Parents enjoy showing off the adorable photos of their brand-new children to friends and family. Perhaps Patricia Williams would concur.
She lovingly captured her son in photographs. But when she made an attempt to show off his photo collection to her friends, she got a terrible surprise.
Read on to learn more.
Patricia’s son Redd was conceived in 2012. The young boy’s mother didn’t notice, among other things, that he had white hair until he was two months old.
When Dale discovered that their infant’s eyes were flashing back and forth because of albinism, he was astonished.
Patricia was sceptical because she had never heard the word “albinism,” despite the boy having symptoms including an unusually light skin, white hair, and wandering eyes.
The couple then sought the counsel of an ophthalmologist and a geneticist for a more precise diagnosis.
Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 (OCA1), which affects 1 in 17,000 individuals worldwide, was shown to be present in Redd.
Patricia remembers the hospital staff’s high hopes for Redd when he was born, given his distinctive white hair and blue eyes.
Patricia, her husband, and their first-born son, Gage, all had blonde hair, so she didn’t bat an eye.
A month after they had brought Redd home, she remembers thinking about his hair because it was so white that it glistened in the sunlight.
She made an effort to avert his gaze, but he continued to follow her.
His eyes were a stunning shade of blue that almost appeared crimson in some lighting.
Patricia knew that when her second child was born, he would have to deal with the same problem because it was congenital.
Rockwell, who was born in February 2018, was born with the same illness as his older sibling. Insensitive jokes were posted on social media using manipulated images of the newborn infant.
Redd has frequently endured slurs and teasing in the playground because of his appearance. As a result, his elder sibling Gage began to watch out for him.
However, Rockwell’s parents were prepared for him because they had studied albinism extensively before he was born. But they weren’t ready for their son’s pictures to go viral online.
Initially, Dale and Patricia tried to get in touch with everyone who had shared the image to ask them to remove it, but they quickly realized that this was impossible.
Children who were given the diagnosis decided to become advocates for spreading knowledge of the condition in an effort to put an end to bullying in the future.
The physicians said that when Patricia found out that Redd had albinism, she was devastated.
She was concerned about the child’s future and bond with the family because of the child’s probable legal blindness and searing susceptibility.
She clarified the Rockwell rumor. She said, “It’s very unusual to see a baby with white hair, and Rockwell’s hair sticks straight up, so it’s very noticeable.”
She developed a huge fan base as a result of a meme featuring her son going viral. As time went on, she responded to inquiries regarding her son’s appearance and realized that many people were unaware of albinism.
She realized that the limited information she knew on albinism had come from films that did not adequately depict it. She realized that this was her chance to spread awareness of albinism.
After strabismus surgery, Redd transferred from a private school for the blind to a regular public school. For Redd and his loved ones, deciding to get the operation was a wise choice.
Redd’s family decided against having him wear an eye patch because doing so would have made him even more noticeable.
As Redd grew older, his ‘differences’ were less noticeable to his peers.
Redd required a hat, some dark shades, and sunscreen to play outside, just like any other small child. Rockwell, Redd’s younger brother, also did well for himself.
On April 28, 2023, Patricia released a video of Rockwell participating in “Western Day” at his school.
This time, the young child received a ton of support and praise from online users. The youngster received many compliments, including the words “cute” and “adorable.”
Patricia continued, “There is a misperception that people with albinism have red eyes. She said that because they lack ocular pigmentation, their eyes have a bluish color.
The boys are now prospering and content! We are happy to have such a great family!
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