Rachel Mayta was just 18 months old when her doctor spotted a white glow in her eye which led to her retinoblastoma diagnosis, or cancer of the eye.
The cancer was so advanced doctors made the choice to remove her eye in a two-hour operation, but far from donning an eyepatch and feeling sorry for herself, she filled a prosthetic eye with glitter to create an unforgettable persona, and now helps others “own” their difference.
Rachel grew up without any concern for the missing eye, but after surgery in her 20s made the prosthetic eye more apparent, she began to lose her confidence a little. As an eventual remedy, she began to look for fun or creative prosthetics, rather like a quirky piece of jewelry, to transform her disability into a bit of “bling.”
“They are full bling,” said Rachel from Portland, Oregon of her more than 20 fake eyes. “I just get to focus on being me rather than looking normal.”
One day, Rachel, who hadn’t thought to wear glittery or glow-in-the-dark eyeballs, met a little girl who also had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
“I knew I never wanted her to feel the way I was feeling about myself; I thought—‘why am I allowing myself to feel that way?’” she said.
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That’s when she got the idea to find someone who would make her a gold eye—instead of a regular-looking prosthetic, since there was no movement in her eye anyway and it was always quickly noticed to be a fake.
“I had a gold crystal one and one with holographic mirrors,” she said. “I had a brand new one made for my bachelorette party that looks like a turquoise stone.”
Rachel set up a Facebook group called ‘One-eyed and Wonderful’ and began connecting with others who had one eye like her, as well as hosting fundraisers to buy fun fake eyes for people who want them.
She also helps raise awareness for retinoblastoma in children and helps educate people on the early signs of the disease.
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She set up the fun eye fund with her ocularist Christina King and between them have helped fund 43 eyes.
“For every $500 raised we get one prosthetic made,” she says. “I want others to see they are not alone, and it is something to be proud of. Own the fact you are different.”
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