I dont remember fainting, but i certainly remember screaming. He was screaming so loud that i thought he was dead. Reporter what was the doctor telling you. Tell me what you saw. And they didnt want to show it to me. Reporter they didnt wanna show you your own baby . What happened, whats happening . We decided like hes going to be beautiful. And then we got up out of the bed, and we went down to the nicu and we held nathaniel. For the first time. We held our son. And it was awesome. My name is Nathaniel Newman and i am 12 years old. I am different. He kept asking me, why is everybody staring at me . Reporter im curious when you realized, hey, my face is different from other peoples faces. When the first kid called, monster. Reporter a kid called you a monster . Yeah. Here comes superhero nathaniel sometimes when im having a good time i forget what i look like. Reporter Newman Family, i have someone that i want you to meet. Tonight, a Remarkable Television event. The bestselling book, the blockbuster movie, and now on 20 20, Elizabeth Vargas with the the reallife story of amazement and wonder. Reporter it is nearly midnight on a frigid february friday in manhattan. Nurses on the labor and delivery ward at Saint Lukes Hospital are urging one of the expectant mothers to keep trying. Magda newman with her husband russel has been in labor for hours the endless waiting nearly as agonizing as the physical pain. What was the doctor telling you about why the labor was taking so long . Well, its the first delivery, you know. You just gotta push harder. They finally come in and say, look, we gotta get this kid out. Hes showing some signs of distress. And then, our life changed forever. Reporter tell me what you saw. It didnt look like a human being. Reporter it didnt look like a human he didnt look like a person. It was that different. Reporter a crushing blow to a dream of parenthood, which itself had just been born three years earlier. When magda and Russel Newman met during a walk on the beach. I was bartending in the hamptons. And i saw her walkin on the beach. And i asked one of the waitresses who that was. And theyre like, thats the nanny. 22yearold magda was a classically trained pianist originally from poland. She had taken a summer job in the u. S. As an au pair. 33yearold russel saw an opportunity and seized it. I i was a pretty rudderless ship in my early 30s. And she just grounded me right away. My life skyrocketed after i met her. Reporter the two married in 2002 and immediately got down to business. Family business. So, you got pregnant. Were you excited . Oh, yeah. Yeah. Very excited. Reporter everything was healthy . Absolutely no blips on the radar screen. Magda was 24 years old, incredibly healthy. So, they dont do a lot of tests when youre in that group. She was the ultimate lowrisk pregnancy. Reporter but back in that hospital room, after nearly 17 hours of labor when magda finally delivers, it is not a scene of happiness but of horror. I dont remember fainting. But i i certainly remember screaming you he was screaming so loud that i thought he was oh, my god. Oh, my god. What dead. Thats what i thought. What happened . Whats happened . Whats happening . I saw just shock on peoples faces, big eyes and l whats going on here . Who what what happened . And i see they put him in a little back room. Theres 20 people running in there, doing something. I dont hear baby crying. No noise reporter and nobodys telling you anything . Silence. Nobodys no. Telling me anything. Im like, whats going on . Is he alive . Whats going on . I wanna see the baby. And they didnt wanna show it to me. Reporter they didnt wanna they were scared to show me. Reporter show you your own baby. I i think they were scared at first. Because he had no cheekbones and no upper or lower eyelids. Just completely disfigured. Reporter and even more terrifying, the baby is not breathing. Magda is left alone on the delivery table while doctors frantically work to save her babys life. While that was going on, a doctor called me out of the room to show me a textbook written in, like, the 1960s. It i just remember it being an old, blackandwhite picture of a teenager with treachercollins. And i remember thinking, thats gonna be my kid . Reporter Treacher Collins is an extremely rare congenital cranial facial disorder. It affects just one in 50,000 people. I cant imagine firsttime parents. You were so excited to have a baby. In one nanosecond, everything, every single thing changed oh, it was it was it was it was surreal reporter they name their child nathaniel and contact the institute of reconstructive Plastic Surgery at nyus medical center. Leading hospital working with children who have Treacher Collins. They leave a message and within hours receive a fateful phone call back. I said hello, whos this . She goes, its shelley cohen. Congratulations. That was the first person who said to us, congratulations no one had congratulated us yet. It was, like, 10 00 or 11 00 had a baby. Nobody even said, yay. You have a baby. Like, hes and this woman shelley, before i could even tell her, she goes, hey, mr. Newman, you had a baby boy, i heard. Thats wonderful. And i remember goin, are you freakin nuts . Reporter do you remember that conversation . I do