Mum of three children with albinism wishes people would stop making 'rude' and 'nasty' comments
A mum of three children who have albinism has hit back at people who have been making 'rude' and 'nasty' comments.
Albinism is a lifelong condition that usually affects people with white or blonde hair.
The condition means those affected have a reduced amount of melanin, or even none at all, which can affect their colouring and eyesight.
Mum-of-five Stacey Chappell has three children with albinism, which she says can cause them to 'walk into buildings' due to their visual impairments.
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34-year-old Stacey is a full-time mum, and lives with husband and cleaner Jason, 40, in Hebburn, South Tyneside.
The couple said they 'didn't know anything about' about albinism before their children's diagnosis.
The condition affects the family's life every day, with the three children having to wear factor 50 sun cream every time they go outside, no matter the weather.
Stacey and Jason have also installed blackout curtains in their home, as sunlight can cause severe burns.
Their first child Jay, now 15, was the first to be diagnosed, with Stacey blaming herself for the diagnosis.
Following that, Stacey suffered from postnatal depression and initially rejected help from others.
But after a bit of time, the couple made contact with Guide Dogs - which is the leading UK charity for people with sight loss.
Leon-James, three, and Amelia Grace, one - were also born with albinism, with them needing to wear glasses due to having visual impairments.
Stacey and Jason's two other children - Sky, 13, and Lexi, 11 - do not have albinism.
But despite the obvious day-to-day challenges, the couple say that they feel 'privileged' to have three children with the condition and are hoping to raise awareness of it.
They are also hoping that people will now think twice about making horrible comments, as people should 'never ever judge a book by its cover'.
“I feel privileged. I’m so blessed to have them because it’s a rare condition,” Stacey said.
“We’re actually honoured to have them as our kids; they’re so rare. People will go, ‘Look at his hair, look at his eyelashes’… and I’ll say, ‘Yeah, he’s an albino’.
“Then they’ll say, ‘Why do you feel like you’ve got to tell people?’, and I’ll say, ‘Do you know why? Because I’m so privileged; I feel so special having them as my kids’.”
Stacey recalled one particular moment in a supermarket where a shopper made a 'rude', discriminatory remark about Leon-James.
"We were actually in Iceland, and he nearly walked into this man, and he nearly walked into this lady," Stacey said.
"He did it twice, so I apologised and said ‘sorry’ and I didn’t say anything else, and she went: ‘No wonder he can’t see with those stupid glasses on’."
Regardless of these cruel situations, Stacey hopes that by speaking out about albinism, people will be more open-minded and want to help, rather than discourage and pass judgment.
“You know that saying – ‘never ever judge a book by its cover’ – and I think just the way people look at other people,” she said.
“If people knew about that condition, even with any kind of visual impairment, or any other condition, then I think this world would be a lot different.”
Guide Dogs has recently launched its We Find the Way advert, which champions the My Life Skills service that Guide Dogs offers.
To find out more and discover the services provided by Guide Dogs, visit: www.guidedogs.org.uk/brothers
Callum Jones