EDDY’S STORY
Eddy was born Edward Albert Newton III, in Loma Linda, California. At the early age of three, Eddy was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis, more commonly known as Elephant Man’s disease. He inherited the condition from his mother, who has a less severe case of the disease.
The doctors said he wouldn’t live past eight, but Eddy has defied the odds and now is one of the oldest living sufferers of Neurofibromatosis. But it hasn’t been easy. Eddy has endured scores of surgeries to remove painful life-threatening tumors, including a 14 ½ hour surgery where Eddy had a 7 ½ tumor removed from his neck and lost his right ear.
Later in life Eddy suffered with self-esteem issues, like so many young adults. At a low point, Eddy even joined a traveling circus as a sideshow freak. He was known as The Man with Two Faces. When he wasn’t on stage, Eddy had to wear a hood covering his distinct looking face, so no one could get a “free look.”
Today, Eddy uses his life story and his single unique appearance to help children and teens cope with self-esteem issues and combat the terrifying bullying epidemic in our schools.
If you’re looking for someone with your eyes, you’ll run from someone like me. But if you’re looking for someone with your heart, you’ll discover that I am someone you could love.” Eddy Newton.
Eddy’s disease causes tumors to grow rampant throughout his skull. The tumors cause massive disfiguration and create pressure on his brain, which results in debilitating migraine headaches that can last for weeks. Eddy has endured scores of surgeries to remove the tumors and repair the carnage left behind, beginning when he was only three years old.
These surgeries have left Eddy with no right ear, few teeth, a sagging eye lid, and a severely disfigured face literally held in place with screws and wire. Unfortunately, many more surgeries lay ahead for Eddy. Indeed, later this month he will have major surgery to revise his jawline, repair his sagging chin, reduce facial and neck scarring, and enhance his breathing.
He will be required to have regular surgeries for the remainder of his life as the tumors continue to grow throughout his skull.
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WE NEED AN ANGEL DONOR
We know this is a difficult time for many people due to the Covid 19 virus. We wanted to give you an update on our project for Eddy and his mother, Emilee. Phase one of our project was to replace Eddy and Emilee’s mobile home that was dilapidated and completely uninhabitable. Can you imagine having to live this way when you are completely unable to work and have no income other than a small stipend from SSDI? The floor had holes, the roof had leaks and there had been 3 fires in the mobile home.
Phase one has been completed by raising a little over $60,000, securing a home at cost, and a generous donation from the Mobile Home Institute of California. And we wouldn’t have reached this goal without all of you and your generosity! Now, the mobile home management company is really pushing Eddy and Emilee to get the landscaping done which is a duty under the park rules. We are already many months past the time given to complete this landscaping and we fear that we will run out of grace with the management company. Eddy and Emilee could soon be fined for not having this job completed.
This brings us to phase two. We have received some very generous donations and price reductions of plants, pavers and turf but we need help to complete this phase. But we are in the hole financially to get this done. Please consider helping us to push our way to the end of this phase. We are almost there! Here is how the home and property looks now.
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