because i said congratulations before we talked about anything else. Reporter you were the first person. People were paralyzed. They didnt have an idea of what to do. And she said, lemme just tell you, your son is gonna live a long, healthy, happy, wonderful life. And i believed her. Like, it was just this voice on a phone. And i believed her. Reporter nathaniel is transferred to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at nyu where he will spend the first month of his life. The newmans meet nurse pat chibaro. An angel in a white lab coat. What do you remember most about that day that you met the newmans . They were absolutely devastated. Fa will say, well, when is the surgery . When is the surgery thats going to make this all reporter all better. All go away. Reporter right. And unfortunately, its a journey. Its not a surgery. Reporter and for the newmans the journey was just beginning. They say it was something unexpected that happened in the hours after nathaniel was born, that sustained them through the early days, and then later months and years ahead. We turn on the tv, and it was the grammy awards. The show starts with Christina Aguilera singing the song beautiful. I am beautiful no matter what they say no matter what words cant bring me down no i mean you talk about time and no matter what people say, no matter what people do, youre beautiful in every single way. We decided, like, hes going to be beautiful not because of his appearance because of his personality, cause hes going to be a beautiful person. We are beautiful in every single way i swear she was singing to us that night, i swear, as cheesy as that sounds. And that song just resonated. And we got up outta the bed. And we went down to the nicu. And we held nathaniel for the first time. We held our son. Sorry. And it was awesome. And then the journey started. Reporter now meet this extraordinary wonder boy, next. Where is it you wanna go . Where is it you wanna go . Check it out oh, dude. Im sending it to him. Where is it you wanna go . Where is it you wanna go . Where is it you wanna go . Where is it you wanna go . Thank you. Where is it you wanna go . Where is it you wanna go . Hey hey. Whatcha doin on your computer . Whats a computer . And it might be hard what ito handle ve got but like the flame that burns the candle the candle feeds the flame topped steak twisted potatoes at applebees. Eatin good in the neighborhood. Were on a mission to show drip coffee drinkers, its time to wake up to keurig. Wakey wakey rise and shine oh my gosh how are you . Well watch this. I pop that in there. Press brew. Thats it. So rich. I love it. Thats why you should be a keurig man fullbodied. Are you sure youre describing the coffee and not me . This beneful grain free is so healthy. Fullbodied. Oh farmraised chicken thats good chicken hm . Here come the accents. Blueberries and pumpkin. Wow. And spinach that was my favorite bite so far. avo beneful grain free. Out with the grain, in with the farmraised chicken. Healthful. Flavorful. Beneful. Here comes the man, here comes the man, here comes the man, here comes the man, here comes the man, here comes the man, make sure theres bows lets go whoo preseeeeeents reload but we didnt get you anything. woman whoa, whoa, whoa. You do realize everyone wins . Presents for them, kohls cash for you announcer kohls. Give joy. Get joy. Tim and charlie, 4th graders. Spoiled 3rd graders, they get star wars on their gogurt tubes. Even their soccer balls are fancy. New star wars gogurt. Kids never had it so easy. Star wars the last jedi in theaters december 15. This film is not yet rated. Announcer once again Elizabeth Vargas. Reporter every parent of every child in every hospital clings to one sustaining hope, that whatevers wrong can somehow be fixed. But Nathaniel Newmans devastated parents dont even have that. How long did it take each of you to not flinch, each time you saw nathaniel. It took me a year. A year . A year. A year. I almost cried every day. Every single time i looked at him, i could not believe its my child. I couldnt believe it. Reporter nathaniel has a genetic condition called Treacher Collins syndrome, unlike a typical infants face he was born without cheekbones, eye sockets or ears but most harrowing of all are his breathing complications. His nasal passageway is nearly solid bone and his airway is so narrow its like trying to breath through a soda straw. Reporter but as different as nathaniel looks on the outside, that is where the differences end. Did you tell them, its his brain is unaffected thats really important. Its really important. Because when you look at children with craniofacial conditions, you think cognitively, they are not going to be developmentally normal other than his appearance and how his life functions, breathing, eating, et cetera, he is no different than any other boy. Reporter but because of those malformations in his face in his first year of life he has more than ten surgeries. Weve never done cosmetic surgery on nathaniel. Everything weve done his whole life has had some benefit to life function. Reporter when nathaniel is one month old an emergency tracheotomy is performed, a breathing tube inserted in his throat. A procedure as life altering as it is life saving. Once