Beyond the pale
went on.
‘Leo’s an albino?’ I gasped, trying to hold back tears.
The doctor explained that it was genetic, meaning that me and his dad, Thomas, both had to carry the gene.
I couldn’t believe it.
‘You can either wrap him up in cotton wool,’ the doctor smiled, ‘or you let him try to achieve everything he sets his mind to.’
His words suddenly snapped me out of my sadness.
At home, everything seemed to make sense.
Leo crashing his walker all the time was down to his vision.
To help him out, we painted the door frames and skirting boards green, a colour Leo could see well, and thankfully, it worked a treat!
He would still struggle when it came to watching the TV, but loved listening to the music.
As he got older, he wanted more freedom, but riding a bike wasn’t very easy for him due to his balance.
Instead, we got him a small quad bike to race around the fields. ‘It’ll only take a few minutes,’ I’d tell him as he tried to wriggle free while I slathered on sun cream.
His white skin would burn so easily without it.
Every now and then, people would stare and make comments but we tried our best to ignore them.
‘He looks like a vampire,’ someone whispered in the supermarket one day.
‘Well, that’s their problem,’ he just shrugged.
We told him it didn’t matter what people said and thankfully, he’s never seemed too fazed by other people’s comments.
In July 2018, when me and Thomas welcomed another baby, we knew there was a chance they could have albinism too.
But when Isabelle-clare arrived, she joined our eldest, Kadon, in being free from the condition, too.
And just last August, we entered her into a community beauty pageant.
She won the natural beauty round and the following morning, Leo, eight, came downstairs wearing her crown.
‘Can I enter a pageant as well? he beamed.
‘Sure!’ I smiled.
Yes, he looked different to the other kids, but these weren’t stereotypical glitzy pageants.
You had to get involved with the local community if you wanted to enter.
Leo organised litter picking and raffles for the Salvation Army to win his place.
And finally, in January this year, it was time for the Pure International UK Pageant and Leo was ready to compete.
For the fitness round, he even dressed up as a boxer!
It was a sport he loved, but hadn’t been able to get involved in due to his vision.
‘Go on Leo,’ I whispered as the punch bag lay in front of him. Whack! Right on the money! Next, he plans on climbing Snowdon for the Salvation Army.
He’s so determined to raise some money in spite of everything.
His condition may mean he’ll never be able to drive or be a ‘hero’ fireman’ like he dreams of.
But to us, Leo will always be our little hero.
We’re so proud of Leo