It’s the fourth surgery he’s had to have in dealing with achondroplasia. Two previous surgeries were to straighten his back with one resulting in metal rods implanted in his spine. A third was for his bowed legs when he was seven. Inevitably due to growth spurts, this latest surgery was expected. However, doctors are hopeful that Matan's legs will be permanently straightened correcting any future bowed symptoms.

The procedure involved breaking each leg in two places then implanting an Ilizarov Apparatus, metal rings that circle externally around the leg but are attached to the bone by rods, wires, and screws. The screws are turned a millimeter at a time by Matan to straighten the bone.

Eventually another operation will be needed to remove the apparatus. But that’s a ways away. Matan will probably be in the hospital for two weeks then six weeks at home recovering. After that he hopes to return to school where he is an honor student, a percussionist in the marching band, and is in the honors program taking Biology and Algebra. He also can't wait to get back into acting, something he'd like to continue pursuing in college.

“I’d like to do something in the fine arts field like theater or music,” said Matan. “I also have been taking drawing classes studying architecture.”

Matan doesn’t complain about the pain post-surgery other than admitting to having it when asked.

“After six at night is when it gets pretty horrible," he said. "I have good days and bad. But I know the surgery will help me. I want to be where I can walk better and longer. This will help me to be able to do that.”

Originally the Ilizarov rings were developed as an apparatus for lengthening the legs of individuals. When his parents found out that he needed this same technique to straighten his legs, his mother, Hamutal asked him if he would like to see about lengthening them as well.

“He told me, ‘No. I’m very proud of who I am and I’m not going to change it.’ It brought me to tears,” said Hamutal. “As a little boy he never complained. He’s very strong. If people point at him he’ll step up and explain his situation to them. He never cared if somebody pointed. He didn’t complain. He’d explain. I have so many of his friends and the people that know him tell me what an inspiration he is to them.”

Matan shrugs off notions of being an inspiration. Instead he points to his teachers at Clark High School like his percussion teacher, Mr. Mays, his marching band members, his friends, and family as his inspiration.

“Mr. Mays helps me a lot in being able to achieve whatever I can in music and at school,” says Matan. “My friends in band and at school are always there for me. And my parents are an inspiration to me in everything that I do. ”

And he does a lot, never letting his size be a disability. Instead, he focuses on his abilities.

“He played soccer when he was young and kept playing with his team even as they grew,” said his mother. “He got to the point where he couldn’t run anymore but his team found ways for him to keep playing and encouraging him."

When his parents questioned whether or not he could do high school marching band this school year, Matan insisted that he could. His director has Matan stand on a chair in the pit playing the xylophone.

"The director made sure he could be a part of it all," said Hamutal. "He knew how badly Matan wanted to do it. Every teacher at school and the Plano Children’s Theater has been amazing and so supportive. There are so many good people out there.”

Ms. Miller, with the Plano Children’s Theater noted that it is through Matan’s example of “the show must go on” through bouts of pain or other ailments associated with his stature that makes him such a role model. This past summer he was a cast member of their touring company, performing up to three times a day for schools and day cares. “He doesn’t let anything stop him," she said.

His mother notes that besides his strength there is also a sensitive side to her son.

“He'll stop to help every dog, bird or animal that he sees that is hurt,” she said. “He feels the same way about people. Matan is always there if someone needs help or for his friends.”

Matan doesn’t see what he does as extraordinary but more of a kid doing ordinary things.

“I really can’t explain how I see my life,” he said. “I just feel good about who I am and feel everyone should feel the same way. If life seems tough you just never give up. Keep following your dreams.”

Matan with his family on vacation in San Antonio.