Editor’s note: This story has been updated to specify that none of the profits received from Rock Your Different go to the Krienert’s medical bills. All profits go to Phoenix Children’s Hospital to help others.

A year and a half ago, Jennifer Krienert received news that changed the lives of herself and her family: her son was diagnosed with two different eye disorders.

Jennifer’s son, Rory, who was only 1-year-old at the time, had a combined hamartoma of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium as well as strabismus.

Because of these disorders, Rory has decreased visual acuity and his eyes don’t always look in the same direction. He will have to wear an eye patch until he is 9.

But Jennifer and Rory didn’t let this get them down, and instead they put a positive spin on the recent diagnosis. Jennifer started a company called Rock Your Different instead of creating a GoFundMe or YouCaring.

Rock Your Different is a clothing company that works to celebrate “what makes us different.”

Jennifer, an Iowa State alumna of 2000, said that at the beginning, it was tough to understand her son’s diagnoses. Her family was told Rory wouldn’t be able to play sports or be a police officer, among other things.

But as they did their research, they found there were plenty of professional sports players who also suffered from strabismus. This gave them hope and “inspired us to say he could do anything.”

“It was nice seeing big athletes that have eye issues and clearly do just fine,” Jennifer said.

Now, at 2-and-a-half years old, Rory is still doing well and is used to his eye patch. Soon, he will have to go through another surgery, which is Jennifer’s biggest worry right now. But as she says, it’s a day-to-day process.

Despite the concerns, Jennifer is devoting herself to helping her son to feel accepted. Rock Your Different focuses on raising awareness of his disorders and empowering and celebrating people who feel different.

Ten percent of the profits of Rock Your Different go to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where Rory has had both of his procedures.

“He’s supposed to wear a hat or sunglasses anytime he’s in the sun because the sun affects his eyes,” Jennifer said, responding to what motivated her to start Rock Your Different.

Getting Rory to wear a hat that is personalized to him and his disorder is much easier than any old hat, Jennifer explained, and creating the hat escalated into a business.

In the two months Jennifer has had Rock Your Different open, she has sold more than 200 shirts and has been able to donate about $250 to the hospital.

Many of the designs on the products include an eyepatch as a nod to Rory and his disorders, but there are also several designs that instead involve hearts. Jennifer said these designs are the most popular, but her favorite product is the razorback tank.

Because of the attention her products are getting, Jennifer plans to put new designs in the store that are dedicated to diseases like diabetes and autism in order to help even more people “rock their different.”