you become dependent on a trach your life will s s your your life changes. And then, hes gonna be prone to infection, which ended up proving to be true. Where a normal parent, you know, bath time is this cute, wonderful experience. For us, youre worrying about, what if water gets in there. Reporter but they remain committed to that pledge they made to nathaniel on the first night of his life, to raise him as a quote normal boy and take him out into the world. I live in new york city. Were walking with the stroller. And everybody was, oh, you have a baby. And they go, let me see the baby. And theyre like, god bless you. That was the worst. That was the worst. Reporter by the time nathaniel turns two, russel and magda are settling into this version of parenthood, yet they still long for the chance to experience it without all the heartache. I wanted to have a normal child. I wanted to see how be able to nurse easy it is. A baby definitely for sure. But we were scared to just do it on our own reporter because of the hereditary nature of Treacher Collins, there is a 5050 chance their second child will have it as well. Reporter we did every test known to man. And they basically came back and said, were 99 sure your second child will not be affected by treachercollins. But there is no way to know for sure until delivery day finally arrives. This delivery was so quick. I walk into the hospital. Twenty minutes later jacob was born. Jacob literally came out looking like a porcelain doll. He was just gorgeous, beautiful. Reporter the simple joys of motherhood, so easily taken for granted were for magda, extraordinary. It was just so easy. This is so easy. You just have the baby and you just hold it and try to breast feed it. Reporter throughout the years nathaniel and jacob shared all the moments and memories that brothers do, but for nathaniel, things were always different. How old was nathaniel when he first noticed, looking in a mirror, i dont look like everybody else. Definitely around age four or five, he could clearly vocalize, i dont like the staring. I dont like the name calling. At that age were goin to birthday parties and other kids see him and scream and leave. He knows it was about him. Reporter i traveled to reno, nevada, where the family now lives, after russ got a new job. It is finally time to meet nathaniel. Hello. Nice to see you again. And this is nathaniel. Nathaniel is now 11 yearsold and has had 53 surgeries. Reporter i bring my son sam along, who, like so many kids, has never met anyone like nathaniel. Weve come to do some of nathaniels favorite things video games. Going to the trampoline park. Dodge ball how do you explain how you look different . I just explain that i have treachercollins, i know everyone looks different, except i look a lot more different than everyone else. Does that bother you . No. I kinda like it. It just seems fun cause i stand out. Im curious when you realized, hey, my face is different from other peoples faces. When the first kid called, monster. A kid called you a monster . Yeah that must have hurt your feelings . Yeah, and then i realized that they dont do it to anybody else, so i was different. How did that make you feel . I was insulted. Yeah, ill bet. Were you mad . Yeah, i guess a little. Sometimes why do you think kids do that . Why do you think they say mean things to kids who look different . Because theyre they dont really think about what theyre saying, and their parents dont really do anything about it. Reporter and over the years nathaniels differences have affected his little brother jacob too, he can sometimes find himself acting more like a big brother. Your parents were telling me how when you were so little and kids would be mean to nathaniel and youd get up there with your little fist and go, hey, leave my brother alone. I still do that. You you still do that but i get more into it. Please dont stare. Do you think of yourself as your brothers protector . I think he can protect himself pretty good, but sometimes there are just Big High School kids that i have to talk to by myself how old are you, jacob . Almostnine nine. Youre almost nine . Here comes super hero nathaniel sometimes i forget i have treachercollins. You do . Yeah, sometimes if im having a good time, i forget what i look like. So when we were zip lining did you forget you had treachercollins . Yeah, i was just having a lot of fun. Reporter coming up for nathaniel middle school. How do you fit in when you are born to stand out. Reporter my name is Nathaniel Newman and i am different. Stay with us. im 65 and healthy. Im not at risk. Even healthy adults 65 and older are at increased risk of pneumococcal pneumonia. Isnt it like a bad cold or flu . Pneumococcal pneumonia is a potentially serious bacterial lung disease. In some cases, part of your lung may fill with mucus, making it hard to breathe. Can i catch it from a pneumococcal vaccination . No. The vaccines do not contain live bacteria. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about how to help protect yourself. We create machines that make every experience more intense and real. With intel core processors and geforce gtx graphics so powerful they can redefine reality. Because the best feature of a Gaming Machine is the power to make you forget its there. shop our lowest prices ever at dell. Com. hard exhalation honey . Can we do this tomorrow . grunts of effort can we do this tomorrow . 