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Vogue model, 24, left permanently blind in one eye after pal ‘whacked her in the face with a Dior bag on a night out’
Genevieve suffered from a detached retina - find out signs of the condition below
A MODEL has been left permanently blind in one eye after her friend "accidentally hit her in the face with her Dior bag strap" as she flung it over her shoulder on a night out.
Genevieve Brewster says her friend swung her arm back to slip the saddle bag onto her shoulder and inadvertently hit her with the metal strap, causing a small tear in her left eye.
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Once doctors cleaned up the wound after the incident in May 2021 the 24-year-old started seeing "flashes of lights" and "floaters".
But Genevieve, who has featured in Vogue magazine, shrugged off the issues she experienced over the next few months as being caused by working in a nightclub or being stressed.
It wasn't until she couldn't see anything at all in December 2021 that she finally went to hospital and was shocked to be told she had detached three-quarters of her retina.
The hospitality worker has undergone nine surgeries in a desperate bid to fix the issue, which left her looking like she'd been beaten up and "ashamed" to look in the mirror.
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Despite some improvement in her sight in October 2023, Genevieve was "heartbroken" to learn that her retina had completely detached in September 2024, which left her blind.
Retinal detachment is where the retina, the thin layer at the back of the eye, becomes loose and it must be treated quickly to stop it permanently affecting your sight.
A TikTok clip Genevieve shared about her ordeal has gone viral, racking up more than 144,000 views.
In the clip you can see the executive assistant looking sadly at the camera before revealing her red and bloodshot left eye.
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Regretting not going to the doctors earlier because she didn't have health insurance, Genevieve is now urging others to "listen to their gut" and get themselves checked out.
Genevieve, who lives in Aspen, Colorado, US, said: "It was traumatic, it was a shock.
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"When [the doctor] told me it was a wave of emotion, because you're trying to start a career and entering adulthood.
"In my mind I'm 100 miles away. 'What's going to happen with my career? What does this surgery mean?' It was traumatic.
"When the bag hit me I think it caused a small tear. As time progressed and my symptoms got worse and I let it go, that's when I believe the tear turned into a detachment.
"It was a very silly accident, we were just out one night and she had a purse.
"It had heavy metal on the side. She flung her arm back and I was right behind her and the metal just hit my left eye.
"It was really bloody, I thought I needed stitches. I went to the hospital and the hospital was more concerned with who did this to me.
"They were luckily able to get it cleaned up and they put on glue because it wasn't deep enough to need stitches. There were follow up instructions but they said I'd be fine."
I was 22 at the time and I thought 'this will go away, it's no big deal. Nothing can happen to me, I'm young, I'm healthy'
Genevieve Brewster
Genevieve believed the "flashing lights" she could see were caused by working in a nightclub or stress and put off visiting the doctors as she didn't have health insurance.
Genevieve said: "Any of the smaller symptoms and signs I did just keep pushing off.
"I was 22 at the time and I thought 'this will go away, it's no big deal. Nothing can happen to me, I'm young, I'm healthy'.
"That's the guilt I wake up with everyday, I wish I went to the doctor earlier. It's hard to deal with, you know in your gut something's wrong.
"Especially as a young person when you're in and out of jobs, when this happened to me, I didn't have health insurance.
"One of the biggest signs of retinal detachment is flashes of light and floaters.
"In the day I was seeing flashes of light and floaters but I kept saying 'maybe I'm tired, I'm stressed, I'm at a music venue. I see lights for five hours a night five days a week, this is it'.
"I kind of knew in the back of my mind that something wasn't right."
Treating retinal detachment
But after completely losing her sight in her eye in December 2021 Genevieve visited her optometrist who referred her to an eye specialist in Denver nearly four hours away.
She discovered she had a giant tear in her eye and was diagnosed with retinal detachment so had surgery to try and save her vision.
Genevieve said: "They told me I disattached three-quarters of my retina so that's considered a giant tear.
"That's why my journey has been so prolific and long because of the initial tear or detachment. It will never be able to be helped on its own.
"I started with a buckle [treatment]. It's a piece of plastic that they cut two slits in the side of your eye and they weave this plastic band in to tighten your eye and try to hold your retina in place.
"When I was first diagnosed it was unknown if I'd lose my sight. With my first surgery he told me the buckle there'd be 80 per cent chance it would work.
"That's quite traumatic on the eye, your eye is beyond red and bloodshot for a very long time.
