In what many are speculating to be a third attempt on President Donald Trump’s life, one woman is speaking out about the chemical burn she experienced during the recent Trump rally in Tucson.
Martha Llamas spoke with The Arizona Daily Independent about her experience. Llamas is an entrepreneur based out of Casa Grande. She is still healing from the injuries she received.
Llamas was seated onstage behind Trump with about 20 people as part of Latinos For Trump for several hours. When Trump came onstage, he entered from a point on the stage next to their group. Llamas and the others within their group got to shake his hand. It wasn’t until after the rally concluded and members of their group attended dinner that Llamas began feeling an irritation in her eyes.
“All of a sudden I felt something poking my eye. Then the other,” said Llamas.
Llamas attempted to make the drive home from Tucson to Casa Grande. She said she eventually could only see out of one eye, and the headlights from other cars hurt to see. Llamas barely made the drive home, at which point she sought her husband’s help.
“Both of my eyes were in so much pain,” said Llamas. “I went to my husband and I said, ‘help me.’”
Unlike others within the group who began experiencing similar burning and blindness of the eyes, Llamas didn’t go to the emergency room. She waited until the next day to seek a diagnosis from an eye doctor.
Those who went to the emergency room were told they were believed to have sustained their injuries from some kind of chemical exposure. However, what exactly caused their injuries remains a mystery.
Llamas said the pain and discomfort prevented her from sleeping at all that night. The next day, an eye doctor diagnosed Llamas with chemical burns on both eyes: conjunctival hyperemia due to chemical abrasion. As to what caused those burns, the doctor couldn’t say.
The diagnosis shocked Llamas, she said. She and her husband initially thought it was an infection of some sort, just as some of the other injured rally attendees mistakenly believed their pain to be due to allergies.
Although Llamas was in pain, she says her first thought was of worry for the president’s safety.
“My main concern was, I shook the president’s hand,” said Llamas.
The Trump campaign has reported no injuries to the president.
A week later, Llamas is finding that she has less pain and can tolerate some light. However, she cannot open her eyes very well.
Llamas also experienced a sunburn-like injury to her upper chest, which had been exposed at the rally. The skin there is now peeling and spotted, but the pain is reduced. That is not something for which Llamas has sought treatment, but Llamas assured our reporter that her skin hasn’t caused further issues.
At least one medical professional who evaluated another injured attendee, Mayra Rodriguez, dismissed the online rumor that the venue lighting caused the injuries, as reported by News 12.
The rally attendee injuries occurred several days before the arrest of Ryan Wesley Routh in connection with a suspected assassination attempt against Trump at his West Palm Beach, Florida golf course last Sunday.
