Mum dispels myths surrounding rare condition affecting daughter

A Perthshire mum has said her daughter’s rare genetic skin condition will not be allowed to hold her “beautiful baby” back in life.

Little Aarya Nixon was born with albinism, a condition that means she has very poor sight and white hair due to a lack of pigment.

Speaking on International Albinism Awareness Day yesterday, mum Gillian Elliott said she and partner Ross Nixon immediately suspected that their daughter, who is now 16 months old, had the condition when she was born.

The 32-year-old said: “Aarya was born with a mass of beautiful white hair. It immediately made us question the midwife team who delivered her about whether she might have albinism.

“We knew nothing about albinism other than white hair is often a characteristic and there is no known albinism in either of our families.”

Gillian, who lives in Braco with Ross and their two other children, Kaylyn and Peyton, added that she wanted to dispel the myths that surround albinism. Contrary to popular belief those with the condition should not be called “albinos”.

“Very few people in our lives knew anything about albinism and many were more aware of the myths that surround it than the accurate details of the condition,” she said.

“Many people believe those with albinism have red eyes, which is a myth. In fact, the lack of pigment in their eyes (which can be any colour, for Aarya they are blue) can sometimes mean that light shines right through the retina of the eye and the blood vessels at the back of the eye can be visible, giving the impression their eyes are red.”