The Man Who Turned into a Tree
A 35-year-old Indonesian man named Dede suffered a simple cut as a teenager and thereafter began growing tree-like warts all over his body. The warts soon worsened into mossy, branching growths, virtually incapacitating him. His wife left him, he was out of a job, and he was made the village freak. Doctors could never figure out what Dede’s condition was, and the growths worsened with each passing year. It wasn’t until an American dermatologist traveled to see Dede’s odd growths and cutaneous horns that the proper diagnosis was made: Dede was simply suffering from HPV, or human papilloma virus. HPV causes warts (frequently of the genital variety) and is quite common in humans. Unfortunately for Dede, he happens to have a rare genetic flaw that causes his immune system to be as weak as someone with AIDS. The chances of this genetic fault? Less than one in a million. Fortunately for Dede, proper treatment and several surgeries offer the promise of a normal life. The doctor is also trying to get more American support for this special patient. Good luck, Dede! (Check out the video here.)
- via Neatorama
Update: Find out what’s happened to the Tree Man in the last year and how surgery is improving his life.
nigga a treee. ill smoke him in a blunt.i waonder if the tree gave him a bigger woody
It NEVER ceases to amaze me how stupid some of the people who share this planet with me are.
Guys…dont be so mean to the poor man…not everything like this is crap…or hollywood made. some of us are real you know…and some of us actually go through with real pain…this is life, any thing can happen here. and those who dont understand the condition of the poor man…or other such people out there…are worse than these “craps”. My heart felt symathy for Dede and gratitude for everyone who believes this is true.
For the person who said you can get HPV off a doorknob…WRONG.
Viruses can’t live on surfaces like that long enough to be transmitted between people. This is the reason why you thankfully can’t get STD’s from toilet seats.
HPV must be transmitted through either intercourse or skin to skin contact, as in genital to genital contact or oral to genital contact.
from what i heard there are over 500 kinds of HPV and bacteria can live on surfaces for up to 96 hours without becoming active… given that a virus is simply RNA waiting for a living host then its possible that loose tissue could get into ones system and reach the bloodstream
ok.. some of you guys are really mean. this poor man is ugly and in pain and he needs some sympathy and compassion. i would NOT be able to go through such a difficult situation if this happened to me. so sure hes a tree man on the outside but that doesnt mean hes not a man on the inside. and stds can be transmitted in other ways tha dont include sexual activity. i am majoring in science currently. so get the facts straigh and stellar, you deserve an award for being RUDE. dave, you deserve and award for being RIGHT. and i feel bad for the treeman, you should also
how do u put ur clothes on????
How was Dede’s son. That poor guy. You could just see the apathy in his eyes… “why bother hey??? I’m probably gonna turn out like Dad….”
God bless Dede. Hope he is completely cured soon. He deserves to lead a normal life…..
i feel sorry 4 him. did he find a new wife? ou led kaka shein
Can’t wait to see this person get better!
funny as hell what as tree
dude…
as soon as I started to read this article, I can’t stop itching.
I don’t think is really matters if you people think it’s real or not. I’m sure it is, or it may not be. You should just pray for this man, either way. He needs it.
And Stellar… You, my friend, are a jerk. Use your head, son. No one cares about anyone’s “medical background”. I might as well as you where you got your doctoratte. If you even have one. If you do, congratulations. But, that doesn’t make you more intelligent than anyone else.
I’m pretty sure no one cares for you opinion anymore, so stop being stupid and insulting people to make yourself seem smarter or better or whatever the heck it is you’re trying to do.
Ah, I don’t think it* really matters.
type-o… my bad!
Seriously, this ruined my lunch…although, I feel extremely bad for this person. I hope he gets the help that he needs. Nobody should have to go through something like this…
Death, Dave and Mirabelle…you are all just as much jerks, rude, and stupid to waist time on this important blog with someone like stellar instead of staying on the subject.
I wonder if research into rabbits with horny wart like growths couldn’t help. There is one in my parents yard. The growths look identical. I think it’s called “shopes virus” in rabbits.
how in the world could people be so cynical?
this man is suffering. outside of your little bubble, there are real people in a much harsher reality. i will pray for this man and i am sad that his case got so severe…all of you should pray for him and his family as well. my heart breaks for the ignorance of people with no compassion towards people like this.
how in the world could people be so cynical??
this man is suffering. outside of your little bubble, there are real people in a much harsher reality. i will pray for this man and i am sad that his case got so severe…all of you should pray for him and his family as well. my heart breaks for the ignorance of people with no compassion towards people like this.
finally!!! someone that actually HAS a heart! im praying daily for this family as should the rest of you!!! Alexa, thank you for speaking out!! its great to know that not everyone in this world is rude and has no compassion!!!