"I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror, it just looked like someone beat me up.
"That was hard as well because I was trying to enter real estate. You're going to showings and you just feel like people, all they're looking at is your eye.
"I would stop going out, I stopped trying to see friends. I just wanted no one to see me and no one to look at me.
"It was really hard grieving the things I loved. I'm an avid skier, I can't ski anymore. I wasn't able to exercise and I was putting on weight.
"I felt like I was losing myself but I was also losing my sight."
I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror, it just looked like someone beat me up
Genevieve Brewster
As well as the buckles, Genevieve had vitrectomy, where surgeons placed a jelly-like substance onto her eyeball.
Genevieve said: "The issue I ran into was in young people we have bigger scar tissue.
"That's great if you break your arm or break your leg, our tissue is going to heal our bones faster and help us recover, the only place you don't want bigger scar tissue is in your eye. It creates almost a tug of war.
"The retina is trying to lie flat but the scar tissue is growing so fast the retina can't, it continues to lift my retina up.
"That's why I was finding myself constantly in the operating room because they were always trying to remove this scar tissue, laser it out, and put the oil back in because my retina had no way to lie flat.
"It's taken a huge toll on my family members because we live four hours away from my surgeon.
"We have to drive eight hours for him to look at my eye just for him to tell me 'you're going to get surgery next week' or 'okay you're looking good see you in two weeks'.
"I'm so grateful for my partner and especially my mum. The time, the dedication, the thousands of dollars they've had to spend to help me, I don't know how I'll ever repay them."
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Further surgery
Despite beginning to regain her vision during October 2023, Genevieve discovered she developed a cataract and needed further surgery.
Genevieve said: "I was able to ski again and life looked good. All of a sudden it [my eye] looked like a dead dog. I knew I detached my retina. I could feel it, I knew something was going on.
"The doctor said I re-detached my retina and I had a cataract. It was so bad that when they went to fit me for a lens they couldn't even see in my eye."
The former nightclub worker was "heartbroken" to discover her retina had completely detached in September 2024 leaving her blind in her left eye.
Genevieve said: "It was heartbreaking, I don't think I've really come to terms with what it means.
"This time I completely detached my retina, the whole thing just came off. There was nothing holding it together. That's when I had to go into surgery again.
"[The surgeon] put my retina back together, put oil in my eye and had to laser off some more of the scarring.
Detached retina - symptoms and when to get help
Retinal detachment is an eye problem that happens when your retina (a light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye) is pulled away from its normal position at the back of your eye.
Symptoms include:
- floaters (dots and lines) or flashes of light in your eye
- you get flashes of light in your vision
- you have a dark "curtain" or shadow moving across your vision
- your vision gets suddenly blurred
If you experience these symptoms you should call 111.
You'll be referred to hospital for surgery if tests show your retina may be detached or has started to come away.
Surgery will then stop your vision getting worse.
A detached retina is more likely to happen if you:
- are short-sighted
- have had an eye operation (such as cataract surgery)
- have had an eye injury
- have a family history of retinal detachment
Source: NHS
"I can make out colours and shadows, it's nothing of clarity."
Genevieve admitted her biggest fear is now also losing sight in her right eye so is very careful to protect it and while she's been forced to give up her beloved skiing she has learned to find joy elsewhere.
Genevieve said: "It scares me because it means my right eye - if anything happens to that eye I don't know where I'd be. That's my biggest fear.
"I can deal with now not having clarity of perception in this eye. It's been two years, I'm used to it.
"The scariest part is the 'what if', but that's not a good way to live.
"I know I can't ski. That one's a little bit hard because that's my love, my sport that I have such a passion for. I can go to yoga, I can go on walks. It's motivation to go outside and find joy in other things.
"I may not be able to see [in one eye] but I can walk, I can talk. I'm so blessed in so many other ways. I'm not going to sit here and I'm not going to be a victim."
'Listen to your gut'
She now urges others to "listen to their gut" and not be afraid to visit a doctor if they suspect something might be wrong.
Genevieve said: "Trust your gut, your gut never lies to you.
"Be prepared as a young person, have insurance, don't be scared to go to the doctor. You need to take care of yourself.
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"If you have a symptom, go to the doctor, nothing's going to hurt from listening to yourself.
"You are your only advocate. You have to advocate for yourself. Do all the things necessary to make sure you're taking care of yourself and be your biggest advocate."
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