A man who was abandoned by his parents just 36 hours after being born has said he is still 'forever grateful' to them.
Jonathan Lancaster was born with a rare genetic disorder called Treacher Collins syndrome, which is characterised by 'distinctive abnormalities of the head and face'.
His birth parents were a married couple in their 20s, and less than two full days after Jonathan was born they signed over their rights to him, with adoption records stating they were 'horrified by [his] appearance' and felt no bond with him.
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Hear Jonathan tell his story below:
Now in his 30s, Jonathan was adopted when he was five years old by a woman named Jean, who 'never shied away' from difficult conversations and gave him an 'incredible foundation' from which to grow.
In an interview with UNILAD, Jonathan described growing up, dealing with people who would make fun of his looks and girls who would ask him out as a 'dare'.
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He admitted focusing on the words on his adoption papers 'a lot' during angrier periods of his life and wanting to 'hurt [his parents] as much as [he] was hurting' in his darkest days, but looking back he says he respects that his parents made their decision and chose to stick by it.
When he was in his mid-twenties, Jonathan was at a point where he wanted to reach out to his birth parents in a letter. He asked whether they would be open to meeting him, but received a response stating they didn't want any contact, and that further attempts to get in touch would be ignored.
Jonathan said the response made him cry and left him feeling 'rejected all over again', but he acknowledged they did what they felt was 'best for them', adding: "I respect that."
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He continued: "At the end of the day, I will always come back to those two human beings gave me life and for that I am forever grateful. Every milestone that I have in life, I tend to think about them but I guess the ultimate thing that I want to share with my birth parents is that I am happy, I'm okay and I'm healthy, and I hope you are too."
Over the years, Jonathan has continued to discover things he loves about himself which have led him to establish more relationships and find new opportunities, and he made clear that he loves his face and doesn't want to change it, 'at all'.
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Emily Brown