{"id":244572,"date":"2021-05-07T13:42:08","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T18:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=244572"},"modified":"2021-05-06T18:42:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T23:42:08","slug":"rejected-parents-face-jono-love-acceptance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/rejected-parents-face-jono-love-acceptance\/","title":{"rendered":"Rejected by his parents because of his face, Jono has found love and acceptance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A man born with Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS) was abandoned by his parents at the hospital because of his face. Though that caused him pain well into adulthood, he’s since found love and acceptance for himself, and is spreading that message to others.<\/p>\n

A recent video from LADBible featured an interview with the man, who goes by Jono Lancaster on social media.<\/p>\n

“My adoption report says that ‘Jonathan Lancaster was born on the 31st of the 10th, 1984,'” he states in the video. “‘Both parents were horrified by the child’s appearance. Both parents felt no maternal bond. Both parents left the hospital 36 hours later, leaving the child behind.’ And those words, you know, it’s something that’s… that’s obviously stuck with me, and you know, when I had angrier periods in my life, I focused on those words a lot, and they cut deep.”<\/p>\n

TCS is a genetic disorder which most often affects the cheek bones, jaw, chin, and ears. Though some children may need therapy and surgeries and the condition is incurable, life expectancy is the same as for typical peers, and people with TCS can live normal lives. The only difference is in the person’s appearance \u2014 and unfortunately, that can be enough to scare some people away.<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018There was just no question.\u2019 Parents refused abortion for baby with craniofacial syndrome<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

“I wasn’t born with any cheekbones, so that’s why my eyes appear the way they do. I wasn’t born with all the parts of my ear, so I’ve got the \u2014 I call them my little Bart Simpson ears. It’s also affected my jaw, so my jaw is a little receded, and that’s about it, really, for Treacher Collins,” Lancaster explained in the video.<\/p>\n

Yet the woman who eventually became his mother helped give him the strength he would need to embrace himself later. “At the age of five, on the 18th of May, 1990, I was adopted by an incredible woman called Jean,” he said. “She never shied away from a conversation, even the difficult ones about my face and my birth parents. And yeah, she just gave me this incredible foundation, this incredible love for me to live.”<\/p>\n