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Big Brother's Reggie Bird shares surgery results after shock diagnosis
She shocked fans earlier this month when she revealed that she had been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition, and now Big Brother star Reggie Bird has taken to social media to share the results of her recent surgery.
The two-time reality TV winner, who is legally blind after being previously diagnosed with a rare hereditary eye disease called retinitis pigmentos, was recently told that she has Usher Syndrome which will leave her without sight and hearing.
“It’s not what I wanted to hear,” she told her followers. “It’s the worst thing that you could have. I’m going to be deaf-blind.”
Now, Reggie has updated her fans and revealed the results of her cataract surgery, which saw the lens of her left eye being removed.
“My cataract surgery went well yesterday,” she said on Instagram over the weekend alongside a photo of her left eye encased in a clear protective covering.
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“I was so nervous as my first one I had done 3 years ago at the Gold Coast Hospital and it didn’t go well at all,” she continued. “They left half the cataract in my eye and it felt like broken glass in it.
“I then had to go back to my ophthalmologist to have holes lasered in it to fix it. So my fabulous ophthalmologist Dr Bourke did my left eye this time round.”
Reggie added that, unlike last time, she had asked her doctor for extra anaesthetic so she wasn’t watching the surgery happen.
“Hopefully once it heals up I will have more clarity in this eye,” she concluded.
‘You are an amazing inspiration’
Reggie’s post was quickly flooded with messages of support from her followers, including fellow Big Brother stars Estelle Landy and Tilly Whitfield who commented heart emojis.
“So glad it went well Reggie,” her season 14 housemate David Graham wrote, while Gogglebox stars Anastasia and Faye added, “God bless you gorgeous girl”.
“You can do this! So glad it went well. We all think you are the best,” radio host Emily Jade O’Keeffe said.
“Sending you love and healing vibes Reggie,” one follower shared, followed by a different user who remarked, “You are an amazing inspiration girlie”.
‘Turning it into a positive’
Reggie’s health update comes shortly after she told her fans that she will be turning her devastating diagnosis into a positive by creating a bucket list to complete before losing her vision.
“I'm turning it into a positive, I don't want it to be negative,” she said in another video on Instagram.
“I want it to be positive. I want to make the most of every bloody day that I've got left seeing and hearing.”
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