A woman who was branded 'Mike Wazowski' by cruel school bullies after losing an eye has now been snapped up by a modelling agency. Katie Elliot, from Glasgow, had her right eye removed age four, when she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma - a rare eye cancer - after her mum spotted her pupil changing shape.
The 20-year-old was regularly reduced to tears as a youngster after comparisons with the one-eyed Monsters, Inc. character. But she says the comments have since made her "stronger" and she says she now feels "beautiful".
Following a year of treatment, Katie was given the all clear aged five but had to adapt to life without the vision in her right eye - and she was still able to pursue her favourite hobby of horse riding.
Despite the change in her depth of perception from losing the vision in her right eye, Katie has competed and won many equestrian competitions - including winning the whole day at the East Kilbride rural show in 2020. She has worn prosthetic eyes for the last 15 years but is now finding the confidence to be seen without one - and has signed to a modelling agency.
Katie, a part-time golf club supervisor, said: "Growing up at school I got called names. They would call me Mike Wazowski because I had one eye. Or people would say 'one eyes looking to the shop and one eyes looking at you'.
"I used to cry in the bathroom. It's made me a stronger person. I honestly didn't think I'd have done the things I have done. I'm more confident now and feel beautiful."
Katie's mum, Gillian Elliott, 43, spotted her pupils were changing shape and that her eye would get "gunky" and decided to take her to the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London. Doctors ran test and discovered Katie, who was just four at the time, had a 1cm grade a tumour in her right eye and diagnosed her with retinoblastoma in May 2007.
They told Katie and her family there was no chance of saving her right eye and she had an operation to remove it that same month.
Katie said: "The tumour was putting a lot of pressure on my eye which caused a lot of pain. They told my family there was no chance of saving the eye."
Following the operation, Katie underwent chemotherapy to treat the cancer cells in her body and will be cancer free for 15 years in May this year. Katie and her mum, Gillian, were worried she wouldn't be able to ride a horse again - something she had been doing for as long as she can remember.
Katie said: "I've done horse riding probably since I was born. They were all worried I wouldn't be able to ride again because my depth of perception had changed. But I've won a lot of horse riding competitions. I used to have a one wall in my bedroom full of medals and rosettes."
Katie's vision loss means she can be "clumsy" but it hasn't stopped her gaining her driving licence or doing the things she wants. She said: "I tend to walk into things a lot on my right side. I'm clumsy sometimes."
It has taken a while for Katie to find her confidence and she used to want to "hide" her face. She said: "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."
But after finding others like her on social media Katie has built her confidence and has even had the courage to post photos of herself without her prosthetic. Katie said: "I was really nervous but I go so much love. I feel a lot more beautiful."
Katie has since signed to modelling agency Zebedee - an agency committed to changing the way disability, visible difference and gender identity - in February 2023.
Her main goal is to help prevent bullying. She said: "What makes you different, makes you unique."
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