Community Rallies to Buy Man New Face

July 14, 2008— -- James O'Neal is such a die-hard fan of the Seattle Seahawks football team that he has a tattoo dedicated to the team inked on each arm. But the tattoos are his least defining physical characteristics.

O'Neal, 46, has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow on his nerve cells. These tumors can appear anywhere on the body, but O'Neal's are concentrated in a mass on the left side of his face.

While some might choose to keep themselves out of the limelight, O'Neal is a busy supervisor at a local supermarket where he lives in Woodinville, Wash. He is also an avid golfer. The unabashed way in which he goes about his life and work, interacting with customers and friends, has earned O'Neal the admiration of the community. And lately, they have been actively returning the love.

Last fall, a church group headed by one of O'Neal's long-time customers at the Safeway supermarket began a campaign to see if anyone would be willing to help him seek treatment for his condition.

O'Neal, who used to undergo surgeries every summer until he was 18 to remove growing tumors, would need several thousand dollars worth of surgery to remove the massive tumors that now cover his face.

Neurofibromas are fairly rare and occur in one of about 100,000 Americans, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

"I was always interested in his story. He really impressed me," Knopf said. "Only a few people came to the first meeting, but everyone gave money, and we got $60 that day."

Since then, O'Neal's story has been picked up by the local news, and the community has rallied around him. An official fundraising drive commenced in May 2008, and the total number of donations has exceeded $135,000.

"I'm hardly doing anything now," said Katie Knopf, the 39-year-old homemaker living in Bothell, Wash., who helped launch the drive. "It's all these other people who are still motivated to help him."

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. Donations for O'Neal include $10,000 from his employer, Safeway,and $600 from a local sixth- grade class.