His parents, Patricia and Dale Williams, were pleased when Redd was born in 2012. At the same time, they were aware that their little one was unique in comparison to other babies they had seen. Redd looked adorably cute and had hair that was as white as snow. However, they started noticing his eyes moving side to side when he was about two months old.
They searched for the symptoms on Google out of concern and were nearly positive that Redd had albinism.
Making an appointment with a geneticist and an optometrist to help with a formal diagnosis was the first thing they did. Redd had Oculocutaneous Albinism Type One (OCA1), a disorder that affects 1 in 17,000 persons worldwide. This was quickly confirmed.
Everyone wanted to see the baby with the white hair when Redd was born, and the hospital staff was thrilled by his appearance. Patricia thought Redd would outgrow this and that his hair would eventually get darker, but after learning that he had albinism, she realised that his white hair and blue eyes, which occasionally flash red in certain lighting, were not going anywhere.
After that, son Rockwell was born in 2018 to Patricia and Dale with the same ailment as his older sibling.
Sadly, Redd and Rockwell had a difficult time in kindergarten and at school because their peers teased them about their appearance. Even though their elder brother Gauge, who is not albino, has been particularly protective of them, bullying has continued to exist.
Patricia also did everything in her could to help her kids learn to embrace their appearance and love themselves for who they are, but something happened that troubled them. Someone created a meme out of a picture of Rockwell that Patricia posted on social media. The parents requested its deletion, but it had already gone viral online.
They resolved to disregard the incident and not allow it have an impact on their life after realising there was nothing they could do. Instead, they evolved into supporters who wish to spread the word about albinism. Because of Rockwell’s viral photo, Patricia gained a lot of followers on social media. When she started getting lots of questions about her sons, she realised that many people didn’t know much about albinism and that what they did know came from obscure films with scant representation.
He had eye surgery to treat his strabismus as of Redd, and he switched from a private school for blind kids to a public one. The family made a wise choice in having the procedure because it really benefited Redd. They didn’t want Redd to draw more attention, which would have decreased the bullying, so they decided against having him wear eye patches in favour of surgery.
Rockwell can be seen in a clip Patricia posted on April 28, 2023, from his school’s “Western Day.” Instead of being called names like in the past, the young boy was greeted with a lot of love and respect this time.
Today, Rockwell and Redd are both prospering.
