Half-Man Half-Tree
Posted on 17. Jan, 2008 by spencer in Science
It's fair to say that you've never seen anything like this. This Indonesian fisherman named Dede has a rare immune system deficiency that has caused him to grow warts all over his body, which have overtaken his appendages and left him unable to provide for his family.
From the Telegraph UK:
After testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland concluded that his affliction is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection that usually causes small warts to develop on sufferers.
Dede's problem is that he has a rare genetic fault that impedes his immune system, meaning his body is unable to contain the warts.
The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance that caused the tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns" on his hands and feet.
But there's potential good news for Dede. Dr. Gaspari believes that a synthesized form of Vitamin A will halt the growth's progress, and reduce the larger warts; and with surgery and continued doses of Vitamin A he will, theoretically, be able to use his hands again.
And you thought Treebeard looked cool.
Yuck, but hell yes on the Lord of the Rings reference.
Nice…. what a wonderfully callous response and tagline. You horrid people are the same as the “freak-show” goers, content to mock and exploit the disfigured for your own personal entertainment. Both the author and Ali are far uglier than Dede could ever be. Grow up. treebeard? are you kidding me? Losers.
yo thatas grimy you ppl makingfun ofthat poor guy he cant take care of hiskids on his own anymore and his wife left him …bitch. the more you grimy ppl keep making fun of him…its gonna comeback to haunt you 10x worse.
All I’m saying is he looks cool, and if I lived in Indonesia he’d be my homie. What do you people have against nature? YOU ARE MAKING JESUS CRY.
Maybe you too will be blessed with this “coolness” Spencer.
How sad for this man… And n the end he refused the treatment that would help him! Even that was sad. Could it be that he identified more with his “friends” then with his family? In the end he truly needed both physical and mental help to cope!
I saw him on TV last night, my heart goes out to him. I asked God to heal him. I think in time, he will be ready to take the advice of Dr. Gaspari. His hesitation to take the medication is, perhaps, stemmed from many failed attempts to cure him before. What I learned from his plight is that, I should never complain about my flaws. There are worse things in the world, and dede is suffering from one of them. May god bless you and heal you, dede.
YES! ITS SAD THAT THE BRATS OF THIS GREAT COUNTRY HAVE TO TALK SHIT ABOUT ONE THAT HAS A HELL OF A LOT LESS THEN WE. YOU LITTLE CHAD TYPE PUSSY ASS PUNKS NEED TO SEE HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVE. WE HAVE DOCTORS THAT AT LEAST TRY TO HELP. THEY, ON THE OTHER HAND USE COW & GOAT PISS AS A DISINFECTENT. THIS SICKNESS DEDE HAS IS FROM THE HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS A COMMON VIRUS THAT IS KNOWN AS THE LEADING CAUSE OF WARTS & CANCER.
ALSO 95% OF THE CASES WERE DUE TO ORAL SEX!
SO NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO SKULL FUCK BUFFY, THINK ABOUT THIS DUDE! YOUR FUCK STICK MAY END UP LOOKING LIKE A FUCKING TREE ROOT! AND DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT FRENCH KISSING ONE OF THOSE RA BITCHES BEVES. JUST ASK FOR A HAND JOB & BE DONE WITH IT! IF SHE WANTS TO BE DONE? TOSS THE BITCH A PLASTIC DICK! STAY HEALTHY!
Leave the man alone. I mean honestly. It’s not his fault.
Great site. Get your self some banners from cj to make extra $:)
That wasn’t me on comment #10. Please delete it. (you can check the different URL)
Hmm. Bit of poetic license with the TV programme. He’s being treated, with the retinoid + surgery: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/11/wtreeman111.xml
I just saw Dede and friends on TV last night and understand he did not want to take the medicine Dr. Gaspari suggested and wanted to remain in freak show to insure being able to st least provide something for his children.
Is he crazy, frightened, or an angel with altruistic love to perform such a sacrifice for his children?
God Bless Him anyway.
My children’s father could sure learn something from him.
The style of writing is very familiar to me. Have you written guest posts for other blogs?