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Absolutely ageless® from aveeno®. Reporter the first day of middle school, who ever wants to relive that, but imagine what its like for Nathaniel Newman. In the fall of 2015 nathaniel walked into bd Billinghurst Middle School in reno, nevada for his first day of sixth grade. Which for nathaniel meant another brutal round of introductions. New school, new classmates. To ease the transition, the newmans had a plan. Russell came up with the great idea. They sat down together and we write a letter. My name is Nathaniel Newman and i am 12 yearsold. I am different. I dont want you to be surprised when we meet. I i have a trach to breathe and a special hearing aid to hear. I have three dogs. I like pokemon a lot, as well as star wars. I really just want you to treat me like everyone else. And we include a picture to try and avoid some of the first day shock and awe if you will. Reporter after a couple of months we came to visit nathaniel at school. Ms. Culbertson and ms. Urban are his 6th grade teachers. How important were those letters that nathaniels family sent out . The students knowing what to expect i think is very helpful, rather than just walking into school and then having that reaction, which most parents have taught their kids not to have that kinda reaction. But its hard. Theyre kids. Were any of guys at all nervous to meet nathaniel the first time . Yeah. Yeah, its okay to admit that. Tell me why you were nervous. I was a little nervous because i didnt wanna say anything to hurt his feelings. I didnt know what what the experience would be like. He may look different on the outside. But on the inside, hes perfectly normal just like everyone else. Reporter but the single most powerful change in how children treat nathaniel isnt because of that letter but because of a little blue book called wonder. We incorporate the book wonder into the welcome letters. Like, hey, you might have read wonder now. You might have read the book wonder. If you have than you already know a little bit about me. Reporter wonder tells the story of 10 yearold Auggie Pullman born with a facial difference a lot like Treacher Collins. Rj palacio wrote the book after a chance encounter with a little girl who looked a lot like nathaniel. Was in front of an Ice Cream Store here in my neighborhood, with my two sons. And i realized that there was a little girl sitting directly next to me. She had a very severe cranial facial difference. And i kind of panicked, cause my little boy started to cry hysterically and in my haste to protect her from his reaction, i kinda like turned the stroller around, i started pushing it away really fast. It was terrible. And i i was so mad at myself for the way that i handled it. For the rest of the day, i just kept thinking about all the things i wished id said and done. Reporter palacio started writing with the hope that this story could inspire parents and children alike. I just thought, okay, im going to write a book and its going to be about what it must be like to face a world every day that doesnt know how to face you back. Reporter when the book came out in 2012 nurse pat chibaro was one of the first to read it. She immediately reached out to the newmans. I literally read it in three hours, cried the whole time. And i remember calling back pat and going, pat, did she spy on us . Like, this is freaky. And then we got to meet raquel face to face for lunch one day. And when she saw nathaniel, you could just see this look in her face. And i remember thinking, oh, my goodness, this is Auggie Pullman come to life. Reporter the similarities between the book and nathaniels life are almost unbelievable. Wonder begins with auggie starting at a new school just like nathaniel, enduring dozens of surgeries like nathaniel. And even more astonishing, if you flip to page 118 youll even find the lyrics from that song that means so much to the newmans. A song they still play every year on nathaniels birthday. Its so remarkable that you wrote this entire novel and then you meet this family and its the family in your novel. I know. I mean it was amazing. Reporter today wonder is more than a book, its a phenomenon selling more than five million copies and translated into 45 languages. Its even become required reading in hundreds of schools across the country. Its become part of a campaign, in essence, to be kind. I used this quote, if you have the choice from being right or being kind, choose kind. Such a simple thing. That book has singlehandedly making life easier for children with facial differences. Its just a fact. Reporter coming up, will nathaniel ever breathe on his own . Doctors propose a risky surgery that could mean life or death. One more major surgery, which is barbaric. Reporter are the newmans ready for the gamble of a lifetime . Stay with us. Guyyou know whatals arethat means. Et. 