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With his rootlike feet and gnarled hands, he is known as “The Tree Man”.
Living in a remote village in the wilderness of Indonesia, 36-year-old father-of-two Dede has stunned medical experts. Most of his body is covered in growths which have become so large and thick they look like twisted tree roots growing out of his skin. Dede says his worst fear is that the cruel disorder will kill him before doctors have a chance to save him. “I am scared that it will grow across my face and end up covering it all up,” the former construction worker says. “I’m so afraid I won’t be able to see, that I won’t be able to eat.”
Dede grew up in a tiny hamlet near Bandung, south of Jakarta, the capital of the volcanic island of Java. He enjoyed a completely normal childhood, but just after he turned 15 he cut his knee in an accident on a building site. The injury - not deemed to be at all serious at the time - was to change his life forever. Within weeks, a huge growth had emerged from inside his wound. He says at first he was not unduly worried, believing it was a wart which would eventually drop off. But it didn’t. And shortly afterwards, horrific welts started to spring up all over his body. “The first one was cut off in an operation, but that didn’t stop it. Instead it just grew back faster. “Then it started on my foot, then my arms, then my other foot and then on my head,” says Dede. By the time he had reached his early 20s, he could no longer hold a tool and struggled to complete basic tasks. He was fired and has remained unemployed since. His wife also left him, leaving him to raise their two children, Entis, now 18, and Entang, 16, on his own. “I feel sad because my wife left me,” says Dede. “And with my condition I cannot look after my kids. I miss working very much. But unfortunately I just can’t do it.”
Unable to work or earn a regular wage like his friends, Dede has been crippled financially ever since the shocking condition first took over his body. And as a single father, he knows he is not only responsible for himself. But just washing and getting dressed in the morning have become virtually impossible for Dede. He has been helped by his brother-in-law Imun, his parents and his close friends, who club together to make sure Dede has enough money to feed himself and his teenage kids each month. But his support network of friends and family have provided him with more than just money to survive. Each morning, family members take turns to put his specially designed trousers on over his sprawling feet and help him lift a fresh shirt over his body. Someone must be around if needs to go to the toilet. Friends have even designed a huge stool so he can reach his food - but even this has to be spoon-fed to him twice a day. Only smoking - he gets through 30 a day - can be enjoyed on his own, with a special cigarette holder.
Indonesian doctors tried to help him when he was younger with a series of painful operations, but to no avail. “When I was in hospital I had some of my growths burnt off and I was injected several times. I was also given some pills. “But everything kept growing back after the operations, like just three weeks later. And they would grow back faster,” he says. Now medical experts in America say they may be able to help Dede by producing a cure specifically for him. Dr Anthony Gaspari, chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the US, is fascinated by Dede’s condition. “I was absolutely stunned,” said Dr Gaspari. “I’d never seen anything like this before. “I’ve become really interested in his case because it’s so absolutely unusual. The growths he has are just something we don’t encounter in clinical medicine.” Dr Gaspari took samples of Dede’s growths and has now been able to diagnose his condition. He believes Dede has an extremely rare genetic disorder which means his immune system does not function properly. This is why his body was never able to recover from the initial outbreak of the growths, which are actually warts, caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Dr Gaspari is now working on developing a unique cure for him. But Dede says: “I worry that this disease will be passed to my children.” And despite previous disappointments, Dede is hopeful that this time doctors can help him. “I’d love to be cured,” he says poignantly.
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I am so happy for this man. I feel like if he can live through this than he can conquer anything in the world. I will continually pray that GOD develope him and his family.
can bananas grow off of them?
