Before he was born, we had settled on the name Redd for our second child, as long as he didn’t have red hair. We were thrilled when he showed up with a full head of white hair and gorgeous blue eyes (and relieved).
My husband and I should have recognized there was something strange about the “baby with the white hair” when nurses (who were not our nurses) came in to examine him. My husband and I were both so happy to show him off.
We both had blonde hair from birth (as did my first son Gage), so seeing our second child with blonde hair was nothing out of the usual for us. We are thrilled that our child stands out from the crowd because to her wonderful hair. We believe that our family has received a miracle from God.
Three things stand out in my mind from the first month we had him at home. The first was his hair. It was so white that it would sparkle in the sunlight. I pointed it out to my mother-in-law, who just stared in awe and said, “He’s like a special little fairy.”
The second was the way his eyes were constantly gazing up and tracing back and forth. I tried blocking his vision with my hands in the hopes that he would look down, but nothing worked.
Third, when he was in certain lights, his blue eyes would occasionally flare crimson. This was by far the strangest incident, but like the others, I assumed he would outgrow it because he was a newborn.
Our first year with Redd, we quickly realized how much attention he drew when we were out in public. People who noticed his white hair stopped us wherever we went. Many times, they would ask further questions or want to touch our son’s hair because he or she had never seen an albino before.
Because of his sensitivity to sunlight, we went to a number of beaches and playgrounds at dawn or dusk because of his sensitivity to sunshine, so he could play safely.
Adjusting to the reactions of others and their comments is still a work in progress and most likely will continue to be throughout our lives. My husband and I made the ridiculous rule that if a stranger compliments our son’s hair more than three times, we will bring up their albinism.
We want to be good examples to our children on how to spread awareness about albinism in a positive light and not to be embarrassed or ashamed to discuss it. We feel that by maintaining a positive, open tone, this is important in assisting kids in learning how to speak up and advocate for their needs as they move through both school and life.
I think the best thing any parent can give their children is confidence. If you have a child who looks a little different, or has special needs, or sometimes just doesn’t fit in with the crowd … it’s our duty to provide them with tools in order to withstand how cruel the world can be.
With no limitations or obstacles preventing him from trying new things, we have made every effort to raise Red in the same way that we have raised each of our other boys, and we will do the same with Rockwell.
I’ve always said the best defense we can give to Redd is to teach him how to be confident and give him the right things to say when he hears people making fun of him. My husband has always said the next best defense is to give him Kung-Fu lessons.
This story was written by Patricia Williams (@snagdip) and a portion of it originally appeared on Fashion Mamas. It was reprinted with permission.
