James O'Neal compares himself to the Elephant Man. A genetic disease left his face horribly disfigured, but that could soon change.

O'Neal knows his deformity shocks people. He knows others with the same genetic disorder would rather hide than work, but for 7 years James has proudly worked the registers at the Kingsgate Safeway on 124th Avenue NE in Kirkland.

"I just tell people this is who I am, it's the way I am. If you don't like me, you don't like me," he said.

His customers don't like him -- they love him.

She knows O'Neal's insurance likely won't cover all of the costs of difficult and extensive surgeries. So she's launched a Web site asking for donations for reconstructive surgery.

O'Neal has lived with his disability since birth. Like the Elephant Man he has neurofibromatosis, not elephantiasis. The tumors stopped growing when he stopped growing. Surgery would rid him of the deformity for good.