Beauty queen Miss Caerphilly is hoping to win the Miss Wales crown before she is made blind by a rare eye disorder
Nicola Thomas, 23, has been diagnosed with Devic’s Disease, which will eventually leave her blind.
The finance company admin assistant was crowned Miss Caerphilly in September after a long held ambition to enter the contest.
She has already lost the sight of her left eye but she is hoping to go all the way and be crowned Miss Wales next summer.
Nicola told BBC News: “I was just seeing less and less until one day I couldn’t see a thing in my left eye.
“It was quite frightening – one minute I was living a normal life, the next I was facing life in complete darkness.”
But winning the Miss Caerphilly competition proved a huge boost for her.
She said: “It was a fantastic feeling to be up there with all these beautiful girls and absolutely to win.
“I could look out at my family and friends clapping and cheering.
“It was a brilliant sight and it will stay with me forever.”