Nowadays, you can see a baby right when they’re born, since many parents take photos of their babies and share it with their friends and family.
Patricia Williams was the perfect example for this, because she tried to share a ‘normal looking photo to her’ of her baby boy, but encountered a bad surprise.
Read on to learn more on Redd .
Patricia gave birth to her son in 2012, and was born with bright white hair, which his mother didn’t notice until he was two months old.
When Patricia’s husband, Dale, decided to find out why their baby’s eyes were moving side to side, he was surprised to discover that this was a frequent sign of albinism. Patricia was unsure because she had never heard of the condition nor the term before, but their young boy displayed all the typical signs of albinism, such as light skin, white hair, and eyes that moved back and forth.
It was established that Redd had Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 (OCA1), a disorder affecting 1 in 17,000 individuals worldwide, when the couple decided to consult a geneticist and an optometrist in order to receive a formal diagnosis.
When Redd was born, Patricia remembers the excitement among the hospital personnel, who were all eager to meet the newborn with the white hair and blue eyes. However, Patricia did not bat an eye at the moment because she, her husband, and her firstborn son, Gage, all had blonde hair.
A month after they had brought Redd home, she remembered noticing that his hair was so white that it would shine in the son. His eyes would follow her despite her attempts to block them, and he would not turn them away. He also had extremely blue eyes that, under certain lighting conditions, would glitter red.
Patricia was certain that her son would outgrow these characteristics, but she didn’t understand it was a lifetime thing until her second son was born with the same condition.
Rockwell, who was born in February 2018, was born with the same illness as his elder sibling. Social media users stole the newborn baby boy’s photos and used them to create vile memes.In school, Redd had also been the target of bullying because of the way he looked different.
As a result, his older brother Gage started to watch out for him. However, Rockwell’s family was perfectly prepared because they were well-informed about albinism at the time of his birth. However, they had not anticipated that the images of their young son would become a meme.
In order to prevent bullying of children with the condition for being different, they made the decision to become champions for spreading awareness about it. Patricia was quite unhappy when experts confirmed Redd’s albinism.
She worried about how their child’s uniqueness might lead to different treatment in life and how it would impact their family dynamics. She was also concerned about the child’s vulnerability to sunburn and the eventual risk of blindness associated with the condition.
She explained why Rockwell received so much attention. 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 understood that most of the information people had regarding albinism came from obscure films with scant representation. She believed she had a rare opportunity to raise awareness of albinism as a result, and she amassed a large following as pictures of her son turned into a popular meme. She soon began to get inquiries regarding her son’s appearance and realized that not many people were aware of albinism.
Redd transferred from a special school for blind children to a public school after having eye surgery to treat his strabism. The family made a wise choice in having the procedure because it really benefited Redd.
They decided against having Redd wear an eye patch because they thought it would make his apparence even more obvious to others. Redd’s friends started to notice his ‘differences’ less and less as he grew older.
Rockwell can be seen in a clip Patricia posted on April 28, 2023, from his school’s “Western Day.” This time, the young youngster received a lot of love and support on social media. The young youngster was referred to as “cute” and “adorable.”
Redd could play outside without any special equipment—all he required was a hat, some dark shades, and sunscreen—but he was otherwise just like any other kid. And like Redd, his younger brother Rockwell did well.
There is a widespread misperception that people with albinism have red eyes, according to Patricia. She claimed that because their eyes lack color, they frequently have light blue eyes.