Shaquille O’Neal is a man with a golden heart and the world knows it. In a recent act of kindness, he helped a teenager from Missouri who had been waiting a long time to find comfortable tennis shoes.
At 16 years old, Jor'el Bolden weighs 380 pounds, is 6-foot-5, and wears size 23 shoes. His mother has had trouble finding him comfortable shoes due to the size of his feet.
In January, Bolden and his mother initially confided in KCTV 5 that they were having trouble finding shoes that would fit him.
After Bolden's account appeared online, notably on USA TODAY, his mother got a message that would undoubtedly alter their lives.
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‘Better than Christmas morning'
Bolden’s mother told KCTV 5 that she received a message in which it stated, ‘Entertainment Tonight" and ‘someone special wants to talk to you.
Shaq, who is accustomed to wearing large shoes, was that special someone after all. His size is 22. Shaq told him to expect some goodies in the mail when they chatted on Facetime.
Bolden got three boxes containing twenty pairs of shoes and clothes a few days later. It surpasses the joys of Christmas morning. Shaq sent this, not Santa," Neal said to KCTV 5.
Bolden’s struggle with finding comfortable shoes
Bolden's mother Neal claimed that even as a newborn, her son's feet were too big to fit into shoes. Tamika Neal, Bolden’s mother, had previously told USA TODAY that during the first few months of his life, he was dressed in socks.
Bolden was made to wear a size 22 shoes his family bought on eBay before Shaq sent him the gift. They were so tight that it kept him from going out and enjoying himself. Wearing such tiny shoes has been "torture," he said to USA TODAY earlier this month.
He claimed that one day he wanted to see a movie but was unable to do so because the size 22 shoes would have caused too much pain in his feet.
Help from GoFundMe and Shaq
They would have to pay thousands of dollars to have the shoes made for Bolden, so his mother started a GoFundMe page to collect money. The family has raised almost $12,000 as of Monday.
According to Bolden's mom, the shoes Shaq sent are a big help, KCTV 5 reported. The teenager’s family is hoping to use the money they raised on GoFundMe to purchase shoes for him as he grows.
Bolden previously revealed to USA TODAY that he enjoys drawing cartoon and video game characters. He stated to other media that he wished to start boxing professionally.
