Joseph Williams uses sign language and consumes food through a tube.
A man who was born without a jaw and bullied all his life has said love saved his life after surviving decades feeling “useless”. Joseph Williams, forty-one, of Chicago, was quoted as saying by news.co.au that others struggling with challenges like him also deserve more from life.
“Dating was also hard for me because I had such low self-esteem and felt worthless, but when I started to believe in myself and realized that I deserved more, I ended up finding my wife,” he told the publication.
Williams was born with a rare congenital disorder called otofacial syndrome. It is caused by a mutated gene and left him unable to speak or eat with his mouth.
Due to the condition, Mr. Williams uses sign language and consumes food through a tube.
“I can’t eat, talk or even breathe properly,” he said. “I have a tube in my stomach, into which I can put liquefied food, but this means I have never tasted food.”
But these problems did not stop Mr. Williams from living his life.
“I understand that I am different and that some people will think I am ugly and will not accept me, but I am still a person who has a heart, feelings and a brain,” said the 41-year-old, who works as a welder. “He should be treated with respect, like any other person,” he added.
According to a report in the New York PostAs a child, Mr. Williams was constantly told things he couldn’t do. “But I didn’t want my condition to stop me and I didn’t want to be limited.”
Williams underwent a series of surgeries in Chicago, when doctors tried to build a jaw, but said her body rejected it.
But now, Mr. Williams is living life to the fullest with his wife Vania and dreams of becoming a DJ one day, according to the Post.