Emanuel Zayas is a 14-year-old boy suffering from a basketball-sized tumor that initially started as a pimple on his face. Two years ago, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he had a blemish on his face, but it slowly grew into a nightmare that threatens to fracture his neck or even suffocate him.
Noel Zayas, Emanuel’s father, took his son from one doctor to another all around Cuba. Unfortunately, none of the doctors wanted to treat the teen. “I knocked on a lot of hospital doors. To see our son deforming and all we can do is watch, it’s not easy,” Zayas told the Miami Herald.
Emanuel has a disorder called Polyostotic Fibrous Dysplasia, in which the body replaces portions of bones with fibrous tissues, according to the Mayo Clinic. Despite his condition, Emanuel has friends and attends public school.
Emanuel and his family arrived in Miami on a medical visa, hoping doctors could remove the tumor. “The tumor has taken over his face and has severely affected the bone structure of his upper jaw and nose,” reads a statement of the Jackson Health Foundation.
The giant tumor is benign, meaning its cells will not spread to other parts of his body. But if the cancer is left untreated, it will eventually kill him by crushing his windpipe, causing asphyxia.
An American missionary who met Emanuel in Cuba wanted to connect him with Dr. Robert Marx for the University of Miami Health System. Ten years ago, Marx removed a 16-pound tumor from a Haitian woman.
Marx and fellow doctors are volunteering for the surgery. The IKF Wonderfund is raising money to pay for Emanuel’s hospital stay and other expenses.
The total cost of procedures could be over $200,000. The surgery is on January 12th at the University of Miami’s Jackson Memorial Holtz Children’s Hospital.
This article was inspired by USA TODAY // Florida doctors to remove 10-pound facial tumor that threatens to break boy’s neck