She’s a Gen Z who found online fame as a home baker.

Adeline Tan, 27, better known as addieblesausage on Tiktok and dee_bakes on Instagram, started documenting her bakes initially only as a side-hustle in 2018.

But she went viral in 2020 after her elaborate, sprinkly creations started getting the attention of young Singaporeans – media attention came shortly after.

Today, she has about 54,000 followers on TikTok and 12,900 followers on Instagram. That blew up her feed and even though Adeline didn’t plan on becoming a full-time baker, she suddenly went from having an order once a month to 15 a day.

But something many of her followers don’t know is that Adeline is partially blind.

“The doctor told me that I have retinal detachment and that my vision won’t be the same (as a normal person’s) but I didn’t know it meant that I was going to be partially blind,” says Adeline.

“It hit me only after my surgeries.”

Retinal detachment occurs when a person’s retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye) is pulled away from its normal position.

Symptoms include finding many floaters (small dark spots or squiggly lines that float across your vision), flashes of light in one or both eyes, or experiencing a dark shadow or “curtain” on the sides or in the middle of your field of vision

Finding out

@addieblesausage should’ve seen it coming ha ha ha #retinaldetachment ♬ original sound – kooze

Just like her fame as an online baker, Adeline found out about her condition by chance.

She broke her spectacles and had to get new ones. During the eye test, she closed her right eye, and realised her Left Eye vision was “wavy”.

“There weren’t any outstanding symptoms that I noticed beforehand. There were floaters, but I didn’t think it was abnormal,” Adeline tells The Pride.

“Only when I was closing my right eye for the test did I realise my vision was wavy.”

Worried, Adeline rushed to the A&E. There, she found out that her right retina was also prone to detachment too.

Retinal detachment is a genetic condition that runs in her family but the family members who have the condition were coping quite well. That’s why when Adeline’s doctor told her that her condition was severe and she needed Surgery, she was crushed.

Symptoms often appear quickly and if not treated right away, more of the retina can detach.

She felt guilty that with her family history, it was even more crucial for her to go for eye checkups often, but she didn’t.

Surgeries, recovery, and more surgeries

@addieblesausage (found this in my drafts.. forgot to post it lol) #retinaldetachment can only see about 55% out of my left eye permanently.. but trying to be positive… #minivlog #dayinmylife #vlog ♬ Vigilante Shit – Taylor Swift

Since 2019, Adeline has had four surgeries to ensure her retina doesn’t detach further and to save as much of her vision as possible.

“I’ve basically done every type of surgery possible for retinal detachment. I was incredibly sad for a long time because I didn’t understand why my eyes weren’t getting better after surgery; they were getting worse.” explains Adeline.

In 2019, when she had her first two surgeries, the communications student was completing her final-year group projects at university.

“I was incredibly stressed and upset. I had a team counting on me and I didn’t want to miss school and graduate a year later,” she explains.

In the end, Adeline had to do home-based learning and have her classes online. Fortunately, her teachers and friends were very understanding.

“Under the doctor’s orders, I was supposed to stay at home, but sometimes I’d go to school for certain classes,” Adeline says.

Once, in school, she got hit in the head by a ball. That was extremely dangerous because any impact on her head could result in further detachment of her retina. Thankfully, she was okay, but that incident stressed her out even more.

“So many things were going through my head. On one hand, I wanted to recover properly but on the other hand, I really needed to graduate,” says Adeline.

“I just had to keep going.”

After her first operation, she had two more follow-up surgeries, and everything was fine for a year until her retina detached again in October 2022.

This time, part of her vision turned dark (called a black curtain), and she rushed to the hospital for another emergency surgery.

@addieblesausage eye’m coming back but my vision isn’t… 4 surgeries in…. I gotta laugh…… #retinaldetachment #RD ♬ The Loneliest Time – Carly Rae Jepsen & Rufus Wainwright

“As hours progressed, the black curtain spread. Just a few hours before my surgery, I could only see a person’s head through my left eye. It was so scary,” recounts Adeline.

Recovery was also tough.

“After my first surgery, there was a lot of blood in my eye, so everything was dark for weeks.” says Adeline.

She also had to lie face down for almost 24/7 for two to three weeks after the surgery, which inserted a gas bubble in her left eye. Lying face down allows the bubble to float and holds the retina in place to heal correctly.

Continuing with her passion

Despite her surgeries, Adeline is still partially blind from permanent vision loss. Her depth of field, the distance range in which the objects are seen clearly in the eye, is also weakened.

In the worst-case scenario, if the retina detaches entirely, Adeline could go completely blind. Every day, she lives in fear of waking up to losing all her vision.

However, her condition didn’t hinder her passion for baking. But how does she bake given her physical condition?

There are some challenges, she admits, like having to focus even more while measuring ingredients due to the loss of her depth of field or bumping into things on her left.

Her biggest challenge however is juggling health and business, especially since she’s a one-woman show.

“I’m worried about whether my surgeries and recovery will clash with orders,” she says.

“Something that I always feel quite guilty about is that these surgeries are usually quite sudden so I’ve had to cancel a lot of orders and people can’t always find a replacement in time. Thankfully, all my customers have been extremely understanding.”

It was incredibly busy during the circuit breaker period, when more Singaporeans were supporting home businesses, but things have slowed down a bit since. Recently, with her social media fame, like her cakes getting featured on Vogue early this year as well as other food reviews, orders have been starting to come in thick and fast.

Taking things positively

@addieblesausage (disclaimer: this post rlly isnt meant to garner any sympathy, i just want to hopefully give someone a little bit of strength to get through a tough time) I know im late, but happy #internationalwomensday hope this inspires at least one person to stay strong through the sh1tty times. #womenoftiktok #womenownedbusiness #iwd #sgfoodie #womenownedbusinesses #smallbusiness #retinaldetachment #rd ♬ 주옥같다 – 고옥희

Despite her condition, Adeline doesn’t want people to feel sorry for her, which is why she doesn’t play up her challenges.

“I don’t want to be framed as someone that is using my handicap to get more customers, I don’t need that sympathy!” Adeline laughs.

The only reason she is sharing more about her experiences now is to shed more light on retinal detachment and to help others going through the same condition.

“During my first surgery, I was doing a lot of research on what recovery would be like and what other people went through. But it was very difficult to find anything recent,” said Adeline.

Currently, her retinas are stable, but she’s waiting for her fifth surgery to remove the silicone oil bubble inserted in her left eye during the last surgery, which is to ensure the retina remains attached to the eye. This silicone oil bubble must be removed with a second operation after the eye has healed, usually one to three months after being inserted.

“It hasn’t been scheduled yet, but I have monthly checkups. My doctor wants to let my left eye to recover first.” Adeline explains.

With such an unpredictable future, Adeline says that she keeps going by focusing on thinking positive. For those with a similar condition, she says: “I know it can be very hard but try to be as positive as you can. Most importantly, remember to have eye check-ups often too!”

If you’d like to support Adeline, send her a DM on Instagram or check out her vlogs and behind-the-scenes footage on her TikTok.

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