A Fresh Face Made Him a New Man

But the surgery was risky. Twice Neligan had to stop the operation because O'Neal was losing too much blood. By the time the operation was over, Neligan had used 28 units of blood, although the body only holds eight units.

James O'Neal, 46, has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow on his nerve cells. He underwent eight hours of surgery to have most of the tumor removed.

(Courtesy KOMO)

Although there are records of people receiving full-face transplants, O'Neal opted for a less radical operation to "debulk" his tumors, which removes most of the tissue but leaves some behind.

O'Neal will have a second surgery in another six months to remove tumors from his neck and minor procedures every five years should keep further tumor growths from engulfing his face once again.

Following surgery, O'Neal spent five days in the intensive care unit with substantial swelling of the face. He also needed a breathing tube in case his throat swelled shut.

But afterwards, O'Neal marveled at his left ear, which was in its right place, no longer dangling from the mass of tumors, as well as his straightened nose and his chin.

O'Neal has taken the events of the past year in stride although he sometimes can't believe how strongly the local, and global, community came together to help him

"It's not going to change my personality or nothing," O'Neal said. "I think I inspire a lot of people just being out working."

To learn more about O'Neal's story, visit http://friendsofjamesoneal.blogspot.com/.