I was bullied for having one eye as a kid — but now I’m a model
You have no eye-dea what she’s capable of.
A woman who lost her eye at a young age has not let it stop her from achieving her dreams — including becoming a model and a prize-winning equestrian.
Katie Elliot, 20, had been experiencing pain in her right eye since she was 4.
Her mother took her to a doctor when she noticed her daughter’s pupil was changing shape.
Elliot was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in May 2007 after doctors found a 1-centimeter tumor in her eye. The growth was removed a month later, and she was put on chemotherapy.
“The tumor was putting a lot of pressure on my eye which caused a lot of pain,” the Glasgow woman told SWNS. “They told my family there was no chance of saving the eye.”
A year later, Elliot was deemed cancer-free. But for the girl who had been riding horses “since the day I was born,” she said, life with one eye was a difficult adjustment.
“They were all worried I wouldn’t be able to ride again because my depth of perception had changed,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Elliot was also dealing with intense bullying at school that would leave her crying in the bathroom.
“They would call me Mike Wazowski” — of the Walt Disney-Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” — “because I had one eye,” she said. “Or people would say ‘one eye’s looking to the shop and one eye’s looking at you.’ “
Despite the adversities — as well as her “clumsy” nature — Elliot didn’t let her disability stop her from winning horseback riding trophies, earning her driver’s license and trying other new things.
“I tend to walk into things a lot on my right side,” she joked.
Over time, Elliot has learned to embrace her disability and credits the online support communities she found for making herself more comfortable in her own body.
“After the harsh comments I used to have long brown hair and I used to try and cover the right side of my face so no one would notice it as much,” she recalled, looking back on the first time she posted a photo of herself without her prosthetic eye.
The social media star signed with modeling agency Zebedee in February, which is an agency focused on building awareness around disabilities, visible differences and gender identity.
“I was really nervous but I got so much love,” she said of the new venture. “I feel a lot more beautiful.”
Elliot plans to use her platform to advocate against bullying.
“What makes you different, makes you unique,” she declared.