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With our low fares, your san jose startup wont have to pony up for a quick flight to an la meetup. And you might even get an upgrade on your next trip to palm springs. Over 90 daily nonstops. From san diego on up. Alaska airlines. Thats how we fly. And now, step up to alaska premium class, with upgrades starting at just 15. Announcer once again, Elizabeth Vargas. Reporter today is no ordinary day for the Newman Family. All right this is exciting. Were heading to the renotahoe international airport. To pick up Jono Lancaster. Im excited. Reporter in the world of cranio facial disorders Jono Lancaster is a rock star. I have a welcome to reno sign for jono. Hey, there he is. Hi. Hey guys how you doing . Hi. Reporter jono, a 33 yearold from england is perhaps the best known person on the planet with Treacher Collins. I dont know how many people has called me names a laughed at me. Reporter he spends much of his time traveling the world and meeting families like the newmans. Youre the first adult with Treacher Collins hes ever hung out with. Wow. Right . All of a sudden youre quiet, you didnt shut up all morning, now youre afraid to talk . Reporter nathaniel may be a little starstruck, but its magda and rus who recognize the magnitude of this moment. What it means to talk to someone who knows the uncertain path they are on. Guys, get as close as you can. Thatll work. Thats a good one. Reporter because he too has walked it. Aw, thats awesome. Reporter life for jono was tough from the start, born to parents who had no idea he would have Treacher Collins, they gave him up just 36 hours after birth. When i was young, thered be the odd playground game of run away from jono in case you caught Treacher Collins. Theyd pull their eyes down. What did you most want to hear from him or ask him. I just wanted to know about his teenage mostly. His teenage years . Yes. I know soon the boys will be getting girlfriends. I just want nathaniel to be a part of that too. Girls used to ask me out as a dare or as a joke, or they used to flirt with me and make it really obvious that they were making fun of me. And i got used to namecalling and bullying and stuff like that. And i kinda got used to that. But the girls. It bothered you. It really upset me. The fact that nobody found me sexually attractive really hurt. Reporter although it took time, life began to transform for jono around the time he began transforming himself. In his twenties he developed a passion for fitness, looking back he says he was trying to shift the focus from his face to his body, it eventually led to a job as a personal trainer and it was at the gym where he unexpectedly met laura richardson. The two struck up a friendship and one day jono asked her out on a date. When the two of you are out on a date, do people stare . Yeah. And i get really quite, like, defensive. Id be like, what are you lookin at . Youd call them out. Yeah, i would because it it would, like, bubble up inside me. And i it made me angry, but i do not notice it at all now. Theres a lot of kids out there that are really, really good at hiding their feelings. Were gonna skype laura in london to say hi to jonos girlfriend. Reporter in reno, the newmans get a chance to meet laura as well, over skype. Look how gorgeous she is. Seriously. Hi, laura. Hi. I just have to tell you, you loving jono the way you do, makes me and magda so happy about nathaniels future. Thank you. Have you ever felt like people stared at you a lot when you were a kid . Yeah, um, i did have people staring at me. And when i was younger, i always thought they were staring at me in a bad way. Um. But as ive got older, ive learned that loads of people stare at me because, you know, they like my hair, or they like my clothes. You know . Theyre not staring at me in a bad way. Sometimes they stare at you in a good way oh korean barbeque is ready how many surgeries have you had when you were a kid . I think i must have had maybe like 15. That mustve been rough reporter when the topic of surgery comes up around the dinner table there is one major difference that is clear, jono has never needed a trach, the lifealtering breathing tube in nathaniels throat that hes lived with since he was a month old. Now doctors may finally have a solution that could give nathaniel a trachfree life. But its a gamble. One more major surgery, which is barbaric. Barbaric . Barbaric. Why . Its so extreme. Reporter the newmans have been meeting with doctors at the seattle childrens hospital, trying to decide if they are ready for a surgery so radical its only been preformed on one other child with Treacher Collins. It is i would have to say, a terrible surgery for a child to go through. Reporter dr. Richard hopper is the chief surgeon at the craniofacial center. He knows how debilitating nathaniels trach tube can be. We gotta make sure youre clean. Its keeping him alive. But for him to have the quality of life that we all take for granted the tracheostomy needs to be gone. Reporter in order for that to happen dr. Hopper will have to literally rearrange the bones in nathaniels face opening up his airway. What we need to be able to do is separate his entire face off of the skull and swing his face forward into the correct position. Reporter at his consultations no detail is spared from nathaniel. He listened to the whole thing, very attentive, and finally he turned to the doctor and he said, i have a question. Do