Okay, so all I can say here, is WOW!
Just goes to show, that despite all of Hollywoods glamorization of all that exists, our bodies are capable of breaking down the boundaries of the extraordinary! Who would of thought warts could resemble a tree like appearance, with roots for hands!
My thoughts go out to Dede, and his family, and all the best to obtaining the medication needed to overcome this disease.
Thing like this make me lose the little hope I had that there may be a god. But the response by some of the assholes on this page just makes disgusted and lose faith in mankind. What a bunch of ignorant little assholes.
This is real. Do your fucking research. It has been documented numerous times, just to a smaller extent. He is in a place where he did not have the means or resources necessary to treat what could have been a simple infection. Fortunately for you little pricks, you’ll never have to experience anything like this because you’re well taken care of by mommy and daddy… UNfortunately, some people aren’t so lucky and you’d do well to learn some empathy and keep that in mind.
As the article also explains, he has a compromised immune system. That is why it took over. To the idiots who take the title literally, it is NOT turning him into a tree… it’s a rather inconsiderate and callous name some idiot came up with to get more media attention. They’re WARTS that RESEMBLE tree bark. Holy. Shit.
I think this man has the dry type of leprosy.
It’s been diagnosed as HPV:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/10/02/treeman.wart.skin.disorder/index.html
I would love to see an update . I felt sorry for him.
I also was hoping his country would help his friends in the circus . they looked like they needed help as bad as he did?
I also think his country got involved only because our doctor here in the United States tried to help..
anyway may God be with him in his journey.
I saw the program about Dede and the others who suffers from diseases like HPV. I think it is awful, I feel really sorry for them. I really hope Dede and the others will become well and I wish they all could get money from supportes or others so they wouldnt have to work in that awful sircus or the evil magic show. There are so many cruel people in this world who are mean to others especially to innocent people and animals. I hope one day those evil people will learn by experiencing the same tragedies as these poor people and others have to. I still hope that the evil persons can get well when they have understood the awfulness.
Anne Marie Norway
this is supposed to be caused by generations of inbreeding.That is how you only see things like this in little poor villages.
its geneticly impossible to turn into a plant, human cells are rounded, plant cells are sqaure, so its impossible to mutait into a plant, we have a better chance of turning into a dog.
Wow so many non educated people out there..its a growth does a wart hurt NO…i totally agree with DAVE ….ITS YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM HIS CANT COPE…
All these people leaving bad comment with questionmarks if it is not real… questionmarks because you think it’s unpossible for him to get on a t-shirt? You should see all the vids made bout him. One of those explains that the brother of Dede customized all of his clothing with special buttons!
thanks
you’re welcome
who r you?
people should not make fun of the people like this . How would you feel if this was you I bet you would be pleading for someone to help then.
I want to thank the doctor (S) for trying to help him. it must be a horrific thing to have to live with..
Where is all the compassion in this world our world has became mean and nasty and incensitive
.
thanks.
uh…you’re welcome.
Its reali a sorry look.Thank God for corrective surgery, at least he stands a chance of leading a normal life again.
People, this is life, thats what it is; the least we can do is show empathy to this man turn tree and wish him luck in the operations not mockin him. What if it happens to you?
I feel really bad for this man. Nobody deserves that kind of thing. But.. I geuss thats justlife at its worst.
Oh, and all of you people who laugh at him or say rude things about him, you need to go and get a heart.
I bet it it wouldnt be so funny if you had that, now would, i bet you wouldnt be laughing!
I’m glad to see that there are still some kind people in this world who don’t judge a person by the way he/she looks…what’s on the inside is what matters most!!! As for those people who can only make rude remarks about Dede, please get a life!!!
dont make fun of him its not his fault god damn you peopole are so mean ! what if that was you! think about that immature brates
dam por guy….and thats pretty mest up that his wife left him she should of helped him and been with him by his side…….. and hes not stupied things jst happen
I hope he gets well soon!
God bless this man…I heard he still needs to take antiboiotics and get surgery every-so-often as well as treatment for scars….I can’t believe how cruel the world is, and how we turn our backs to the people who need help more than us, just because we were raised healthy, it doesn’t mean we can’t have sympathy for the less fortunate. I feel bad for Dede and he is definitely on my prayer list,and i pray for u ppl who are mean to him and judge him because of his genetic misfortune, just because i pray for mercy on ur shallow souls. thanks for your time.