A woman who had her eyeball removed as a result of a rare genetic condition has become a TikTok star after sharing hilarious skits that shine a light on her life.
Sarah Harris, 36, was diagnosed with a genetic disorder known as neurofibromatosis - which causes tumours to form on the nerve tissue - from birth, as well as having infantile optic glaucoma, which is a rare birth defect that prevents fluid from draining and causes pressure behind the eyes.
When she was five, Sarah visited a specialist who discovered her condition had completely eroded her eye socket and that her brain was pressing up against the eye.
Then, at 16, she made the life-changing decision to have her eye removed after years of constant pain.
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She said: “It wasn’t really a hard decision to make, as I was in constant pain and I was getting [regular] infections - if I left it, it would have gotten worse.
"I was slightly concerned, as the operation hadn’t been done before to this extent, as they needed to fix the issues related to me not having an eye socket. If I had left it, though, the tumour could have spread into my brain and caused a lot more damage, as well as me going completely blind.
“I had to wear a pressure bandage in my newly formed eye socket to keep it set in place, then I had another surgery to implant four abutments into my eye. This was dangerous, as they had to drill into the remaining bone structure which kept cracking as it was so thin.
“After six months, I had my prosthetic eye made which helped me to fit [into society] as I wasn’t being stared at as much. It gave me the confidence to apply for my first job."
Since being diagnosed, the retail manager, from Manchester, has undergone 30 surgeries and also suffers from a phobia of food as a result of needing to starve herself before each operation.
And Sarah said her conditions lead to her being "called a lot of names" at school - although she's now learned to "ignore" the comments and feels comfortable in her own skin.
She added: “I was called a lot of names almost every day, such as ‘pop eye’ or ‘one-eyed jack’ which made me feel upset and annoyed. I had one good friend in primary school, however, who I’m still good friends with to this day.
“I learned to ignore [the comments] as I grew up and eventually started to laugh with them or say ‘thanks for noticing’ which they didn’t like very much. It made me realise that some people don’t think before they speak - but I feel like it made me a stronger person in the long run.”
Now that Sarah has a prosthetic eye, she's begun raising awareness for her condition by uploading hilarious skits to TikTok in which she makes jokes and plays pranks on her friends using the prosthetic.
In one clip which has over 15 million views, Sarah whistles to her “eye” which continues to run away from her in a Charlie Chaplin-esque manner.
And the woman said she's been "having fun" with her stint on TikTok, which has been helping to take her mind off of the continued struggles she faces with her health.
She said: “I was surprised as I didn’t think I would get this much response. A lot of people became interested and started asking me questions about me, my eye, how I lost it, and so on.
“I do [TikTok] now to raise awareness, while still having fun doing it.
“I’ve currently got [a tumour] growing in my neck and cheek which is inoperable due to the complexity of how it’s wrapped around my facial nerves and blood vessels.
“I’m worried about getting osteoporosis [in the future] as I’m an active person and it’s one of the many things that make me happy. However, I soon realised that I’ve got to put my health first and I’m grateful for my parents who push me to do things on my own.
“Neurofibromatosis can affect people in so many different ways and while there is currently no known cure, I hope to play a role in finding this with my platform.”
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