Otofacial Syndrome Left Chicago’s Joseph Williams Without Jaw, He Refused To Give Up

Joseph Williams uses sign language and consumes food through a tube.A man who was born without jaw and bullied his entire life has said that love saved his life after surviving decades of feeling “worthless”. Forty-one-year-old Joseph Williams from Chicago was quoted as saying by news.co.au that others struggling with challenges like him also deserve more out of life.“Dating was also hard for me because I had such low self-esteem and felt worthless, but when I started believing in myself and realised I deserved more, I ended up finding my wife,” he told the publication.Mr 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, speak or even breathe properly,” he said. “I have a tube in my stomach, which I can place blended food into, but this means that I have never tasted food.”But these issues 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 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. “I should be treated with respect, just as anyone else should be,” he added.According to a report in the New York Post, when he was growing up, Mr Williams was constantly told about things he couldn’t do. “But I didn’t want my condition to hold me back and I didn’t want to be limited.”Mr Williams underwent a number of surgeries in Chicago, as doctors tried to construct a jaw but he said his body rejected it.But now, Mr Williams lives his life to the fullest with wife Vania and dreams of becoming a DJ one day, according to the Post.



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