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(Silver Spring) - Adolescence is one of the most challenging times in anyone's life. High school can be a battlefield, having to navigate all the different personalities and hormones that come with these transitional years. Teenagers are just starting to learn about themselves and where they fit in. Add on a facial tumor, and just imagine how much more difficult that process becomes. This is the case for 17-year-old Sarah Atwell, who suffers from a rare disease called neurofibromatosis, causing a massive tumor to develop on half her face. In Discovery Fit & Health's newest one-hour special, cameras follow young Sarah as she embarks on an extraordinary journey. After years of hardship and bullying, Sarah is ready to undergo a risky operation that will remove part of her tumor and has the power to impact the rest of her life. THE GIRL WITH HALF A FACE premieres Wednesday, December 18 at 10 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Fit & Health.

A hereditary disease, neurofibromatosis causes tumors to grow along nerve shafts. Unlike most with this uncommon disorder, Sarah's condition is extreme - and has developed into a massive tumor on the right side of her face which continues to grow at a rapid pace. As a child, Sarah's parents searched for a way to help their daughter, consulting with various doctors. But unfortunately, no doctor was willing to perform such an intricate surgery on such a young girl - leaving Sarah and her family out of options.

Without an answer, Sarah has lived with her disfiguring tumor for her entire life and has been a victim of bullying from a young age. But unwilling to allow tormenters to dictate her life, Sarah finally took a stand and fought back against the bullies, by posting a video online and sharing her story. After receiving an incredible amount of support in response to her video, Sarah has at last found a doctor willing to operate. Sarah and her family are hopeful that this procedure will be a long-awaited step to removing her tumor in its entirety. Now, Discovery Fit & Health chronicles Sarah's story as she undergoes the extremely dangerous surgery that could change her face and her life once and for all.

In conjunction with the premiere of THE GIRL WITH HALF A FACE, Discovery Fit & Health is partnering with DoSomething.org, the largest organization in the U.S. for young people and social change. In an effort to get the word out about anti-bullying, DoSomething.org and The Wireless Foundation have created a campaign called Bully Text, a virtual text-based educational game where users choose how to respond to bullies, whether the victim or a bystander, in typical situations at an imaginary high school. Please visit DiscoveryFitandHealth.com to participate and learn more.

THE GIRL WITH HALF A FACE is produced by MorningStar Entertainment for Discovery Fit & Health.

About Discovery Fit & Health
Discovery Fit & Health, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), entertains viewers with gripping, real-life dramas, featuring storytelling that chronicles the human experience from cradle to grave. Network programming includes forensic mysteries, amazing medical stories, emergency room trauma, baby and pregnancy programming, parenting challenges, and stories of extreme life conditions. Discovery Fit & Health also features popular online and social media destinations found at DiscoveryFitandHealth.com, facebook.com/DiscoveryHealth and twitter.com/disc_health.

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