."
About 300 people attended the broadcast, which featured music and speeches by televangelists Pat Robertson and Rex Humbard. Humbard wore sunglasses during the roughly two-hour show.
Sanford missed his first campaign event at a Columbia airport Monday. He was scheduled to speak and begin flying around the state in a last-minute campaign effort before Tuesday's election. Sanford faces Democrat Tommy Moore, an Aiken County senator, in the election. The City of Light event was an economic development investment for the state, worth about $100 million and 260 jobs, Sanford said Sunday.
Inspiration has four channels with programs in English and Spanish and employs 320 people spread out in nine buildings in the Charlotte area. The new campus will bring workers into one location.