OGDEN — Whether hitting the highway on his motorcycle or pumping iron at the gym, Maurice Simpson does it with confidence.
But it wasn't always that way. "Kids called me everything you can think of. They called me elephant man, one-eyed Willie. I used to just sit in the room and ask why."
Simpson, of Ogden, is one of two men featured in a TLC documentary "My Brand New Face."
Simpson has neurofibromatosis, a rare genetic disorder. Benign tumors began disfiguring his face in early childhood. Despite numerous surgeries, the growths eventually took over the right side, blinding that eye.
At age 15, he decided he didn't want to have any more operations.
"I decided to make the best out of my situation and I was gonna be proud of the way I was," he said.
He credits his parents and friends who he says loved him and accepted him. Born in Michigan, his family moved to California. He grew up there from age 11 to 18. Then they moved to Utah.
Simpson is the general manager of the Arby's in Bountiful. Before that, he delivered pizzas. During one of those deliveries, a man noticed Simpson and offered to pay for cosmetic surgery.
"My anonymous donor, I call him my guardian angel. I mean, he's just a great guy," Simpson said. "Whenever I think about it, I get kind of choked up, because I don't know why he would do something like that, you know."
The two are friends now. The man checks in with Simpson every week but asks that no one else know his name.
At the end of 2009, Huntsman Cancer Institute doctors and nurses examined Simpson, then performed an MRI. That's when the goal of making Simpson look better turned into saving his life.
The tumor had become so massive, his brain was sinking into it. One small bump to the head could have killed him, he said.
Simpson underwent surgery in January. After 12 hours, Simpson had lost a great deal of blood. But Dr. Jason Hunt and his team successfully removed the tumor.
"Surgery went very well. Maurice and I had a frank discussion about what we could do and the things we couldn't do," Hunt said.
The tumors will continue to grow. But Simpson still wanted the cosmetic surgery. So they waited six months.
During that time, Simpson's wife, Charity, gave birth to their third son. Simpson has two children from a previous marriage. None of the children carries the neurofibromatosis gene.
Finally came that opportunity to change his face. It took the surgical team five hours.
"We did identify things that are potentially life-threatening, that needed to be repaired," Hunt said. "In addition to that, I think we have improved the appearance of his face."
Then, with a chuckle, the doctor added: "One of the things he tells me is that now his motorcycle helmet will fit better. So, I hope that encourages him to wear it all the time.
"Most patients with severe neurofibromatosis do struggle. They struggle being accepted and fitting in. Maurice is a little bit of a special individual because he has coped extremely well with his disorder," Hunt said.
His recovery took weeks, but Simpson is happy with his new face.
"It looks a lot better and it's given me a newfound confidence," he said.
He will undergo one less-invasive surgery before the end of the year on his mouth to help him drink and eat more easily.
Simpson hopes that sharing his story will help other people.
"The one message I have would be, don't judge a book by its cover. It's not what's on the outside but what's on the inside. And take time to get to know someone who looks different."
He calls it a message of hope, believing that — like all of us — he is here to live and learn and love.
e-mail: cmikita@desnews.com