Most of us are aware of the fact that some children have to deal with genetic disorders. They are passed down from one generation to the next, although not every individual who carries the disorder is going to suffer from the consequences of it. Sometimes, it takes two parents with the same genetic abnormality to result in such a difficulty when a child is born. Some of the common disabilities that we may be familiar with include a cleft lip and cleft palate.
Cleft lip and cleft palate is a disorder that occurs within the mother’s womb while the baby is still a fetus. The cellular structures don’t form exactly as they are supposed to form, resulting in a defect that can be difficult and may sometimes require surgery. Unfortunately, some people can be judgmental about those who have such disabilities and if somebody looks or acts differently than the rest of us, they may be subject to bullying and a wide variety of other problems.
That brings us to a young man named Madden Humphreys along with his mother, Christina. Madden has two different genetic disorders that are rare. He has a cleft lip, which most of us are familiar with but he also has a disorder known as Heterochromia Iridium.
Heterochromia Iridium is an extremely rare disorder that causes an individual’s eyes to be two different colors. It is rare but surprisingly, it shows up in humans as well as in dogs and cats.
Approximately 1% of the population has Heterochromia Iridium so you aren’t likely to know too many people who have it. The eye color may be a little bit odd since they are different but it doesn’t typically have any other type of health effect associated with it.
Christina was browsing the Internet one day when she found a cat that was very special. The cat had Heterochromia Iridium as well as a cleft lip. These were the same defects that her son had.
It seemed as if something very rare was happening but there was a problem. The cat lived in Minnesota and the Humphreys lived in Oklahoma. It would have been difficult for them to afford to fly to Minnesota to pick up the cat and bring it home.
Fortunately, Christina told a friend about the situation. They started getting some money together for Christina to pack her son up for a road trip to go get his new best friend. They traveled through many states and arrived at the rescue shelter to find the cat waiting for them.
The cat was named Moon by Madden. Christina said it was the happiest she had ever seen her son. He didn’t have many friends and often felt lonely but now he had a best friend that would stick by his side.
It was a real confidence builder for the lad who suddenly realized that it wasn’t all that terrible to be different. People weren’t always as nice as they should have been to him so it’s nice to know that some people out there are willing to help.
You can see more about this boy and his new friend in the following video: