A guy who was bullied throughout his childhood after being born with half of his face missing has stated that he no longer allows his disability to hold him back and has married after rebuilding his self-esteem.
Joseph Williams, 41, of Chicago, was born with otofacial facial syndrome, a rare illness that left him without a jaw. People have fled from him in dread, according to the welder, but he has not allowed his disability hold him back in life.
Joseph is happily married to Vania, 39, whom he met in 2019. He enjoys traveling and socializing. Joseph, who has no idea what is causing his condition, communicates via sign language, gestures, handwritten notes, and his phone. He consumes food by passing it through a tube into his stomach.
Joseph added being born without a jaw surprised his birth mother. He was a twin, but the other child died before they were born. He was brought from Illinois, where he was born, to Chicago for various operations when he was just a few days old.
They tried to build a jaw for him using a bone and skin graft, but as he developed, his body rejected it and it failed. He was also placed for adoption, which led to my meeting with his new family.
Growing up was difficult, and being born this way caused him many issues, but he tried not to let it bother him. He is unable to eat, speak, or even breathe properly. He has a tube in his stomach that he can insert blended meals into, but has never tasted food.
He has a trachea, which is a tube in his neck that lets him breathe. And since he was two years old, he was taught sign language to help him communicate. However, since then, he has discovered new methods of communication, such as taking notes and typing into his phone.
With his illness, Joseph had a difficult childhood, with people fleeing away and tormenting him throughout his life. He acknowledges to wanting to hide away and cry at times, and he has even pondered suicide. However he tells himself that he was born this way for a reason, and that all he has to do now is show individuals who he truly is.
Joseph added that he realizes that he is unique and that some people would think he is ugly and refuse to acknowledge him, but he is still a person with a heart, feelings, and a brain. He, like everyone else, deserves to be treated with dignity.
When he was younger, everyone attempted to protect him by telling him that he couldn’t do this or that. But he didn’t want his illness to restrict him, and he didn’t want to be limited by it. Dating was also difficult for him since he had such poor self-esteem and felt useless, but when he began to believe in himself and realized he deserved more, he met his wife.
They met at work by the end of 2019. They began to speak, and she said she mistook him for a gang member, which is how he lost his jaw. At first, they were friends, then finally started dating and fell in love. They married in 2020. People probably wouldn’t have expected him to marry. To be honest, he didn’t expect to either.
Joseph also enjoys music since it allows him to express himself. He enjoys both DJing and playing the drums. Joseph added that his ambition is to become a DJ one day. He has difficulty talking at times, but music allows him to express himself.
While he sometimes wants to hide away from the world and weep, he has to recall that God designed him this way for a reason. He gave this weight to him because he knew he could handle it. Being born without a jaw has given him a distinct perspective on life and has shaped who he is today.
It becomes frustrating when people stop what they’re doing to gaze at him. One person even stopped his car, turned around, and drove past just to stare at him.
He simply hoped people would talk to him and ask him questions instead of staring at him like a deer in the headlights.
