Diagnosed with Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects facial bone development, doctors told his parents he might never walk or talk. His parents abandoned him.
“At birth, my parents were shocked. I left the hospital 36 hours later. Jean, a foster carer, took me in,” Jono said at the 2015 Nord Conference.
Under two days old, he was given up and Jean Lancaster adopted him.
Jean wasn’t fazed. She bonded with him, asking to take him home.
With Jean’s love, Jono had a good start, but the outside world was less understanding.
At school, Jono knew he was different.
“I felt alone, the only one like me. Why did I look this way?” he said in an interview.
Treacher Collins doesn’t affect intelligence, but his classmates cared about his looks. They avoided him, fearing his “disease.”
“I hid my unhappiness from my mom. She’d done so much,” Jono told the BBC.
Despite this, Jono didn’t give up, thanks to Jean.