My second son Justin Gabriel or Gabby as we fondly call him is very much different from his siblings. Gabby has Albinism, a condition wherein the pigmentation in his body is not in normal condition. Hence, Gabby is much fairer or completely white even compared to Caucasians. This medical condition is not limited to human beings because there are even animals who are Albinos. Albino is the term used for people or animals who lacks pigments in the skin, eyes, hair, fur or feathers).
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| Gabby @ 3 yrs old |
My son is not the first Albinism case in the family, I have a cousin who is also an Albino so I could say that it runs in the family. When Gabby was much younger, a lot of people would ask me if my husband is a foreigner. I would just simply shrug it off and I don't see the need to explain my son's condition to them.
In some instances wherein people seem to be so ignorant with his condition and would stare at him like he is suffering from any contagious disease; the mother's instinct to defend her child would always come to me. No one will defend him but me and our entire family at that. Ignorance of the people surrounding him is the reason why I never enrolled my son to public school. Sad to say, there are a lot of people who judge others by the way their outside appearance. I want to spare him the feeling of being different from the rest of the group.
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| My kids Jeon, Gab and Jet |
So choosing his school was a tough part for me, physically, emotionally and financially. I need to explain to the principal what my child's condition is. I would beg them to treat him like they would treat other students because he is normal. The only problem he has is his eyesight, nothing more. I keep reminding his teachers not to allow other students to call him names. Because it will definitely affect his entire being.
This blog is dedicated to my son, I also want to impart some knowledge about Albinism to the blogosphere. I want to reach out to other mothers who are in the same boat as mine. I want people to know that Albinism is not a disease and is no laughing matter. We just need to understand what it is so we can treat people with Albinism the right way. The Albinos have the same human rights as we have.
