Bonita lost an eye in a car accident

Bonita lost her eye in a car accident. “I had my daughter’s eye replicated as an ocular prosthesis. To me, my daughters have the most beautiful eyes in the world. My other daughter has eyes that are almost the same color as mine. So now I always have a little piece of both of them with me.”

Fred had two eye strokes

Fred had two retinal infarcts. “What I find most frustrating about my eye stroke is that I can no longer do fine, detailed work as well as I used to, and I can no longer drive at night. I would recommend that people who are going through the same thing contact Bartiméus, because they can really help you with these kinds of problems.”

After suffering from long-term eye problems, Gerwin received an ocular prosthesis

Gerwin has had vision problems since birth. “I’ve always said: an eye that doesn’t work shouldn’t be a burden to me. Getting the ocular prosthesis has been an improvement for me. After the surgery, I wanted to see it right away. It was a very beautiful blue eye staring back at me. My biggest fear was: what if I end up looking into a big hole? But that wasn’t the case at all.”

Henny had her eye removed after being diagnosed with an ocular melanoma

Henny’s eye was removed after she was diagnosed with ocular melanoma. “When I have trouble with my other eye, I sometimes get worried. After all, I only have one eye left to see with. Since my ocular melanoma, I do find myself wondering regularly: what does the future hold? How will things go? Every six months, I have a chest X-ray and a liver ultrasound. It’s nerve-wracking every time. But when everything comes back normal, I just carry on with my life for another six months.”

Marga lost her eye due to a parasite

Marga contracted the Acanthamoeba parasite in her eye and subsequently had to undergo an eye removal. “I’m so happy with my prosthetic eye. And I’m absolutely thrilled when people say, ‘You can’t tell at all.’ The gratitude for no longer being in pain, for being healthy, and for simply being able to do everything again—that’s what matters most. Life with one eye is perfectly manageable.”

As a baby, Milan was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in both eyes

As a baby, Milan was diagnosed with retinoblastoma—eye cancer affecting the retina—in both eyes. His father, Jan, asked him, “Does it bother you to have an artificial eye?” Jan: “Milan sees his prosthetic eye as tangible proof that he survived the cancer. It’s precisely when people see it that he can tell his story.”

Minke was born with a small, non-functioning eye

Minke was born with microphthalmia, a small, non-functioning eye. “What I want to say to other kids with an eye prosthesis is: Just be yourself. Do the things you enjoy, and don’t let anyone ruin that for you. If others make mean comments, don’t let it get to you. Those people just want attention for themselves.”

Afke suffered a detached retina

Afke talks about having her eye removed after a retinal detachment. “I do feel a little ambivalent sometimes. With a prosthesis, no one can tell there’s anything wrong. It’s just a cosmetic prosthesis. Sometimes that makes me a little grumpy. People are actually allowed to see that I’m missing an eye. That’s why I sometimes choose not to wear the prosthesis.”