they change their face a lot . Its not giving you a new face, but it puts your face into a different position. Will i still look like this . Yes. He goes, i want my trach out. But youre not changing the way i look. I love my face. Thats extraordinary. I really learned the meaning of the phrase, no pain, no gain. So i realized the meaning of that. Thats right, youre going to have a little bit of pain. But then im going to gain. Reporter after months of preparation the day of the surgery is finally here. Yeah. Any questions for me today . No. I know weve talked about this surgery a lot. Its going to seem like a split second to you. One second im on the bed, and the next im sitting in a hospital room. Yeah. Ready . Yeah. This is the drill. Reporter as he has done nearly 60 times before, a Family Tradition of sorts, russ carries his son into surgery. Wanna kiss her one more time . Yeah. I love you. See you soon. Reporter coming up the newmans face the most harrowing 24 hours of their lives. So my heart is beating faster and faster. Im going to go to the house phone. Hi its Russel Newman, Nathaniel Newmans father . His whole face is broken in pieces. Reporter and a Devastating Development no one saw coming. Its so im so tired. I want it to be over. Reporter stay with us. 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Aveeno® positively radiant® overnight facial. Get the benefits of a spa facial. Overnight. Aveeno®. Naturally beautiful results® guyyou know whatals arethat means. Et. Aveeno®. Coming through, coming through, coming through this saturday only save 25 on toys. Save big with weekend deals, only at target. Weaving your own shoes. By out of flax. Or simply adjust your thermostat. Do your thing, with Energy Upgrade california. Reporter after a lifetime of surgeries today 12 yearold Nathaniel Newman is heading back into the operating room. This time its different. For the next 12 hours surgeons will work to rearrange the bones in nathaniels face. Anchoring them in place with a metal halo attached to his head for the next three months, until those bones can finally settle into their new position. At that point doctors will finally remove nathaniels trach and hell be able to do things hes never done before. As dr. Hopper heads into the operating room magda and russ are left to wait and worry. It never gets easier. Putting your son on a metal table, surrounded by things that are gonna, you know, cut him open. Its agonizing. You know, its just. Were just sit and wait, you know. We just sit. You just sit. What else can you do . Reporter as the hours pass the tension mounts. So my heart is beating faster and faster. Russel, what time is it . Its 6 40 already . So were on ten plus hours now. Im going to go to the house phone. Hi alison, its Russel Newman, Nathaniel Newmans father . We just got a page . Okay. You got it. Yup. Thanks, genevieve. So hes finishing up. Everything went fantastic. Yeah. No problems at all. How are you smiling . Uh, i dont know, its a lot of energy. He did great. Everything went perfectly smooth. No problems whatsoever. Its going to be a shock, though, when you see him. Because hes going to have metal everywhere. Hes going to be very swollen. Much more swollen than when youve seen him from previous surgeries. Dr. Hopper, really. We owe you so much. Its a pleasure to work with you. Youve just given us such a ray of hope. Reporter magda and russ are able to briefly see nathaniel. Were keeping him comfortable with pain meds. He just gave us a thumbs up right now. What . he really gave you a thumbs up . Can i hug you . Oh, sure. Oh my god he really did. His whole face is broken in pieces, right now. He knows that he will be asleep for two days. He said, mom, please do not leave my side. I want to know that youre there. reporter when nathaniel wakes up his jaw is wired shut to that metal halo. The family leaves the hospital but remains in seattle so doctors can monitor nathaniels progress. But after just a few days there is crushing medical news. This time not for nathaniel. It is for magda who has come down with a nagging cough. I started coughing and thinking. I probably have some type of yeah, walking pneumonia. So i just went to emergency room. Reporter the doctors quickly order a routine cat scan and then. The doctor says, well, its cancer. Im like, thats that cant be possible. Reporter but it is magda is diagnosed with an aggressive form of nonhodgkins lymphoma. I was angry. I couldnt believe it. I just it was just wrong timing. Reporter a caretaker turned patient herself she begins a series of grueling chemotherapy treatments eventually losing her hair but never her sense of purpose. I had two choices. To sit and mope and think, oh, my god, poor me, or just, get help, get healthy and take care of nathaniel. Party all the time, right in the hospital, right now. Down, down, up, up. Reporter nothing it seems can stop magda. People would look at everything that you, as a family, have been through and would say why is so much being asked of this one family . Ive asked myself that question. Ive asked god that question. And you know what, you can focus on the negative and be negative. Is it going to change . No. You have a choice to look at the positive. Reporter it is an outlook magda