A Fresh Face Made Him a New Man

Nov. 28, 2008— -- For the first time in nearly 30 years, James O'Neal can see his chin.

Three weeks ago, O'Neal had surgery to remove a huge mass of tumors that had disfigured his face for nearly 30 years. With the support of a community that started in his home of Woodinville, Wash., and grew to circle the globe, O'Neal became a "new man."

"Looks good, I like it. It's perfect," O'Neal said in an interview with ABC News affiliate KOMO News in Seattle, after seeing his face without bandages or stitches. "Perfect. Oh, yeah!"

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

But the unabashed way in which O'Neal went about his life and work -- he is a checker at the local Safeway -- earned him the admiration of the community.

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

"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 began in May, and the total amount of donations has grown to about $240,000, which is more than O'Neal needed for his surgery.

"I've never had that kind of support before," O'Neal said. "I'm overwhelmed. I didn't think it would be this quick."

Dr. Peter Neligan, director of the Center for Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington Medical Center, performed the operation free of charge.

"He's a very striking individual," Neligan said before the operation. "The least I can do is join in to the community effort and donate my services. ... He's quite pumped about the idea of having surgery."