For those of you who aren't tremendous dorks, like myself, and don't watch the Discovery Channel, allow me to introduce you to the Indonesian tree-man, Dede. Dede injured his leg when he was fifteen and then began to grow bark-like warts all over his body. His hands became so infected that they are now deformed and he cannot use them for even ordinary tasks.
Luckily, he was able to reach out to the international community and a dermatologist from America flew in to see what could be done. First, they determined that the cause of the disease was the human papilloma virus (HPV). Next, they discovered that Dede's immune system was unique, but unable to fight off the virus, so he irrupted in bark-like protrusions.
The good news is that doctors believe they have found a treatment for Dede, whose wife left him and was unable to work because of his illness. They have prescribed for him a synthetic kind of vitamin A that should both halt the diseases' progress and shrink the warts to a much smaller, manageable size. Doctors also removed over 17 pounds of growths from his limbs.
Dede is excited to use his hands again and be able to support his family. He also looks forward to the possiblity of being able to get married once more.
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