Disney Channel star Christy Carlson Romano shot in face during husband's birthday outing

Actress Christy Carlson Romano has revealed how she was "shot in the face" while taking her husband out for a birthday treat. Romano, best known for her roles in Disney Channel series Even Stevens and Kim Possible, said she had narrowly avoided a serious eye injury after being hit five times during a clay pigeon shoot.

The 40-year-old said the incident unfolded during a day-trip treat with producer husband Brendan Rooney on Friday. She accused a fellow shooting party of "unsafe firing" which led to her being rushed to hospital.

"Yesterday (Friday) was my husband’s birthday and I took him to shoot clay pigeons as a present,” she said. “There was another party with us and they unsafely fired in the wrong direction and shot me in the face. (Brendan) immediately sprung into action, assessed me, and rushed me to the hospital. I was hit in five places, one was less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye."

The mum of two said it was "too risky" to undergo surgery but she is just "grateful to be alive" following the ordeal.

"Unfortunately a fragment got lodged behind my eye and it is too risky to remove surgically at this time. Doctors will continue to monitor me (I can see normally at the moment),” she went on.

"With everything that happened, all I can think about is how grateful I am to be alive. I love my daughters, husband, family, and friends so much. I saw my life flash before my eyes and I’m telling you, hug the people around you every chance you can. Life can change in an instant."

Carlson Romano is best known for playing Disney Channel's Ren Stevens on Even Stevens and voicing Kim in Kim Possible. She also hosts several podcasts including Vulnerable, where she interviews former child stars, along with I Hear Voices with her former Kim Possible co-star Will Friedle and Even More Stevens with her former Even Stevens co-stars Nick Spano and Steven Anthony Lawrence.

She met her husband in 2011 while she was studying at Barnard College and they became engaged a few months later. After a two year engagement they married in 2013. They have two daughters, eight-year-old Isabella Victoria, and five-year-old Sophia Elizabeth.