has passed on to nathaniel who while in that metal halo was unable to speak or eat but remarkably is able to dance. He loves to dance. Now we can check in. Reporter after three months nathaniel is back at the hospital doctors are ready to remove that halo. Ill see you in there, okay, buddy . Okay. Its going to be all good, nathaniel, okay . Ill see you when you wake up. Well do this. Watch your head, duck. Give me a kiss. Reporter with nathaniel in surgery magda heads home to rest and the crushing emotional weight of all that they have been through suddenly hits russ. Its been a really long four months. Its been a really long twelve years. Its so, im so tired. I want it to be over. Reporter when nathaniel comes out of surgery he is halofree but there will be five more months of evaluations and tests before doctors are ready to do something the newmans have waited a lifetime to do remove nathaniels trach. Alright, you ready . This is a big day in your life. Thats it, dude. Okay so this is how you get rid of a trach after thirteen years. Here it goes. Reporter finally for the First Time Ever breathing on his own and nathaniel is able to do something most 12 yearolds wouldnt think twice about jump in the pool and go for a swim. You did it. Reporter and the newmans have another reason to celebrate after five months of chemo therapy doctors tell magda her cancer is gone. It is a year filled with milestones. Happy birthday natony. Finally you are teenager and your trache is out. Happy birthday to you nathaniel celebrated his 13th birthday, on his birthday, russ, you wrote him an amazing message. You, my Little Wonder boy, you show me every day that my strength pales in comparison to what you possess in that enormous heart of yours. Because of you, i, we and our family have the strength to endure all life throws at us. I have a 13yearold boy thats tackled more challenges than most 100yearold men would ever dream of. What was it like to read that letter from your dad . I was happy. Yeah . Did you know that he thinks that youre that strong . Yeah. Yeah . Do you think hes right . Yeah. I dont know, actually. You dont know, actually . Yeah. I think hes right. I think hes, like you think hes right. 100 right. Reporter russ posted his letter on facebook and attached that song you might call the Newman Family anthem. Youre still playing, beautiful . I play it yeah. I play it all the time. It inspires the heck outta me. Reporter when we come back an emotional surprise for the Newman Family you wont want to miss. I have somebody i want you to meet. Reporter stay with us. Shop Pandora Jewelry now to receive your holiday exclusive charm and ornament. Seed to the oat to the o on the table for two baby and mama sit down for that first finger food start with the good. And the good will come back to you good goes around. And around. And around. Good goes around and around. And take an extra 20 off ekend at kohls Friends Family sale give joy with a star wars playset or the batcave give joy with mr. Potato head or a playdoh playset this weekend at kohls friends and family sale give joy, get joy at kohls. Reporter after 13 years of heartache, struggle, perseverance, and triumph today the Newman Family is on its way to a full circle surprise. Hello Newman Family. Hello. Reporter its been just a month since nathaniels trach came out, while he continues to recover, we brought the whole family to los angeles. They are here to meet someone whos been a lifeline for them from the very beginning. Newman family i have someone i want you to meet. Christina aguilera. Hi guys hi oh my god can i hug you . Absolutely. Thats the girl who sang the song. Were in Christina Aguileras house. Its just crazy right . Welcome. You want to sit down . Lets go. Lets go hang out. Once everyone settles in magda tells christina that it was her song, all those years ago, that gave her the strength to hold her baby boy for the first time, and raise him to know how beautiful he is. I realized that evening that i have a beautiful child and it doesnt matter what we see on the outside. Christina has one more surprise for you. Shes actually going to sing the song. Wow. Are you ready for this . This time not for an audience of millions, but for a family of four for whom this song has meant so much. I am beautiful no matter what they say words cant bring me down i am beautiful in every single way cause words cant bring me down dont you bring me down today no matter what we do no matter what we say with the song inside the tune full of beautiful mistakes and everywhere we go the sun will always shine but tomorrow we might awake on the other side we are beautiful no matter what they say no matter what they say reporter and just this week the whole family was back in los angeles, for the premiere of the movie wonder. As they walked the red carpet we were reminder of those words russ wrote in his birthday letter to nathaniel. Youve shown me strength i never knew could exist. You even taught me to accept life with a smile. A video by uc berkley professor is going viral and for a good reason. A good reason. Next t wow nice outfit. When i grow up, im going to mars. Were working on that. Some people know how far they want to go. 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