Dede, the tree man (Warning: Contains disturbing images)

Warning: This entry contains disturbing images so please prepare yourself before reading.

I know, I know that I have had slight bias towards stories about inspiring people. But I can’t help but to write about this extraordinary person. His name is Dede Kosawa, an 32 year old Indonesian. So, what’s amazing about him?

Well, people know him better by the name “Tree Man“. You might think? Is he a super man who could jump from a tree without being hurt or isn’t he a guy who lives in (or on) a tree???

No no, his name is  “tree man”, literal meaning. “Roots and branches” were really growing from his body. Why do I say “were”? Well, I want to say first so you won’t feel so sad to hear about his story I’m about to tell.  Dede is now almost cured. And he’s back to his home in Bandung where his family belongs to and he’s happy to have an almost normal life.

Okay, so back to his sad story.

Strange warts had been growing unchecked from Dede’s body after he accidentally cut his knee when he was a teenager. He was fired from his job and deserted by his wife. Living in a poor remote village in Indonesia, Dede had to join a local “freak show” to earn some money to raise his two children. His disfigured hands and feet prevented him from living a normal life. He needed help with most of his daily activities such as just having his shirt on.

However, his rare condition had been heard by many people. He was taken to the hospital and he had received support and visit from Indonesian Health Minister and even the President sent the regards to him. Quite many surgeries had been taken removing more than 1.8 kg of warts from Dede’s body.

Dr. Anthony Gaspari, chief of dermatology at the University of Maryland Medical Center, had come to know Dede’s condition and travelled to Indonesia ini 2007 and 2008 at the request by Discovery Health channel to diagnoge and offer possible treatment for Dede. He had brought new hope for Dede by suggesting the new treatment after Dede was finally diagnoged with human papillomavirus, or HPV, infection. The mystery of Dede’s disease which had baffled the local doctors for 20 years now had been unveiled.

Indonesian doctors again carried out the warts removing  together with the skin transplant surgery. Dr. Gaspari had to return to the US and tried to find a sponsor for very expensive doses of drug which costed about 10,000 USD to sent to Indonesia.

After 9 months staying in a small hospital room, Dede was finally released to see his community again.
On the day of his return, people from his village gathered around his house to share his joy and they shouted to him “Dede, you look so handsome !”. Not only being home again, Dede even has a small land field which his family bought for him with the money donated by kind-hearted people.

The story of Dede is like a fairy tale with the happy ending. Dede is a hero in his own story. His courage, determination and hope has helped him going through the discrimination, helpless situations and finally the painful surgeries. I’ve been trying to find out more about his life after surgery but has not been able to get much information. But I hope he’s doing well and warts have stopped growing. Ah, also hope he has found someone who could make his life again complete as he once mentioned.

I don’t want to show his photos in the first part of my entry because the following photos are quite shocking. So here are some images showing Dede’s condition before and after he had been realeased from hospital

Dede, the Tree Man before surgery

Dede's hands

Dede, after being released from hospital

Click here if you would like to know more about Dede’s story.