A woman who lost her eye to cancer as a baby wears glittery and “full bling” eyeballs to "own" her differences.<br /><br />Rachel Mayta, 33, was just 18 months old when her doctor spotted a white glow in her eye which led to her retinoblastoma diagnosis – a cancer of the eye.<br /><br />The cancer was so advanced doctors made the choice to remove her eye in a two-hour operation.<br /><br />Rachel grew up knowing no different and started wearing a prosthetic eye at 20 months old.<br /><br />She only struggled with her self-confidence when she hit her 20s – after having a surgery to replace the implant holding her prosthetic in place which made her missing eye look more apparent.<br /><br />Rachel was able to build up her confidence again and decided to look for a fun eye to wear instead of a realistic looking prosthetic.<br /><br />Now she only wears fun eyes and has 20 different types – including a gold one, glittery and sparkly eyeballs, a glow in the dark one and a black one.<br /><br />Rachel, a hair stylist, from Portland, Oregon, US, said: “I got my first fun eye because I wanted to have fun with it.<br /><br />“At first, I was kind of nervous to wear it around.<br /><br />“There were some mean comments about it.<br /><br />“But it made me think – because you guys have been mean, I’m only going to wear a fun prosthetic eye.<br /><br />“They are full bling.<br /><br />“I just get to focus on being me rather than looking normal.<br /><br />“I want others to see they are not alone, and it is something to be proud of.<br /><br />“Own the fact you are different.”<br /><br />After having her eye removed as a baby, Rachel needed no further treatment for her cancer.<br /><br />She said: “I knew no different.<br /><br />“I had just accepted it.<br /><br />“I’m a survivor.<br /><br />“I’m happy to be here. I’m going to celebrate it.”<br /><br />But her confidence took a knock after having a surgery to replace the implant for her prosthetic.<br /><br />She said: “I was gutted.<br /><br />“My eye was so much more noticeable than before.<br /><br />“I felt depressed.<br /><br />Rachel found self-love again after being asked to speak to a young girl who had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma.<br /><br />She said: “I saw this tiny beautiful little girl.<br /><br />“I knew I never wanted her to feel the way I was feeling about myself.<br /><br />“I thought –‘why am I allowing myself to feel that way?’”<br /><br />Rachel set up a Facebook group called ‘One eyed and wonderful’ and began connecting with others who had one eye like her.<br /><br />She decided in 2021 that she wanted to find someone who would make her a gold eye – instead of a regular looking prosthetic.<br /><br />After she got over her nerves of wearing it out, Rachel knew she wanted to carry on wearing fun eyes.<br /><br />She said: “Then realised I like the way a fun eye looks more than a typical eye.<br /><br />“I didn’t have any movement in my eye anyway.”<br /><br />She now has 20 eyes – with three more on the way.<br /><br />Rachel said: “I had a brand new one made for my bachelorette party.<br /><br />“It looks like a turquoise stone.<br /><br />“I had a gold crystal one and one with holographic mirrors.”<br /><br />Rachel said her fiancé, Chris, 44, who owns a moving company, is so used to her fun eyes that he won’t even notice when she gets a new one.
