Mother who was ‘devastated’ when her daughter was born albino admits she ‘mourned the perfect child’ she’d hoped for
- Hollie Dunlea, 21, from Cork, gave birth to her daughter Ellie in October last year
- Twelve-weeks after her birth Ellie was diagnosed with Oculocutaneous Albinism
- The part-time model confessed she was ‘devastated’ by her child’s condition
- She has accepted her child’s Albinism and is now ‘obsessed’ with her white hair
A mother has revealed that she was ‘devastated’ when her baby daughter was born with albinism and admitted she felt she was ‘mourning the perfect child’.
Hollie Dunlea, 21, from Cork, Ireland, found out her daughter Ellie had Oculocutaneous Albinism when she was 12-weeks-old, and initially found it difficult to cope with the news.
The condition is a genetic disorder affecting 1 out of 20,000 people and means Ellie has a reduced mount of melanin, which affects skin and hair colouring and can also cause problems with eyesight or total loss of vision.
The new mum, who welcomed her child in October last year, said she was ‘heartbroken’ over the diagnosis and wanted ‘nothing more’ than for her daughter to be ‘happy and healthy’.
Hollie Dunlea (pictured) , 21, from Cork, Ireland, gave birth to her daughter Ellie in October last year, and twelve weeks after her birth Ellie was diagnosed with Oculocutaneous Albinism
Ellie has a reduced mount of melanin which effects the colouring in her eyes and hair as well as her eye sight
She said: ‘If I’m honest, I was devastated.
‘It was as if I mourned the “perfect child”. Whether it be your first child or your fifth, we all want nothing more than our babies to be happy and healthy.’
The mother recalled being told by her midwife that she would be having a ‘blonde baby’.
However, she said her mother knew that Ellie was albino the minute she saw her.
Ellie is classed as legally blind and may have to walk with a cane when she’s older
The part-time model admitted that she began to hide her daughter’s condition and says it felt like a ‘punch in the stomach’ when people would ask
The following morning, Hollie claimed that her daughter was known by medical staff on the ward as ‘the baby with the white hair’.
She revealed that she feared her daughter would be treated differently due to her condition, and desperately wanted her to have ‘normal life’.
Ellie is classed as legally blind, meaning she will never be able to drive and may have to use a cane to walk when she’s older.
What is Oculocutaneous albinism?
Oculocutaneous albinism is the most common type, affecting the skin, hair and eyes.
Those affected typically have very fair skin and white or light-colored hair. Long-term sun exposure greatly increases the risk of skin damage.
Oculocutaneous albinism reduces pigmentation of the colored part of the iris and the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the retina.
The condition can result from mutations in several genes, including those used to produce melanin.
Melanin is the pigment that gives skin, hair, and eyes their color. In the retina, melanin also plays a role in normal vision.
Oculocutaneous albinism is inherited in anautosomal recessive pattern, which means both copies of a gene in each cell have mutations.
In most cases, the parents both carry a copy of the mutated gene but do not show signs and symptoms of the condition.
1 in around 20,000 people around the world have some form of the condition.
There is no cure for the eye problems caused by albinism.
However there are a number of treatments, such as glasses and contact lenses, that can improve vision.
Hollie told RSPV Live ‘Sight or no sight, she is my little girl and I want nothing but the best for her. People can be so nasty.’
The part-time model admitted that she began to hide her daughter’s condition, because she was afraid of how her other people would view her child.
She said it was as if she was being ‘punched in the stomach’ when she was asked if her child was albino.
Despite her original struggle to accept the diagnosis, the mum says she was forced to educate herself on Albinism and is now trying to view her daughter’s condition in a more positive way.
Hollie is determined to raise Ellie like any other child her age, and wants to show that just because her child is ‘different’ it doesn’t make her any less than someone else.
Nine months on from her diagnosis, Hollie has come to terms with Ellie’s condition and says she’s ‘obsessed’ with her daughter’s white hair.
Hollie has come to terms with Ellie’s condition and says she’s ‘obsessed’ with her daughter’s white hair
Ellie attends Cork Child Vision pre-school and Hollie is running the Women’s Mini Marathon in aid of the the Child’s Vision Charity
She also revealed how she receives hoards of messages on social media from friends, family and even total strangers, all gushing over how gorgeous her daughter is.
Hollie said: ‘She deserves to be known all over for how incredible, beautiful and unique she is.’
The mum credits registering for the Women’s Mini Marathon for giving her the courage to speak out about her daughter’s condition.
She said she felt a sense of ‘pride and courage’ after realising she was the first person to run the marathon for Cork Child Vision, a school for visually impaired children.
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