Many parents enjoy showing off adorable photos of their brand new babies to friends and family. This was also true for Patricia Williams.

She snapped photos of her son with tenderness. But when she tried to show off his photo collection to her friends, she got an unpleasant shock.

Patricia gave birth to her son Redd in 2012. The baby boy’s mother didn’t notice that he had white hair until he was two months old, among other things.

When Dale looked up why their baby’s eyes kept darting from side to side, he discovered something shocking: this was a typical indicator of albinism.

Patricia was doubtful because she had never heard of the term, but the boy certainly displayed the symptoms of albinism, including extremely fair skin, white hair, and tracking eyes.

The pair then consulted with an optician and geneticist for a more definitive diagnosis.

Oculocutaneous Albinism Type 1 (OCA1), which affects 1 in 17,000 persons worldwide, was confirmed as Redd’s diagnosis.

Patricia remembers the eager anticipation of the hospital personnel at the birth of Redd because of his unusual white hair and blue eyes.

Patricia, her husband, and their firstborn son, Gage, all had blonde hair, so she didn’t bat an eye.

Redd’s hair was so white that it glistened in the sunlight, she remembered thinking a month after they brought him home.