A lot of parents want to take pictures of their newborn children and post them online. Patricia Williams was the same in this regard. She captured her son in a heartfelt photograph. When she attempted to share his photos with others, she got a bad surprise.
2012 saw the birth of Patricia’s son Redd. The young boy was born with white hair, but his mother didn’t notice any of his other characteristics until he was two months old.
When her husband Dale decided to look into why the infant’s eyes were moving side to side, he was shocked to discover that it was a symptom frequently linked to albinism. The young boy had all the signs of albinism, including pale skin, white hair, and tracking eyes, but Patricia was skeptical because she had never even heard the term before.
The couple’s next step was to seek a formal diagnosis by visiting a geneticist and an optometrist. It was determined that Redd had Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 (OCA1), a condition that affects 1 in 17,000 people worldwide.
Patricia recalls the anticipation among hospital staff members to meet the newborn with the white hair and blue eyes when Redd was born. Because she, her husband, and her firstborn son, Gage, all had blonde hair at the time, Patricia did not even flinch.
She recalled seeing Redd’s hair was so white that it would shine in the son about a month after they had brought him home. Despite her attempts to block them, he would not turn his gaze away and would continue to follow her. He had very blue eyes as well, and in certain lighting, they would glitter red.
Patricia believed her son would outgrow these traits, but she didn’t realize it was a lifelong condition until her second son was born with the same issue.
The illness that afflicted his older sibling also affected Rockwell, who was born in February 2018. Social media users stole the newborn baby boy’s photos and used them to make disgusting memes.
Redd had additionally experienced bullying at school as a result of his unique appearance. His older brother Gage began to keep an eye out for him as a result. But because they were knowledgeable about albinism before Rockwell was born, his family was completely ready. They did not, however, anticipate that the pictures of their young son would go viral and become a meme.
Initially, Dale and Patricia tried to convince everyone who had shared the image to remove it, but they quickly realized that this was impossible and decided to disregard the situation altogether.
They made the decision to become advocates for raising awareness about bullying of children who have a condition that makes them different in order to stop it. When experts confirmed Redd’s albinism, Patricia became quite upset.
She was worried about how the child would be treated in life because of their differences and how their family would change if they had a child who would eventually go blind and burn easily.
She gave an explanation of the significance of Rockwell’s focus. She remarks, “It’s very unusual to see a baby with white hair, and Rockwell’s hair sticks straight up, so it’s very noticeable. ”.
As images of her son turned into a well-liked meme, she grew a sizable following. She soon discovered that few people were aware of albinism when she started receiving questions about her son’s appearance.
She was aware that most people’s knowledge of albinism was derived from obscure movies with subpar representation.
She thought she was in a unique position to spread knowledge about albinism.
After having eye surgery to treat his strabismus, Redd switched from a special school for blind kids to a public school. The procedure helped Redd, so the family’s decision to have it was wise.
They decided against giving Redd an eye patch because they believed it would make the child stand out even more and attract attention. With age, Redd’s “differences” became less and less noticeable to his friends.
Redd was just like any other child in that he could play outside without any special gear—all he needed was a hat, some dark sunglasses, and sunscreen. Rockwell, his younger brother, performed admirably, just like Redd.
Rockwell can be seen in a clip Patricia shared from his school’s “Western Day” on April 28, 2023. The young person this time around received a lot of love and support on social media. The young child was described as “cute” and “adorable.”. ”.
Patricia says it is a common misconception that people with albinism have red eyes. They often have light blue eyes, she said, because their eyes are colorless.
The boys are now thriving and enjoying themselves to the fullest!
We are ecstatic for this wonderful family. Please share this amazing story with your Facebook friends. Everyone will be grateful for it.
