If Cliohna Thomson doesn’t return a wave or a smile in the street, it is not because she is being rude.
It is something the Aberlour teenager has worried about since she first began to lose her sight – a symptom that lead to her being diagnosed with leukaemia aged just 16.
And although she “genuinely can’t see” the people greeting her from afar, Cliohna is determined not to let the problems with her vision slow her down.
Next month the 17-year-old, who wants to work in fashion, will join 23 other brave cancer warriors for Courage on the Catwalk. The sell-out fashion show, in aid of Friends of ANCHOR, will be held at the Beach Ballroom on May 9 and 10.
Her biggest worry is not parading out in front of a packed audience – as she has gymnastics and trampolining accomplishments under her belt – but the logistics.
“I really don’t want to take my cane on the runway,” she said.
“It was such a big step to start using it and I even called it Lucifer because I hate it but I have no idea how I’ll see the end of the runway and judge the other models’ distance from me.”
When Cliohna first began to lose her sight, doctors thought it was down to diabetes, which she has suffered from since she was five.
But just days after receiving intense laser treatment and injections in her eyes to treat diabetic blindness, she was given the devastating news that she had leukaemia – and it was this that had been robbing her vision.
She spent the next five months in a hospital isolation room, requiring more than 60 pints of blood and having chemotherapy, while also taking part in a lifesaving drug trial.
A year later, the teenager sees nothing but darkness in her right eye and her left fluctuates between partial and blind vision.
She recalls it happening quite suddenly, and describes it as seeing something resembling shapes underwater.
She said: “It changes tiny things like pouring a glass of water and putting toothpaste on a toothbrush as I had to learn how to do them again.
“I was taught how to use my ears instead of eyes when crossing roads and I don’t normally take my cane to school as I know the place like the back of my hand.”
Despite being struck with a number of difficulties such as feeling sick, tired and dizzy, Cliohna has vowed not to let her disability stand in her way.
A self-styled adrenaline junkie, she’s been jumped from planes and now plans to abseil down the Forth Road Bridge in aid of charity.
“I love high adrenaline things and the feeling I get from them,” she said. “It makes me feel free and it helps mentally as there’s nothing up there and there’s no one stopping you from doing anything.”
The inspiring teenager added that although she would like to get her sight back, she would not change what she learnt over the last year or so.
“I’ve met some amazing people through this and it definitely changes perceptions,” she said.
“I’ve now matured a lot and I have my own ideas of what’s most important.”
As she prepares for her final exams in May, Cliohna admits she is missing school and getting on with her social life. But looking ahead, she sees a fresh start at university.
She said: “I want to study the behind the scenes things in fashion like buying and merchandising.
“I have four conditional offers from each university I applied to, including Heriot Watt which was my first choice.
“However, I have had to withdraw, as given my circumstances, I now have to get my grades over two years as I’m not strong or well enough to do it in one sitting.
“But whether I get into fashion through college or work experience, I don’t care as there’s always a way.”