A MUM-OF-FOUR explained that people don’t believe all of her children are biologically hers.
Some strangers even refuse to accept that her twins are related to each other.
Two daughters in a family share the same genetic condition which makes them look different from their siblings[/caption]
Sherria and her family appeared on the Truly Show, where they discussed their different appearances.
The mum explained that she has two daughters who were born with albinism.
One of the girls has a twin brother, who doesn’t have the inherited condition.
“My daughter She’riq has albinism but my son Te’riq, he doesn’t,” Sherria said.
“That was a shocker for us once they were born.”
The family were particularly surprised as, despite being a result of genetics, the chances of having a child with albinism is one in 75.
And Sherria and her husband Terry already had a daughter, Sheterria, with the condition.
“Albinism means you just have no pigment in your hair, your skin, or your eyes,” Sherria explained.
As well as affecting your appearance, the rare condition also makes you “very sensitive to the sun”.
The twins, She’riq and Te’riq, have faced a lot of confusion when they go out in public.
“People sometimes don’t believe we are twins, they always come up to us and say, ‘Oh my God, you guys are so cute. I love your outfits’ and then we say, ‘We’re twins’ and they’ll be like ‘No’,” Te’riq said.
His sister added that their appearance isn’t the only thing that makes them dissimilar.
“We’re totally different, he’s funnier than me,” She’riq explained.
She has developed a close bond with her older sister, who she credits with “helping” and “comforting” her as she learned to come out of her shell.
And as for Sheterria, she was just glad to finally look like somebody in her family.
What is albinism?
Albinism id a genetic condition which causes a lack of melanin in the skin, hair, and eyes, resulting in pale skin, white or light hair, and vision problems.
The condition is present at birth and is passed down from parents to their children.
A person with albinism has a 100% chance of passing on the gene.
Albinism affects around one in 17,000 people worldwide, though prevalence varies by country.
It most commonly occurs in people from sub-Saharan Africa, where it affects one in 5,000.
“When the twins were born, I was in [primary] school,” the teen recalled.
“I was so excited because I wanted one to come out looking like me, I didn’t care who it was, just somebody come out looking like me.”
She said she “started crying” when she first saw her baby sister, describing it as “the best moment ever”.
Her mum explained that Sheterria had been through a lot as a result of her albinism.
“She had bullying, people call her names, I think she had somebody spit at her before, it was really hard for her,” Sherria said.
But despite the harsh reactions from strangers, Sheterria explained how “at home, I got the love”.
Terry shared the family’s concerns that She’riq would go through a similar experience.
“What the world, what she was facing outside the doors of our house, we were worried about that,” he said.
Both girls have now learned to embrace their differences and love their looks.
“When I look in the mirror, I see somebody who has come a long way,” Sheterria said.
“My eyebrows are blonde, my eyelashes are blonde, everything is blonde.
“I used to hate that but now I look in the mirror and I’m like ‘Yes, you’re cute’.”
She’riq has albinism while her twin brother Te’riq does not[/caption]
