“I lost my eye to cancer as a baby – now I wear glitter and full bling eyeballs for the haters”
- 10 months ago
A woman who lost her eye to cancer as a baby wears glittery and “full bling” eyeballs to "own" her differences.
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.
The cancer was so advanced doctors made the choice to remove her eye in a two-hour operation.
Rachel grew up knowing no different and started wearing a prosthetic eye at 20 months old.
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.
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.
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.
Rachel, a hair stylist, from Portland, Oregon, US, said: “I got my first fun eye because I wanted to have fun with it.
“At first, I was kind of nervous to wear it around.
“There were some mean comments about it.
“But it made me think – because you guys have been mean, I’m only going to wear a fun prosthetic eye.
“They are full bling.
“I just get to focus on being me rather than looking normal.
“I want others to see they are not alone, and it is something to be proud of.
“Own the fact you are different.”
After having her eye removed as a baby, Rachel needed no further treatment for her cancer.
She said: “I knew no different.
“I had just accepted it.
“I’m a survivor.
“I’m happy to be here. I’m going to celebrate it.”
But her confidence took a knock after having a surgery to replace the implant for her prosthetic.
She said: “I was gutted.
“My eye was so much more noticeable than before.
“I felt depressed.
Rachel found self-love again after being asked to speak to a young girl who had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
She said: “I saw this tiny beautiful little girl.
“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?’”
Rachel set up a Facebook group called ‘One eyed and wonderful’ and began connecting with others who had one eye like her.
She decided in 2021 that she wanted to find someone who would make her a gold eye – instead of a regular looking prosthetic.
After she got over her nerves of wearing it out, Rachel knew she wanted to carry on wearing fun eyes.
She said: “Then realised I like the way a fun eye looks more than a typical eye.
“I didn’t have any movement in my eye anyway.”
She now has 20 eyes – with three more on the way.
Rachel said: “I had a brand new one made for my bachelorette party.
“It looks like a turquoise stone.
“I had a gold crystal one and one with holographic mirrors.”
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.
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.
The cancer was so advanced doctors made the choice to remove her eye in a two-hour operation.
Rachel grew up knowing no different and started wearing a prosthetic eye at 20 months old.
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.
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.
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.
Rachel, a hair stylist, from Portland, Oregon, US, said: “I got my first fun eye because I wanted to have fun with it.
“At first, I was kind of nervous to wear it around.
“There were some mean comments about it.
“But it made me think – because you guys have been mean, I’m only going to wear a fun prosthetic eye.
“They are full bling.
“I just get to focus on being me rather than looking normal.
“I want others to see they are not alone, and it is something to be proud of.
“Own the fact you are different.”
After having her eye removed as a baby, Rachel needed no further treatment for her cancer.
She said: “I knew no different.
“I had just accepted it.
“I’m a survivor.
“I’m happy to be here. I’m going to celebrate it.”
But her confidence took a knock after having a surgery to replace the implant for her prosthetic.
She said: “I was gutted.
“My eye was so much more noticeable than before.
“I felt depressed.
Rachel found self-love again after being asked to speak to a young girl who had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma.
She said: “I saw this tiny beautiful little girl.
“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?’”
Rachel set up a Facebook group called ‘One eyed and wonderful’ and began connecting with others who had one eye like her.
She decided in 2021 that she wanted to find someone who would make her a gold eye – instead of a regular looking prosthetic.
After she got over her nerves of wearing it out, Rachel knew she wanted to carry on wearing fun eyes.
She said: “Then realised I like the way a fun eye looks more than a typical eye.
“I didn’t have any movement in my eye anyway.”
She now has 20 eyes – with three more on the way.
Rachel said: “I had a brand new one made for my bachelorette party.
“It looks like a turquoise stone.
“I had a gold crystal one and one with holographic mirrors.”
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.