Black couple shocked as son is born white
Little Daniel with blond hair suffers from a slight genetic mutation
London: A black couple told Monday of their shock and mystification when their son was born with white skin and blond hair.
Francis Tshibangu admitted: "My first thought was ‘Wow, is he really mine?" He and his wife Arlette already have a two-year-old boy, Seth, whose features reflect his African parentage. But it is thought that baby Daniel, now 11 weeks old, has a slight genetic mutation. He is not an albino.
Congo-born Tshibangu, 28, said his "jaw dropped open" when Daniel arrived at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
"I was too stunned to speak and I could see the doctors looking at each other, thinking the baby couldn't be mine. Then Arlette and I looked at each other and smiled and I knew he was. I have been with my wife for three years and there was never a question of infidelity, but seeing his white skin was a surprise to say the least."
Tshibangu, a sociology student, added: "The initial reaction from the nurses must have been that Arlette had had an affair. Their faces were a picture, but then I'm sure mine was too. When I bent down and kissed him I got a better look at his features and could see he looked just like me and Arlette. He has my nose and my wife's lips. All we can say is that Daniel is our miracle and, though we are shocked by his white skin, we feel very blessed. He's beautiful."
Reaction in operating room
His wife added: "The reaction in the operating theatre was one of shocked silence, myself included. I stared at Daniel with my eyes wide. But as the nurse put his little pink body in my arms I bonded with him instantly. When I looked at him all I felt was love. Like any mum who has just given birth, my main concern was that he was healthy, which he is."
Tshibangu added: "I know there will be some who say my wife has had an affair but I trust her completely and know that isn't the case. Even if she'd had an affair with a white man, you would expect a mixed-race baby with black hair, not a white baby with soft blond hair like little Daniel."
— Daily Mail
