A man has gone viral on TikTok revealing the hyper-realistic prosthetic eye he wears – which he says leaves postmen “shaken” when they see what’s underneath.
Amit Ghose, 33, from Birmingham, was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1, also commonly known as NF1, when he was two years old.
The rare genetic condition causes tumours to grow along your nerves, which for Amit, grew on the left side of his face and on his eye – leading to it needing to be removed when he was 11.
The 33-year-old shares his experience of the condition on TikTok with his 66,400 followers (@amitghose), where a recent video went viral with 4.5 million views.
In the clip, Amit showed how he puts on and takes off his prosthetic, which perfectly matches his skin tone and looks incredibly realistic.
But despite his unique appearance, the man insists he is comfortable with how he looks.
“In the past, I have been very sad about my condition – at times I felt extremely low and depressed,” Amit, who works at a law firm as a relationship executive, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“I would be jealous of others… I would look at their ‘normal’, symmetrical face and feel as if I was ugly.
“But over time, I have come to terms with it.
“I can’t change how I look but can change my mindset.
“So I did, and now I am on a journey to help support and inspire people.”
As a result of the condition, Amit lost his eye when he was 11 years old and now wears a prosthetic eye.
He said: “The tumours were growing around my eye.
“The best option was to have it removed and replaced with a prosthesis.
“I also have some tumours growing near my spine which causes my spine to curve.”
Amit, who married his wife, Piyali, a year ago, also has to deal with comments in public.
He said: “Some people will say, ‘Oh my God… what happened to your face?’
“Young children will often get scared and cry.
“And young adults [and] teenagers will mock me saying, ‘Did you get run over by a train?’.”
But he still continues to keep his head high and also uses social media to share and inspire people through his story.
In the video, Amit shows how his eye can be taken off and re-attached.
He explains how he removes the prosthetic eye and reveals the magnets underneath which are used to keep it attached.
Amit also shares how his skin can become really dry, and that sometimes he walks out without it on when he is home, however, this has caused a small problem for him before.
He said: “Sometimes I’ll leave it off when I’m home and the doorbell will ring, and I will go to open the door, forgetting that I’m not wearing my eye.
“And if it’s a postman or if it’s somebody doing a delivery they usually get really, really shaken.
“I’ll say, ‘Oh I’m so sorry’, and even though I celebrate my condition, I understand how this can be a bit shaking for people.”
He then continues to share what it is like going out of the house, and what the behind of the eye looks like.
The clip gathered 155,600 likes and thousands of comments.
Archie said: “Bro don’t ever say sorry.”
Merna added: “Don’t say sorry ever sweetheart.”
Jaymee commented: “Don’t be sorry, be you!”
“I love it, it looks so cool,” said someone else.
“Dude keep educating people,” added Logan.
“I’m inspired every single day by you,” wrote another user.
“You’re beautiful,” added Tyla
“You’re amazing,” commented another fan.
Amit added: “I want to share my lived experiences and help inspire people, I want to educate people about the challenges and eventually normalise visible differences.
“The day I see the Oscars hosted by someone with a visible difference, I will feel my journey is a success.”