^^^ bananas?! you dumb bitch, go and die you slutbag!!!
suck a dick joe. im jesus and yes i made him so he can grow bannanas u cock bag
I totally 100% agree with u jesus. thats y ur my son. and my bitch. and beware of those bannanas. god rulez!
wow you people are so disrespectful. I hope you both have a terrible tragedy occur in your life and your shunned from society. Have some humanity piece of shit. Id love to meet you in a dark alley
So wait , scott , you want to meet them in dark alleys? Fucking rapist. That should get tracked. Have some condecensy you dirtbags. What if that was you, would you want people to bash you like that?
i would use him as firewood and burn his family alive so they couldnt breed more freaks
at least no one in indonesia will starve wiv a livin branflake factory walkin about
All of you people are fuckn mental. This is a serious matter and you think this is for your amusement. If your not a part of the solution your part of the problem. Ignorant people like you shouldn’t have anything to say about anything. Leave comments to people with sense and who have something constructive to say. Jerks! I hope this man receives the help he needs.
is this real?
How can you be so cruel? What this man, Dede, has is a horrible and disabling condition that he is unable to prevent or stop by himself. He is now potentially able to receive some real help and all you people can do is make sick jokes and laugh at him. Put yourself in his position. Honestly, I hope that you’re ashamed of yourselves. I’ve no doubt that you’ve heard it all before, and I have absolutely no faith that you will even take this seriously, but there are so many people with so much less than you have, who are suffering everyday while you live your happy, carefree life. I’m not saying that you should go out and try and change the world, because that’s not really feasible, but at least have some respect for the people who are having a tougher time than you are. Seriously, look at the pictures of this man. How can you be so cruel?
There should be a rule on the internet that everyone who had parents who actually taught them manners ignore everyone who posts who lacks that training. If you ignore the posts of the ignorant, or the poorly raised educated, then they would go away. They post to get a rise, and if we give it to them, we are treating them like the toddler who throws a fit till they get the candy. Don’t even comment on their posts…EVER..just ignore. Which is exactly what I will do, after this post.
The case of this gentleman, and he is a gentle man it seems, is just one more instance of the wonder of nature. It is sad though. I hope that Dermatologist can help him, if not a total cure, at least something that will give him a better quality of life.
He is still blessed though. His daughter looks happy in the pictures and he’s got friends who did not abandon him like his wife did. He’s afraid of dying, which means he’s not given up and would rather be as he is then be dead.
He’s like Job, who God tested to see if he would lose his faith. This man is definitley being tested, but, considering his nationality, probaby by Buddah rather then God (then there are those who would argue that Buddah is God..but that’s a discussion for another forum.) I just hope this fine fellow passes the test.
this is a power of allah(god) on his creation.just we can look us and say thanks for how we look like.and alllah(god)apply his marcy on him
God????
Allah?????
WTF!!!
This is a sick man who is seeking a cure, not the work of your imaginary friend, if you want to be ignorant and blame things you don’t understand on a so-called ‘higher power’ i’m afraid you’re a couple of hundred years too late!
I have a friend who got cervical cancer because of HPV. right now she is under going chemotherapy and some anti-cancer drugs. . .
this is really sad but this is a man to look up to he has lived through this his whole life and he is 36 plus he has 2 kids to look after on his own no wife that is terrible and i thought having my perants split up was bad imagine what those kids have to go through everyday of there lifes helping there dad and thinking of what is going to happen to him if the growth continues its terrible so we should be out there looking for a cure for this man instead of sitting at the computer making fun of him -bananas really come on you imature freak try to imagine if this was you would you like people making fun of u like that have a bit of respect dickheads !!!!!
I generally feel sorry for the individuals that have commented so poorly, on another member of their same species. However, nature has shown that this is often the case, regardless of the species of animal that a condition affects. It is true that this person does need medical help. So he can lead a moderately normal life. And be a Father to his offspring. A genetic right of every living being. It is also true, that ostracism is quite prominent in all areas of life on Earth. This is a genetic factor designed by nature itself. Survival of the fittest remember. Like the Omega wolves of wolf packs, life tends to segregate itself in an attempt to starve of extinction by desease and predation. The arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’ on this page, are a classic example of what I have just described above, and what has been posted on this page. That being, Birfurcation. It is also how we, as a species, arrived at our current precipice of demise. By turning to the most basic of human emotions located in the hypothalamus, that being ‘hate’. Before we have even begun to understand. And both sides are guilty!