Warning: This story contains graphic content some may find disturbing.

James O'Neal has waited a lifetime for a new face.

Today, he got it.

The community's generosity made reconstructive surgery possible for the Kirkland grocery store checker.

Supporters, many customers and complete strangers insisted it was O'Neal's courage and inner strength that tugged on their heart strings and made them want to help him.

The KOMO Problem Solvers have been following O'Neal's journey for months.

Only our cameras were invited into the operating room at the University of Washington Medical Center for his life-changing day.

O'Neal has waited nearly 30 years for surgery day. That's a lifetime of people staring, and 30 years of being the man with half a face.

"If you want to stare, stare!" said O'Neal.

"He's been through so much growing up, so much," said his sister, "Billie," as she sat holding O'Neal's hand prior to surgery. "I've seen both sides of it, people who have supported him and those who haven't. There were some tough times in high school."

It was hard not to look at the tumor. It was so massive; the folds of bulky skin covered the entire left side of his face. O'Neal's left ear dangled near his chin, his nose was twisted and his mouth was deformed.

"Right now it hits you in the face as soon as you see him walk in the room," said plastic surgeon Peter Neligan prior to surgery.

It took a team of University of Washington Medical Center surgeons led by Neligan eight hours to fix O'Neal's face.

The surgery was risky, fraught with complications like excessive bleeding.

"We've ordered a lot of blood, just in case," said Neligan as he met with O'Neal one last time before surgery.

"It's going to be good," Neligan reassured O'Neal.

Minutes before Neligan arrived, O'Neal insisted he wasn't nervous.

"I'm not worried. I know I've got an awesome doctor," he said.

The feeling is mutual.

"He's a cool guy," said Neligan, who, after meeting O'Neal in May, decided on the spot he would waive his surgical fee to help O'Neal cover his medical costs. "I just saw everybody else helping and I wanted to help, too."

When surgery day finally came, Neligan carefully cut away the tumor and reused the skin to reshape O'Neal's face.

"We can take all of this," he said while trying to collect the folds of skin hanging from O'Neal's face. It was so massive Neligan couldn't scoop it up with two hands.

Unlike normal blood vessels found in the face, O'Neal's vessels are prone to bleed.

"They're floppy blood vessels," said Neligan.

Just two hours into the surgery those floppy blood vessel let loose.

"He's just loosing too much blood. He's fine," said Neligan. "We're on top of things."

Surgery came to a standstill. O'Neal was losing blood faster than doctors could replace it. He needed more blood and the team had to wait until a series of blood transfusions was completed.

The surgical team knew excessive bleeding was likely. But instead of using an anticipated ten units of blood, O'Neal needed 24 units.

"That's a record for us," said an operating room nurse.

Once the blood levels were acceptable, O'Neal's dream surgery resumed. The team removed two small nodules the size of a grape from the right side of his face. The bulge of tissue from his forehead was removed, the skin preserved and the massive tumor that dangled from his cheekbone and nearly hit his shoulder was almost gone.

"I have one more major cut to do and that should be it," said Neligan.

More than seven hours after the surgery began, the team was feeling good. They'd never have seen such an extreme case.

The tumor was finally out and the team carefully trimmed away the excess skin and stitched his new face together. There was an unspoken sense of relief in the operating room.

"That was tough," said Neligan. "Good job, everybody. Thanks."

"Just a little bit of improvements would be nice," is what O'Neal told us when we first met him six months ago.

He was born with a genetic disease called Neurofibromatosis that attacks his face.

Even with good medical insurance, O'Neal couldn't possibly afford surgery. So instead he also claimed what his late mother taught him as a boy -- everyone has a disability.

"Everyone has a handicap one way or another, you may not see it but you have one," said O'Neal. It's how he's managed to practically ignore his looks.

Unlike other patients, O'Neal never hides. His face is in your face, especially at work. He's a checker at Safeway.

His courage inspired customer Katie Knopf. It took her years, but she finally asked O'Neal about his tumor.

"It was hard to ask, 'do you want to look like that always?' What do you say to somebody?" said Knopf.

"Katie is awesome," said O'Neal of his shopper-turned-fairy godmother.

Knopf immediately launched a surgery fundraising campaign and Web site. In May she called KOMO for help. We contacted Safeway and the company started raising money too, kicking in the first $10,000.

Knopf's Web site, Safeway's donation drive and $39,000 donated to the Problem Solver Fund have raised more than $200,000 for O'Neal.

"People are like, 'wow, we'll help.' We want to 'cause he (O'Neal) sounds like a great guy that brought emotion to me, made me feel great that that many people care," said O'Neal.

His courage and grit has inspired an entire community. He's become a local celebrity and he loves it. Friends and strangers are smitten with the paradox that is James O'Neal -- a man who ignores his tumor, yet quietly wants it gone.

In a video diary we asked him to make prior to surgery, O'Neal recorded the following:

"Well, its one week to surgery. I'm ready to get this done and become a new man. Hopefully I'll find a lot of things change in my life," said O'Neal.

"After all this time, he's finally getting what he's wanted," said Billie.

"I'm really excited for the surgery. Lets get it done, I'm ready, I'm ready," recorded O'Neal the night before his surgery.

But now it's done and a lifetime of waiting is finally over.

The surgery was to change how O'Neal looks and change how people react to him, but he's certain it will change them more than him. What's inside James is not changing; it's perfect.

"I'm just thinking what I'm going to look like when I'm done, I was looking in the mirror this morning and I was like, 'wow, in a couple days this will be gone, I'll be different,'" he said before surgery.

O'Neal's surgery was a success and he's doing well. Doctors are monitoring him around the clock. Next week he'll be ready for visitors.

O'Neal tells me he can't wait to show you his results later this month. He'll need a couple minor procedures, including dental work, to complete his new look.

The tumor will keep growing, but minor procedures every five years will control it. O'Neal's sister and his late mother both had Neurofibromatosis.

As a child O'Neal had his tumor removed every year during his summer break. When he turned 18, he got tired of surgery and tired of dealing with his tumor. The latest was his first operation in nearly 30 years.

O'Neal's father is coming to see him Friday and will be one of the first to see his son's new look.

The fundraising campaign was so successful that O'Neal was given more than he needs. He has vowed to donate any remaining money to help others with Neurofibromatosis.