Woman Inherits Her Father's Prosthetic Eyes — And Shares Their Remarkable Story

January 9, 2026

A woman recently shared a photo online that instantly stopped people in their tracks — two prosthetic eyes she inherited from her father.

What could have been a bit eerie quickly turned into something surprisingly touching, funny, and full of love.

No_Wrongdoer_8148 on Reddit

The eyes belonged to her dad, who lost one eye during brain tumor surgery in the 1970s. Because of the way doctors closed the empty socket, he couldn’t wear a typical glass eye. Instead, he used these unique prosthetics, which were carefully made and replaced every decade or so — which is why there are two left eyes in the photo.

"The top one is an older model, the bottom one was one of the last he had," she shared on Reddit.

After he passed away in 2011, the eyes somehow ended up with her. “I suppose my mom couldn’t look at them anymore,” she added.

Now, they’ve become one of those unusual family keepsakes that holds both emotional and slightly mischievous meaning. She jokes that she mostly uses them as a fun conversation starter… and occasionally to scare her daughters’ boyfriends.

A photo of the both of them from '92 / No_Wrongdoer_8148

Living with the prosthetic was anything but boring. Because his empty eye socket connected to his sinuses, he could literally breathe through his eye.

"It also meant he had to hold onto the prosthetic every time he sneezed or blew his nose or it would come off," she shared.

Every morning, he’d remove it, clean it, and glue it back in place with a special adhesive that lasted all day and night.

The eyes themselves are made of glass, with the iris and pupil hand-painted, while the “skin” around them is hard plastic. The crusty residue visible on them now is simply old glue — one of the reasons he needed a new prosthetic from time to time.

Despite all of this, she remembers her dad with warmth and humor, even joking that while the eyes didn’t move or blink, “his winking game was A+.”