Patricia Williams, 43, of Utah, was a mother of four children, two of whom were born with albinism. The fashion designer was distraught after sharing gorgeous social media images of her albino baby boy, Rockwell. Trolls on social media took her youngest son’s photos and transformed them into nasty memes that went viral. Patricia recognized something strange about her second baby, Redd, when he was two months old in August 2012.
His eyes would wander from side to side all the time, and when her husband, Dale Williams, 45, Googled the cause, she discovered that Redd had albinism. The parent stated that the first thing her husband learned was that albinism, a term she’d never heard and had to look up, was a frequent characteristic in infants.
She remembered Dale noticing Redd having all the characteristics of albinism – pale skin, white hair, and tracking eyes. Patricia quickly protested before inquiring whether or not persons with albinism had red eyes.The parents took their son to see an ophthalmologist and genetic specialists, who diagnosed him with Oculocutaneous Albinism Type One (OCA1). One in every 17,000 people globally was impacted by Redd’s disease.
The youngster was born with blue eyes and white hair, and nurses would come in to view the “baby with the white hair,” but it took his parents a while to notice something was different about him. Patricia, her husband, and their oldest son, Gage, were all blonde.So having a child with the same shade of blonde as Redd didn’t bother them.
Redd’s mother remembered how his hair was so white it shone in the sun, his eyes tracked even when she tried to cover them to see if he’d deflect them, and they were so blue that certain lights made them flash red.Patricia dismissed evidence that he was different, believing he’d grown out of such characteristics. Then Rockwell was born with the same issue, but instead of being accepted by society, he and his brother were shunned.
Rockwell was born in February 2018 with the same problem as his older sibling. His baby photos were taken on social internet, and some mocked his hair color, with one infant joke saying: “When she (sic) gets pregnant by her sugar daddy.”Unfortunately, Redd had also been bullied at the playground, where he was gazed at and tormented by other children because of his skin color and appearance. As a result, Gage got protective of him.
So when Rockwell arrived, their parents were more informed about the situation and had prepared ahead of time. His parents, on the other hand, were upset when their younger son’s photographs became viral memes.They went out of their way to beg everyone who reshared the post to remove it, but they quickly discovered they couldn’t. Dale and his wife, who also had a son named Wolfgang, decided it was better to disregard the cruel joke.
Instead, they’ve become activists for spreading awareness of albinism in the hopes that youngsters with it will no longer be tormented or teased. Redd’s mother was astonished and sobbed when his albinism was verified.She was concerned about how he would be treated, his future, and how their family relationships would change now that they had a boy who burned easily and could be legally blind. The fashion designer believed Rockwell’s comments and attention were increasingly common, explaining:
“It’s unusual to see a baby with white hair, and Rockwell’s hair sticks straight up, so it’s very noticeable.”The criticism directed towards her younger kid was unexpected, and Dale’s wife began to gain more followers. When several people inquired about her child, the fashion designer realized that people needed to be more informed about albinism.
Patricia explained how people had different perspectives on the disease because of movies they’d seen. It occurred to her that she had a unique opportunity to raise awareness and educate people through social media by posting family photos.Redd had laser eye surgery to treat his strabismus and transferred from a private to a public blind school. His surgery went well, and Patricia advised other parents who were thinking about it that it was the greatest thing for their son.
Patricia [Williams] described how “sickening” it was to realize that Rockwell and Redd [Williams] would have to live in fear… If they hadn’t gotten him the treatment, the youngster would have had to wear an eye patch for months, which would have taken months to fix his condition and would have drawn unwelcome attention to him. Most of his pals didn’t realize how different he was now that he was older.
They were aware that he needed a hat, dark shades, and sunscreen to play outside, but they did everything else. Rockwell, like his older brother, had grown into his appearance. On April 28, 2023, Patricia posted a cute Instagram video of Rockwell dressed up as a cowboy for his school’s “Western Day.” The youngster received a warmer welcome from social media users now that he was older, with one person commenting:
“Adorable,” while another praised him as “Perfect!!” People also saw what Redd looked like in three different Instagram images in August 2022, and he seemed joyful as he turned ten!Patricia uploaded a video of Rockwell walking with her at school when she came to pick him up in February 2023. The cheerful and animated youngster appeared greenish yellow, and his mother revealed that he had painted himself to resemble a zombie!