Many people like to take newborn photos of their babies and share them with people. Patricia Williams was no exception. She lovingly photographed her albino son, but when it came time to share his pictures with others, she got an unpleasant surprise.
In 2012, Patricia gave birth to her son Redd. The boy was born with white hair, but it wasn’t until he was two months old that his mum began to notice a few peculiarities about him.
His eyes were moving from side to side, and when her husband Dale decided to inquire about the cause, he had a shocking discovery: it was a symptom commonly associated with albinism. Having never heard the term before, Patricia was sceptical, but the little boy had all the signs of albinism: pale skin, white hair and watery eyes.
The couple’s next step was to meet with an optometrist and genetics experts to help make an official diagnosis. The diagnosis was official: Redd has oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1), a condition that affects 1 in 17,000 people worldwide.
Patricia recalls how worried the hospital staff were when Redd was born: everyone wanted to see the baby born with white hair and blue eyes. But at the time, Patricia didn’t blink an eye because she, her husband and her firstborn son, Gage, had blond hair.
She remembered how, a month after they’d brought Redd home, she’d noticed his fur had turned so white it glistened against her son’s. And even when she tried to cover his eyes, they followed him and he wouldn’t take them away. In addition, his eyes were so blue that they sparkled red in certain lights.
Patricia was sure her son would outgrow these features, but it wasn’t until her second son was born with the same condition that she realised it was for life.
In February 2018, Rockwell was born with the same condition as his older brother. Photos of the newborn baby boy were stolen and turned into cruel memes by people on social media.
Redd was also bullied at school, where kids made fun of him for looking different. Because of this, his older brother Gage became protective of him. But when Rockwell was born, the family already knew a lot about albinism and were therefore fully prepared. But what they weren’t prepared for was when pictures of their little boy turned into a meme.
At first, Dale and Patricia asked everyone who shared the picture to remove it, but they soon realised that was impossible and decided to just ignore the whole thing.
They decided to become advocates for raising awareness of the condition so that children suffering from it would not be bullied for being different. When Redd’s albinism was confirmed by specialists, Patricia was very upset.
She worried about how the child would be treated in life for being different and how their family dynamics would change with a child who burns easily and may be blind.
She explained why Rockwell is receiving so much attention. She said: ‘It’s very unusual to see a child with white hair and Rockwell’s hair sticks straight up so it’s very noticeable.’
After her son’s snaps became a viral meme, she gained a lot of followers. She soon started getting questions about why her son looked the way he did, and then it hit her: people don’t know about albinism.
She realised that everything people knew about albinism was taken from obscure films. So she decided she had a unique opportunity – to spread the word about albinism.
Redd had eye surgery to correct her strabismus and was transferred from a public school for blind children to a public school. The surgery was a brilliant decision for the family as it helped Redd a lot.
They chose to have the surgery rather than wear an eye patch, as this would have further singled out the child and attracted unwanted attention. Now that Redd was getting older, his friends noticed his ‘differences’ less and less.
They only knew that Redd needed a hat, dark glasses and sunscreen to play outside, but other than that he could do everything any other child could do. Like Redd, his younger brother Rockwell was also thriving.
On 28 April 2023, Patricia shared a clip of Rockwell at a ‘Day of the West’ at his school. This time, the boy received a lot of love and appreciation on social media. People called the boy ‘cute’ and ‘adorable.’
Patricia explained that there is a big misconception as if people with albinism have red eyes. According to her, they usually have light blue eyes because their eyes lack pigment.
The boys are now thriving and living their best lives!
We are so happy for this wonderful family. Please share this incredible story with your friends on Facebook. Everyone will be so grateful!
