Many new parents are eager to show off pictures of their brand new infants.
In this way, Patricia Williams was just like everyone else. She snapped a sweet snapshot of her child. When she attempted to show other people his images, however, she was met with an unpleasant surprise.
Keep reading to find out more.Patricia gave birth to her son Redd in 2012.
The baby boy’s mother noticed his white hair at two months old, although it had been noticeable from birth.
Dale, her husband, was astonished to hear that the baby’s eye movement was a symptom often linked with albinism when he looked into the matter. Despite Patricia’s initial scepticism, the little boy’s albinism-related symptoms (such as his skin tone, hair colour, and eye movement) were undeniable.
In order to get a proper diagnosis, the couple went on to see a geneticist and an optometrist. Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 (OCA1), which Redd was diagnosed with, affects around 1 in every 17,000.
Patricia recalls the eagerness of the medical staff to see the baby with the white hair and blue eyes when Redd was born. The fact that Patricia, her husband, and their firstborn son Gauge all had blonde hair meant that she didn’t give it much thought at the time.
She recalled that about a month after they brought Redd home, she had noticed that his hair was so white that it glistened in the sunlight.
No matter how hard she tried to avoid him, he would not take his gaze off of her. His eyes were a striking shade of blue that flashed crimson under certain lights.
Patricia thought her kid would grow out of these traits, but her second child was born with the same issue, so she finally realised it was a lifelong thing.
Rockwell, born in February of 2018, has his sibling’s condition. Users on social media took pictures of the newborn baby boy and used them to make offensive memes.Because of his appearance, Redd had also been the victim of bullying at school.
Because of this, his elder brother Gauge began keeping an eye on him. Rockwell’s parents, however, knew everything they needed to know about albinism before he was born. They were shocked, however, when pictures of their youngster became viral.
After realising it was hopeless to convince everyone who had shared the photograph to remove it, Dale and Patricia decided to disregard the entire affair.
They chose to become advocates for raising awareness of the issue of bullying of children with the disease because of their differences. After having Redd diagnosed as albino, Patricia was devastated.
She worried that their family dynamic might shift in the future if they had a kid that burned easily and would grow blind because of their differences.
She clarified the buzz around Rockwell. When asked about Rockwell’s white hair, 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.”
With the help of viral posts featuring her kid, she was able to develop a sizable fan base. She quickly learned that not many people were familiar with albinism when she was asked questions about her son’s looks.
She was aware that most people’s knowledge of albinism came from films with a stereotypical portrayal of the condition. She saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to bring albinism into the public eye.
After undergoing surgery to correct his strabismus, Redd left a school for the blind and enrolled in a regular public school instead. The decision to get the operation was a good one for Redd and his family.
They opted against having Redd wear an eye patch since doing so would have made him much more of an outcast. As Redd became older, his peers noticed his ‘differences’ less often.
Redd was exactly like any other youngster, except that he didn’t need anything extra to enjoy time outdoors (except than a hat, dark sunglasses, and sunscreen). Rockwell, Redd’s younger sibling, also succeeded.
On April 28, 2023, Patricia shared a video from Rockwell’s school’s “Western Day.” This time around, the child got a lot of positive feedback and encouragement from online users. The infant received several compliments, including “cute” and “adorable.”
According to Patricia, the idea that persons with albinism always have red eyes is a common misconception. She said that their eyes are often pale blue due of a lack of pigment.
The guys are doing well and enjoying life to the fullest right now.
