How Rapper Fetty Wap Helped a Young Boy Face the World After Losing His Eye

image via twitter / fettywap

Fetty Wap has never shied away from the fact that he is missing his left eye, the result of a childhood bout with Primary Congenital Glaucoma–a rare condition which affects an estimated one in ten thousand children. Eschewing ocular prosthetics, the cover of the “Trap Queen” rapper’s upcoming debut album features the Patterson, New Jersey-born artist covering his entire face, save for his empty eye socket. In an entertainment industry predicated in no small part on physical perfection, Fetty Wap wears his disability with pride.

But while millions around the world may look up to Fetty as a massively successful artist and celebrity, one young boy in Colorado sees him as something much more important: An inspiration.

In a message posted to Facebook, mother Brenda Vaden describes how, at age one, her son Jayden lost his eye to retinoblastoma, a form of ocular cancer often found in young children. Since then, Jayden has worn a prosthetic eye , and “would not be caught without it.” And then Jayden discovered Fetty Wap.

Writes Brenda:

“Similar to Jayden [Fetty Wap] lost an eye at a young age and along the way he decided that he didn't want to wear his prosthetic eye anymore, so he stopped. Jayden, let it be known, is a Fetty Wap fan, a real fan, not like me ha! Well, today, after weeks of asking, Jayden is venturing the world without his prosthetic.”

Inspired by Fetty Wap’s decision to forego prosthetics, Jayden gained the confidence to do the same, and in doing so has embraced himself in a way that, from the sound of it, he was never able to do before.

Here’s the entire post:

via facebook / brenda vaden

[via gawker]