The longest-lasting twitchy eye was recorded in Damien Kilbanney, of Soweto, South Africa. It was first detected in an ultrasound 5 months before he was born in April 1994, and continued, even in his sleep, until he underwent a course of Electro – Convulsive Therapy (ECT) in June 2001, meaning his left eye had been twitching continually for at least 7 years and 2 months. His mother, Sally Kilbanney said, “After he came round from the ECT, the first thing he said was, “Why have you all stopped jumping?” I could have cried.” An interesting side-effect of Damien’s condition was that it rendered him completely immune to hypnotism and subliminal advertising. Since being cured, he has been conditioned sing Motorhead’s The Ace of Spades every time he hears the phrase, “Would you like coleslaw with that?” Damien has been put into care.
A close-up shot of Damien Kilbanney's eye, taken by his family physician Earnest Brande in 2002. Brande commented in his article on Kilbanney, published in the medical journal, The International Journal of Anomalous Ocular Conditions and Infections that, "If Hell looked like an eye, this is the eye that it would be." Photo by dotbenjamin.©2009 James Mathurin
