An
Indonesian man whose body is covered with extraordinary tree-like
growths has spoken of his hope that an American doctor will cure his
unique condition and help him rebuild his family life.
Dede,
now 35, baffled medical experts when warty "roots" began growing out of
his arms and feet after he cut his knee in a teenage accident. Sacked
from his job and deserted by his wife, Dede has been unable to look
after his two children Entang and Utis, who are now aged 16 and 18.
They
have been brought up apart from their farther by his extended family on
the other side of their remote village south of the capital Jakarta.
With Dede's condition considered life threatening, he had resigned
himself to missing out on the remaining joys of fatherhood.
But
now a dermatology expert who flew out from the United States to examine
his rare condition says that a course of synthetic Vitamin A should
clear up most of the warts, and Dede is contemplating a transformed
life.
"I
can't work, I can't provide money," Dede said. "I want to be able to
take care of them [his children]. I hope to live long enough to see my
grandchildren."
After
testing samples of the lesions and Dede's blood, Dr 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment