A woman who was nicknamed 'Mike Wazowski' at school after losing her eye to a rare cancer now says she feels "beautiful" - and has signed to a modelling agency.
Katie Elliot, 20, had her right eye removed at the age of four when she was diagnosed with retinoblastoma after her mum spotted her pupil changing shape.
She was given the all clear a year later following treatment but had to adapt to life without vision in her right eye.
Katie suffered bullying growing up with kids calling her 'Mike Wazowski' - a character in the film Monsters, Inc. with one eye - which led her to cry in the bathroom alone.
But she says the comments have since made her "stronger" and didn't stop her from pursuing her horse riding hobby.
Despite the change in her depth of perception from losing the vision in her right eye, Katie has competed and won many horse riding competitions - including at the East Kilbride rural show in 2020.
The part-time golf club supervisor has worn a prosthetic eye for the last 15 years but is now finding the confidence to be seen without one.
Katie, who lives in Glasgow, Scotland, 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 eye's looking to the shop and one eye's looking at you'.
"I used to cry in the bathroom - but 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" so decided to take her to the Royal London Hospital.
Doctors ran tests and discovered Katie, who was just four at the time, had a 1cm 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 were worried she wouldn't be able to ride a horse again – something she had been doing for as long as she can remember.
"I've done horse riding probably since I was born," she explained.
"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 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 from 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 explained: "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 got so much love.
"I feel a lot more beautiful."
In February this year, Katie signed to modelling agency Zebedee, which is committed to changing the way disability, visible difference and gender identity.
Her main goal is to help prevent bullying, and she added: "What makes you different, makes you unique."
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