by age 11, nathaniel had undergone 53 surgeries. mans had relocated to reno, nevada, after russ got a new job. that is where i met nathaniel for the first time. how do you explain how you look different? >> i explain that i have treacher collins, and i know everyone looks different, except i look a lot more different than everyone else. >> does that bother you? >> no, i kind of like it. i think it's fun because i stand out. >> i'm curious, when you realized, hey, my face is different from other people's faces? >> when the first kids called monster. >> a kid call outa monster? >> yeah. >> that must have hurt your feelings. >> yeah. then i realized that they don't do it to anybody else. so i was different. >> how did that make you feel? >> i was insulted. >> yeah, i'll 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 they don't really think about what they're saying, and their parents don't really do anything about it