His mother's shiny ball reflecting inside his eye is what saved his life. With every bounce of the ornament-like, majestic orb was a white shine and a quick glance inside his bright retina. Deep in his right eye, behind the cornea, through the pupil and lens, and snuggled within the jellied vitreous humor was a white ball of something that no parent wants inside their child's body. A tumor had grown and it was literally seen from outside in, behind this one year old's bright hazel eyes.
In 1992, Dylan was rushed from doctor to pediatric doctor around Austin to find the cause of the white reflection in his eye. Alas, MD Anderson Center in Houston found the culprit: retinoblastoma, a rare cancer found predominantly in children under the age of five.
With the help of cancer professionals at MD Anderson and the embracing support from Houston's Ronald McDonald House, Dylan was in good hands during his rough childhood term in the cancer battlefield.
Twenty years later, Dylan pulls out his custom-made artificial glass eye at any random moment: because he can. His eye collection, a small box of fragile artificial eyes from childhood to adulthood, vary in shape, size, and color according to his current state of growth and change. They are a symbol of survival, and they've been a piece of his now cancer-free body for as long as he remembers. At one point, his mother carried them around in a pouch inside her purse as good luck until one day when she lost her purse. Luckily the purse was immediately returned that week. The reason? They couldn't understand why anybody would have a purse full of eyes! The bag must have been lucky after all.
Dylan hasn't a hint of hesitation when popping his eye out and tossing it into his new acquaintances' hands just to get a surprising jolt as they catch the glass shell, still warm from his body temperature. Growing up, he used it against his parents as a tactful threat to get his way. "If you don't let me play Lincoln Logs, I'll throw my eye away," he'd say. Well, that may have only worked once or twice before they took his Lincoln Logs and his eye away. At seventeen, Dylan even managed to escape serious DUI and underage drinking charges when a police officer pulled him over and asked, "Sir, why are your eyes red?" In which he promptly replied, "Officer, that's my fake eye. It always looks like that." The police officer apologized and headed back to his car shortly after.
Has Dylan always felt this secure with his missing eye? Of course not. Minor brief moments of uncertainty, curiosity, and timid apprehension came to light throughout childhood. Some moments, he'd spend hours in front of the mirror twisting, turning, and feeling the glass shell that looks like an exact replica of his right eye yet holds no visual function. Carefully crafted veins, contours, and pupil, an ocularist uses his creativity to professionally mix paints and silk threads to add a finishing touch. Placing his artificial eye into his socket is showing the world a beautiful piece of detachable body art. This glass eye, currently hidden under a black pirate patch for fashion fun, is amongst the many things that attracts people to him. If you take a closer look, you can actually stare through the glass and right into his positive soul.
In 2011 he decided to show the world, or those in his Facebook world, that he does, in fact, have an artificial eye. Cancer awareness is key, but taking comfort in talking to a cancer survivor with a fake eye was his intention. Taking pictures of his eye in hidden locations for his friends to find, a game of "Where's My Eye," sparked a whole new level of awareness and brought a wave of comments filled with curiosity. His comfort in raising this awareness derives from his loved ones, who's been there with him and for him. The constant affection and care from his family and friends reinforces his ability to overcome what some may label a disability. He tweaks this 'disability' by molding it into his life and personality, and shares it with the ones closest to him.
Dylan plans to update his "Where's My Eye" photo album. What new places will his friends find his eye next? But beware, dear readers. If you upset this young man, you just might have a glass eyeball thrown at you!
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