I had a false glittery eye fitted after a rare condition took my sight

Marie-Claire Dorking
·Contributor
Updated ·4-min read

Warning graphic images.

A mum has shared how her glittery prosthetic eye makes her feel "empowered" after a rare condition led to her having her right eye removed.

Holly Swindells, 34, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, initially started noticing her right eye was looking red and feeling painful in December 2021. She was initially prescribed steroid eye drops by an optician but her eye remained red and sore. And then her joints started to hurt too.

By February 2022, Holly says her eye had become "unbearably painful" and her joint pains had escalated to the point that she was bedbound, which had a knock on impact on her life as a busy mum to children Violet, now seven and Franklin, now three. "I felt like my body was shutting down from the pain," she says. "I couldn't do school runs for my daughter and I couldn't even lift up my baby son. I tried everything - cold compresses, painkillers, rest, prescription medication, but nothing helped."

Holly Swindells now wears a glittery prosthetic after losing here eye to a rare condition. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)
Holly Swindells now wears a glittery prosthetic after losing here eye to a rare condition. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)

She took countless trips to the GP and A&E but nobody could pinpoint the issue. Eventually, when she started coughing up blood and experiencing regular nosebleeds, Holly got an appointment at a specialist eye hospital in March 2022.

There, blood tests revealed she was living with granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) - a rare type of vasculitis, which is causes inflammation of blood vessels, mainly in the ears, nose, sinuses, kidneys and lungs, and in Holly's case, her eyes too. "I had no idea what GPA vasculitis was, but I was relieved that I finally knew what was wrong," Holly says.

A further chest scan revealed the coughing up blood and nose bleeds were due to haemorrhages in her lungs because inflammation had prevented oxygen getting in, causing the vessels burst.

Following her diagnosis Holly spent over two weeks at Salford Royal Hospital where she had plasma exchanges through an artery in her neck, as well as steroids and chemotherapy to weaken her body's autoimmune responses.

Holly's eye started feeling red and sort in December 2021. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)
Holly's eye started feeling red and sort in December 2021. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)

While she has ongoing treatment, Holly is not in remission yet. Her particular form of GPA vasculitis is also resistant to medication meaning she still suffers with symptoms. "I struggle to walk because of my joints and my chest," she explains. "I've had reoccurrences of my lung haemorrhages too. And because of the chemotherapy, I get lots of infections because my immune system is weak. And it's hard to avoid them with two young kids."

By July 2023, Holly had also gone completely blind in her right eye and doctors concluded removing it was the best option. "By this point, I was in that much pain with it that I would have clawed it out with a spoon if I could. After it was removed, they biopsied it and found the eye was full of inflammatory tumours that had grown and grown. They told me my eye had been about two weeks away from popping in my head."

Holly pictured in hospital with her children, Violet, now seven, and Franklin, now three. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)
Holly pictured in hospital with her children, Violet, now seven, and Franklin, now three. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)

To replace the eye she lost Holly had a custom prosthetic fitted and she opted for a glittery eye to stand out in the crowd. A year on, the mum-of-two says she loves drawing attention to her eye because it starts conversations about her condition. "I'd rather people see and know it's fake rather than looking at me and wondering what's wrong," she explains. "You'd think you wouldn't want anyone to know until you actually lose an eye, but to me it feels more normal having a colourful one."

Holly had to have her right eye removed. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)
Holly had to have her right eye removed. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)

Despite her ongoing health struggles, Holly stays positive by channelling her focus into raising awareness. "I want people to know about the effects GPA vasculitis can have," she says. "I've had haemorrhages, sepsis and cellulitis over the years. I also want people to be aware of the symptoms - joint pain, weight loss, feeling weak - so they can go to the doctors straight away if they have any concerns.

"I lost my eye but I've come to accept it," she adds. "My daughter loves telling everyone about her mummy's glitter eye."

Holly pictured with her partner Nick Holt and her children. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)
Holly pictured with her partner Nick Holt and her children. (Holly Swindells/SWNS)

Read more real lives about sight:

Parents thought baby had lazy eye but it turned out to be rare cancer (Wales Online, 4-min read)

Kate Winslet helps girl with rare eye condition tick off her 'visual bucket list' (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)

The tell-tale signs your child needs glasses that more than a third of parents miss (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

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