Many parents take great pleasure in displaying their friends and family cute pictures of their newborns. Patricia Williams was also in agreement with this.
She took heartfelt pictures of her son. However, she had an unpleasant shock when she attempted to show her friends his photo collection.
Continue reading to learn more.
In 2012, Patricia gave birth to her son Redd. Among other things, the infant boy’s mother didn’t realize he had white hair until he was two months old.
Dale was shocked to learn that their baby’s flashing eyes were a common sign of albinism when he searched up the reason for it.
Patricia was skeptical since she was unfamiliar with the word, but there was no denying that the kid had albinism’s telltale signs: very pale complexion, white hair, and tracking eyes.
For a more conclusive diagnosis, the two then sought advice from a geneticist and an optometrist.
Redd’s diagnosis of oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1), which affects 1 in 17,000 people globally, was verified.
Patricia recalls the medical staff’s excited expectation at Redd’s arrival due to his uncommon white hair and blue eyes.
She didn’t bat an eye since Patricia, her husband, and their firstborn son, Gage, were all blonde.
She thought that a month after they had brought him home, Redd’s hair was so white it gleamed in the sun.
He followed her even though she made an effort to avoid his stare.
In some lighting conditions, his eyes were a startling hue of blue that almost seemed red.
Patricia realized they would have to live with the issue for the rest of their life when her second son was born with it.
In February 2018, Rockwell was born with the same issue as his elder sibling had. On social media, people made terrible jokes using stolen photos of the newborn.
Due to his looks, Redd has often been the subject of jeers and taunts in the schoolyard. Gage, his elder sibling, started to watch out for him as a result.
But before he was born, Rockwell’s parents had done a lot of study on albinism, so they were ready for him. They were caught off guard, though, when their son’s pictures started trending online.
Initially, Dale and Patricia attempted to contact each person who had shared the photograph in order to request that it be taken down, but they soon came to the conclusion that this was not feasible.
They decided to become advocates for raising awareness of the illness in order to stop bullying of kids who were diagnosed with it in the future.
Following medical confirmation that Redd was albino, Patricia was devastated.
She was worried about the child’s future and the family’s connection being impacted by his scorching vulnerability and potential legal blindness.
She explained the rumor about Rockwell. “It’s very unusual to see a baby with white hair, and Rockwell’s hair sticks straight up, so it’s very noticeable,” was something along those lines that she said.
She gained a sizable following after a meme of her son went viral. As time passed and she started to answer questions about her son’s looks, she came to understand that not everyone knew what albinism was.
She recognized that the little knowledge she had about albinism had come from underrepresented movies. She understood that this was her opportunity to educate others about albinism.
Redd went from a private school for the blind to a regular public school following strabismus surgery. Redd and his loved ones made a wise decision by having the procedure.
The family chose to have Redd surgically repaired as wearing an eye patch would have made him even more visible.
Redd’s “differences” were less obvious to his peers now that he was older.
Redd needed a hat, dark glasses, and sunscreen to play outside, but other than that, he was simply a child. Additionally, Redd’s younger brother Rockwell succeeded in life.
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