How This Woman Lost Her Eye To A Speck Of Glitter

If you're a fan of the kinds of reality shows that chronicle the craziest things people come in to the emergency room with, you'll be pretty intrigued by this story. A woman lost her eye to a speck of glitter and has chronicled her experience on the web. Yes, you read that right. A Florida woman by the name of Erica Diaz — a mother of two, a wife, a business owner, a writer, and a musician — was cleaning up an art project she was working on with her daughter when a piece of glitter lodged itself in her cornea.

The minor injury quickly spiraled out of control when an infection spread through the entire eye. The pressure built up so quickly and so intensely that an imminent surgery was necessary. While doctors had hoped to remove only a part of the eye and offer a corneal transplant, complications occurred and Diaz lost the whole eye. But that's not all. The infections that continued after the surgery attempts made doctors fear she might die of sepsis. What started out as an annoying freak injury turned grave very quickly. Diaz never realized she might come to fear for her life in this process that stemmed from a Valentine's Day card-making project with her kid.

Now, over a year later she's still having complications with the prosthetic implant that she's been trying to get used to. It doesn't fit right and causes her lots of discomfort, making her worry there will be many more steps of recovery ahead. Additionally, she's had lots of issues with insurance which makes the situation even more sour. But, she's made the most of her situation and has as light of an attitude about it as she can, though on her social media posts she's keen to remind people that she hates glitter.

And in a strange twist of events, she's found a much sought-after confidence in this new phase of her life. Before the incident, she had given up completely on her music career. She had trouble finding her confidence on stage, insecure about her height, her build, her stage presence and abilities. Now, with one of the most compelling physical struggles she's had in her life, she's found a way to get over her performing complex and return to the stage.

Diaz has been posting about her journey on Imgur (warning: some of the links out to other images in the post are graphic). She is also keeping people up to date on her GoFundMe page.

Image: Dominique Chapman/Stocksy