When you think of your family tree, you don’t usually think of a literal “family tree” do you? Well most people wouldn’t - but unfortunately for one family in Indonesia, they do.
Meet ‘Dede’ - a 35 year old father of two living in poverty in a remote village in Indonesia.
Dede grew up normal, but at 15, he had an accident where he cut his knee. From then on, warts and welts started taking over his body and have simply kept on growing to what resembles “bark like” qualities.
His wife bolted leaving him to look after his two kids. As his condition worsened, Dede became completely dependant on others for even the most mundane tasks in life - such as putting on clothing.
When he cut his knee as a teen, a virus entered his body - HPV. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the bug which commonly causes warts and other skin diseases. Those of us who had or have warts can usually fight off this bug with our immune systems.
But in Dede’s case, things get a little more complicated. He suffers from a rare genetic fault which renders his immune system void in helping stop the spread of this virus through his body. The video clip below demonstrates the shattering reality of this in Dede’s life.
An American dermatologist, Dr Anthony Gaspari of the University of Maryland, has come to the aid of Dede after being exposed to the story on Discovery Channel.
Gaspari believes daily doses of Vitamin A could drastically reverse the growth of warts to the point where Dede can use his own hands. The rest of the growth can be frozen and then surgically removed. This is great news for Dede as his greatest worry is not seeing his children grow old and not meeting his grand children.
I’m stoked for Dede and am moved by Gaspari’s determination to treat this guy. This story is about to go live as the Discovery Channel “My Shocking Story” series, and will be shown on the Discovery Channel at 9pm on Nov 15. For more details visit the programme’s website.
Already the cruel blog world is making fun of this story calling Dede a freak and using all manner of puns to put him down. He has suffered enough in his life and my hope is that one day, he will be cured of this disease.
Tags: Dede, Tree Man, HPV, Human Papillomavirus, Discovery Channel, Warts
i feel for Dede, and glad that someone is trying to help him out, can’t wait to see the results, can’t believe the idiots who seem to degrade others, even in this world of online access.. it seems that doesn’t improve the character of some ppl.
this is as reminder for us, that there is something out there.
My heart aches for Dede. Just saw the program on TLC and it’s heartbreaking to see the plight of others. I would encourage you who are able bodied to thank the Lord for the blessing of good health.
I saw the story. It amazes me that there is such a condition as turning into a tree. I have seen people with hairy skin, fish skin, alligator skin, but this is the worst. God bless Dede I will pray for him and his family. The TLC program says he hasn’t started the therapy. I am sure he is scared of not being completely healed and no longer being able to work as a performer and being caught in between. May God and the doctors heal him.
I need to do a report and this has inspired me. i now want to tell the world of this and what a rairity and serious thing it actually is. Someone help me i need to know is it just a HPV virus mutation or something else.
i think it is sad people treatin him dat way i hope they find da cure with a serious face i wouldn’t leave him i would have stayed beside him cause love cures everything and with the help of the lord everythin is possible so im showin love 4 him at least sumone is
This is really sad and I hope that things can be made better for his man. His wife is a chicken and doesn’t deserve a man so selfless as to work at such a humiliating job to support those he loves.
Go ahead with yourelf Dede, you’re a true hero!
What has happened with this guy did he eventually decide to try the treatment? It is too bad if he is too scared to try. Is the Dr. under the impression that his treatment will be nearly entirely effective?
i think that it is a very rare thing but i’m glad his kids stuck around. and that some one else in the world is helping him. i hope he does super well, and my prayers go out to him and his family.
seeing the plight of treeman i feel very sorry for this man. for every problem there is a cure but in this condition the process of this cure may not be known. but i suggest if some consult some one who is mastered in VEDAS he may able to get the cure. for this he has to consult someone in india,specially places like VARANASI,UJJAIN,KERALA. MAY BE IF I FIND SOMEONE WHO IS ABLE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM I WILL DEFINITELY LET THIS KNOW ABOUT THAT
Hi Sunil - thanks for stopping by. Respectfully I disagree with you. Dede needs Jesus.