Woman ‘Broke Eye' After Making Major Crying Mistake When Grieving Dog

Losing a pet is a heartbreak unlike any other, but for Alabama Jackson, that was just the beginning of her ordeal.

Saying goodbye to her 7-year-old rescue dachshund named Goober left Jackson, 28, understandably tearful, but she was certainly not prepared for what came after.

Goober suffered with Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) and as his condition deteriorated, so did his quality of life. Eventually, he became paralyzed and could no longer function independently, so the decision was made to put him to sleep.

Jackson, who is Newsweek's social media associate based in the U.K, found it extremely difficult to reach that decision, describing the "pangs of guilt" she has felt since. As it turned out, saying goodbye to Goober was not just emotionally disconcerting, but physically too.

A couple of days later, Jackson felt as though something was in her eye, but despite her best efforts, wiping it clean had no impact.

"I could feel something and it felt like I just had a bit of dirt in my eye, so I kept trying to blink it away," Jackson told Newsweek. "I looked in the mirror and realized there was definitely something else there. At first, I tried to pull it out, but when I realized it was attached to my eyeball, I was horrified and I freaked out."

It was not dirt at all; it was in fact "a blister" on Jackson's eyeball which continued to grow in the days thereafter. As a result, Jackson saw an ophthalmologist who suggested that she had developed a conjunctival cyst from rubbing her eyes too much.

"When I was crying loads and rubbing my eye, it caused the outer layer of the eyeball to sort of come away and fluid got underneath. It’s disgusting," Jackson continued.

The ophthalmologist used local anaesthetic to numb the left eye and surrounding area before using a needle to pop the blister. By which point, Jackson said it was "so uncomfortable" and she just wanted it resolved.

Every time she blinked or moved her eye, she could feel something stuck in there. While it did not dramatically impact her vision, the blister made her sight slightly blurry.

Once the blister was popped, the ophthalmologist took a deeper look in case there were any others. It turned out that Jackson had three different blisters in her left eye, all of which needed popping.

She said: "It was really weird because I could see him coming at me with a needle, but obviously I couldn’t feel it because it was anaesthetized."

Unfortunately, as the tears continued in the days after the procedure, the eye blister has indeed returned. Jackson believes that it is a result of rubbing her eyes again when they are already so sensitive. She has the option of getting it popped once more, but for now, she is going to wait it out and see if the blister goes away naturally in the coming weeks.

This was certainly unexpected for Jackson, who is not only grieving the loss of her dog, but jests that she somehow “broke [her] eye" after making one key mistake. Fortunately, she is able to see the humorous side to this whole experience.

Nevertheless, she hopes this serves as a stark reminder for people to always be cautious about their eyes, regardless of how distressing times may feel.

Jackson told Newsweek: "If you’re crying, don’t rub your eye loads because you might end up with a really uncomfortable blister on your eyeball. I’ve been told to avoid rubbing my eyes and I have eye drops to keep it lubricated.

“Normally, when you cry, your teardrops will just fall, but because I have a blister in the way, the tears can pool and it leaves me more susceptible to infection. So, it’s a little bit risky now and I’m at higher risk of it happening again."

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This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 12:38 PM.