In the modern world, success mostly consists on advancing and trying to fit in. For if you don’t fit in or are a little different from others, you are seen as “abnormal” or “odd.”

This dismal viewpoint on life places far too much emphasis on peer comparison and attractiveness.

Ask Jono Lancaster, a human being who, sadly, has been painfully reminded of how vicious the world can be on a regular basis yet who shares our flesh and blood.

Facebook page of Jono Lancaster

Though born in England in October 1985, Jono Lancaster was not like the other newborns in the hospital.

The peculiar prenatal condition known as Treacher Collins syndrome was the reason for the asymmetrical development of the little boy’s face bones.

Along with his diagnosis, the doctors told Jono’s parents he would most likely never walk or talk. Startled, Jono’s parents felt it was too much and turned him away.

When I was born, my parents were frankly shocked. My hospital release came 36 hours after my delivery. Social services got someone to look after me. Jono remembered the foster carer at the 2015 Nord Conference as Jean.

Just two days old, Jono’s parents disappeared and put him up for adoption. A wonderful woman named Jean Lancaster adopted and raised Jono after the hospital contacted Social Services.

Jean was neither shocked nor scared when she saw the little child. He and she clicked as soon as she took him up. Could I bring him home when? Turning to look at the nurse, Jean questioned.

Jono could not have asked for a better or more loving foster mother; she gave him all the love and care he needed right away.

Though his mother never wavered in her support, Jono’s early years were marked by a lack of understanding from the outside world.

Starting school, Jono started to understand who he was. He quickly noted that he did not resemble his classmates.

I felt alone and as if I was the only one in the world who had my traits. I used to wonder, “Why did I have to end up looking like this?” even if other individuals are lucky enough to win the jackpot or go on to become doctors, attorneys, or professional football players, said in an Adelaide Now interview.

It is important to realize that an IQ of a child with Treacher Collins syndrome has no bearing at all. All that interested his classmates was Jono’s appearance. They would make faces and run away when he would get close, saying they didn’t want to catch his “disease.”

I used to keep how miserable I was from my mother. She has done so much for me already, he remarked in a BBC interview.

But with an incredible woman by his side, Jono refused to give up and let the detractors win.

Foster mother Jean tried to reconnect Jono with his biological parents. But after five years of them answering her letters, on May 18, 1990, she took the next step and adopted Jono.

That means I have two birthdays! “I used to tell other kids that my mom went to the hospital and she looked at all the babies and she chose me, whereas their parents had been stuck with them,” Jono stated at the 2015 Nord Conference.

In a poignant 2015 Facebook post, Jono said he would never forget his foster mother.

“For her small size, this woman has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Having looked after foster children for thirty years, this mother is extraordinarily kind and giving. This mother would weep every time a foster child moved to a new home because she thought she had let them down in some manner. Though she had no idea what lay ahead, this 40-year-old single mother welcomed me. When this mother adopted me, she also gave me Claire and Stephen, an amazing family. Just when I needed her, this woman—a real angel—came into my life.