Child with Face Tumor Undergoes Surgery After Being Flown in by NBA Legend Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo just wagged his finger in the face of childhood diseases.
The Congolese NBA Hall of Famer flew a boy from Africa to Los Angeles so he could have surgery on a massive tumor that disfigured his face and led to him being shunned by others back home.
The boy, Matadi, is 8 years old, and his family is staying at the Ronald McDonald House near Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Mutombo is calling for prayers for the boy’s well-being as doctors work their magic in hopes of giving Matadi a normal life and removing his pariah status back home.
Mutombo greeted Matadi at the Los Angeles airport earlier this week after hearing of his tale while on a trip to his native land.
And adding to the heartwarming nature of the story, the doctor, Ryan Osborne of Beverly Hills, is doing the work on a volunteer basis, the honor of doing his part in a work of good proving more than ample reward.
Mutumbo has spent a sizeable chunk of the over $143 million he earned playing in the NBA to build hospitals in Africa, but sometimes, only the standard of care achievable in the best hospitals in the United States will suffice for an exceptional story such as this.
The face tumor is life-threatening in addition to its effects on Matadi’s social standing, and a successful outcome in this surgery could take a life set to be tragically cut short and turn it into a far longer and healthier one.
Matadi will remain in the United States for three to six months while he recovers before heading back home.
Said Mutombo, “Now, we have to pray everything goes well.”
Mutombo has been flooded with kind words from all over the world ever since this story first got into the news, as well-wishers have commended him for his kindness. But Mutombo’s purpose is as simple as can be, as stated by the man himself.
“I just want to find a way to heal him.”
That will be up to Dr. Osborne and the medical staff at Cedars-Sinai, but not for nothing is that facility well-known as a destination hospital for Tinseltown’s movers and shakers, with many a Hollywood celebrity often treated there for life’s maladies.
Matadi has been shunned in his community. He was refused education at school. He was a de facto prisoner in his own bedroom at home.
But it never hurts to have friends.
Especially if one of those friends is a hulking 7-foot legend who, upon hearing of a child’s suffering, gave that suffering a big OH NO NO NO and swatted it into the third row.
The spirit of giving is alive this Christmas season, and Matadi is about to get the greatest Christmas gift of all: a chance to live life to its fullest potential.
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