Man was abandoned at the hospital by his own parents after being horrified by his face. Then a woman adopted him when he was five. Today, he has become an inspiration for others to come out of darkness and embrace their differences.
Jono Lancaster was abandoned by his own parents when he was just 36 hours old, at the hospital in Yorkshire.
He was born with a rare genetic condition - Treacher Collins Syndrome that affect’s one’s facial features, including no cheekbones.
At the age of five, he was adopted formally by his mother, Jean who offered him the love and care that he deserved as a child. Being raised in a household with a protective mother, Jono had a happy childhood, both in school and at home, until he moved up-to high school where pupils began picking on him for having different facial features. As a result, Jono became withdrawn from his social life.
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Based on certain instances he remember from that period, like going to the hairdresser and having all eyes on him, Jono developed intense anxiety over how he looked and other’s reaction to that, especially in the public.
But as years passed by, Jono has learnt to control his anxiety. “Now as an adult, I love having my hair cut. I love having my hair washed (at the hairdresser) and massaged and having a chat with her.”
But anxiety is a something that one can never fully get rid of. It’s an everyday reminder to exercise mental health, just as physical health. While Jono has gotten comfortable going to the hairdresser, he would still experience sweat on certain occassions. “Every now and again, when she gets that mirror and says ‘how does it look?’ I still get nervous and sweat a little but I just tell myself ‘it’s okay’. Being able to enjoy the hairdresser's has been massive for me.”
Today, Jono works in the public with a purpose — to make facial differences more acceptable, and to guide others how to embrace differences. He desires to have a community where people with visible differences are able to say hi to the regulars, walk into the local shop, and chat with the shopkeeper, all by being welcomed and greeted with a smile.
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His journey continues to be an inspiration for everyone to step out of their darkness and love themselves for their who they are.
Just like Jono, this 3ft teacher is educating her children at school to practice acceptance, after she struggled from constant stares because of her rare dwarfism. As Jono has said it well in his book, “Not all heroes wear capes.”
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