Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“My Mummy Has A Hole In Her Face”: Living With Facial Eye Disfigurement, Zali O'Dea, Jane Southcott

The Qualitative Report

People living with facial eye disfigurements (LwFED) are often shunned by a society that makes spontaneous judgements based on appearance. This article is a case study of the lived experience of Toni, a 27-year-old woman LwFED, the result of her treatment for ocular cancer. Semi-structured interviews facilitated the exploration of her experiences. We present the findings chronologically but interwoven with themes such as: being strong for others; responding to her partner’s abuse; dealing with strangers; and reinventing her sense of identity and supporting others. We identified institutional perspectives of work, hospital, and family within the prevailing UK that impacted Toni’s …