Comments on: Half man, half tree

Half man, half tree

the_very_hungry_caterpillar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:59:14 -0800

An Indonesian fisherman who feared that he would be killed by tree-like growths covering his body has been given hope of recovery by an American doctor - and Vitamin A. 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.

By: inconsequentialist

inconsequentialist — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:03:13 -0800

I knew there would be pictures, and yet I clicked anyway. *shudder*

By: DU

DU — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:05:51 -0800

His wife deserted him....and left the kids?? That's cold, yo.

By: The Bellman

The Bellman — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:06:33 -0800

There is simply no way I'm going to click. I'm sorry.

By: schroedinger

schroedinger — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:06:46 -0800

Sounds like what this guy has.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:08:40 -0800

Wow.

By: Wolfdog

Wolfdog — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:10:24 -0800

The treant attacks. You fail your saving throw.

By: Turtles all the way down

Turtles all the way down — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:10:47 -0800

Those warty roots take a long time to load, and I think that's God's way of telling me I shouldn't look at them. So I won't.

By: Mastercheddaar

Mastercheddaar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:17:13 -0800

I feel sorry for him. I'm glad modern medicine has hopefully found a way to help him out. One question, it didn't mention this but are they hard and brittle enough to cut them off or are they soft and tissue like?

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:18:37 -0800

His bark is worse than his bite.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:19:19 -0800

That is seriously fucked up. Amazingly enough, in one of the photos he looks like he is happy and laughing. Ah, the power of the human spirit!

By: Blazecock Pileon

Blazecock Pileon — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:22:39 -0800

His wife deserted him....and left the kids?? That's cold, yo. It's not the cold, but the changing seasons. Some branches of the family tree fall off, some stay.

By: LiliaNic

LiliaNic — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:23:26 -0800

Wow. That is just amazing. If you'd just photographed that man's hands and feet, there is no way I would have assumed that those were the limbs of a human being. His wife sucks big time though. I can't believe she would leave a man with such debilitating deformities to raise two children. I'm glad that the doctor thinks that this man can be helped.

By: Parasite Unseen

Parasite Unseen — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:25:22 -0800

This guy should have read more Alan Moore. I learned at an early age that it does not pay to fuck with Swamp Thing. It's a shame that Dede had to learn the hard way. Side note: How fucking happy does that guy look? I have trouble smiling with that much enthusiasm, and the biggest problem I face every day is deciding where I'm going to have lunch. I'm not quite sure how I feel about envying someone who has such a bizarre and disfiguring ailment.

By: tula

tula — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:34:29 -0800

Eponauseating.

By: gomichild

gomichild — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:38:25 -0800

That poor man. I hope that he can go back to being able to use his limbs normally again.

By: briank

briank — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:39:52 -0800

Sounds like what this guy has. Yes, it is exactly what that guy had. And it has nothing to do with bark or trees whatsoever. They are not growing "roots" at all. On the Indonesian guy, the growths are grayish in color, so it's just someone's imaginative term. One question, it didn't mention this but are they hard and brittle enough to cut them off or are they soft and tissue like? IIRC, it's actually keratin, and gets hard enough to cut back periodically. I, for one, am seriously glad to hear that they've found a treatment, because these pictures squick me out more than anything else I've ever seen on the Internet (and I have seen some AWFUL stuff on the Internet)

By: Slothrup

Slothrup — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:41:12 -0800

Wow. Just wow.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:42:17 -0800

Note: "Half Man Half Tree", part of the "My Shocking Story" series, will be shown on the Discovery Channel at 9pm on Nov 15. The photos aren't gross per se, just wild looking. As someone said upthread, he's smiling with his teenage daughter, who isn't infected.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:47:05 -0800

Barnacle from the X-men.

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:47:36 -0800

That link has all kinds of session data in it and didn't load for me. Try this if you can't get it to work.

By: mecran01

mecran01 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 08:52:22 -0800

"I would like to bring him to the US to run tests on where his immune condition has come from, but I would need funding and to get him a visa as well as someone to cover the costs of the tests," he said. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire career." I wonder how hard it would be to create a paypal account and solicit donations for this guy. There are times when I would like to be wealthy just to be able to help in situations like this. Although usually I just want an NSX.

By: Meatbomb

Meatbomb — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:03:15 -0800

I don't understand this. I bite my nails, and use cuticle clippers with any callous, dead skin, etc. How the fuck do they let that happen? I am trying to imagine if that started hapenning to me, and even if it hurt like hell I would cut that shit off!

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:06:48 -0800

How fucking happy does that guy look? Umm, he just found out that there's a name (and a cure!) for the fact that he's turning into a fucking tree. Of course he's happy. How could he not be?

By: jamstigator

jamstigator — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:07:01 -0800

That is just freakish. But it's very cool that he seems to have a sense of humor about it. That definitely gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'getting a woody'!

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:09:21 -0800

in one of the photos he looks like he is happy and laughing. Ah, the power of the human spirit! ..from Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900):

We are inclined sometimes to wring our hands much more profusely over the situation of another than the mental attitude of that other, towards his own condition, would seem to warrant. People do not grieve so much sometimes over their own state as we imagine. They suffer, but they bear it manfully. They are distressed, but it is about other things as a rule than their actual state at the moment. We see, as we grieve for them, the whole detail of their blighted career, a vast confused imagery of mishaps covering years, much as we read a double decade of tragedy in a ten-hour novel. The victim, meanwhile, for the single day or morrow, is not actually anguished. He meets his unfolding fate by the minute and the hour as it comes.

By: Artw

Artw — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:10:24 -0800

I am trying to imagine if that started hapenning to me, and even if it hurt like hell I would cut that shit off! Which might make it grow faster...

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:44:35 -0800

I immediately thought this was going to be a double of that other guy. I remember for him they just tried trimming the stuff off (update here). And. Umm. Ewww. File under: images I've seen thanks to Metafilter that I will never be able erase from my fragile little brain.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:58:34 -0800

How. Can. He. Wipe. His. Ass?

By: Unicorn on the cob

Unicorn on the cob — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:02:53 -0800

God, if that happened to me, I'd have dyad.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:12:13 -0800

That bad, bad HPV.

By: Ian A.T.

Ian A.T. — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:12:23 -0800

I haven't clicked on the link, but I'm really enjoying everyone's reactions. I've never been so happy we got rid of the IMG tag...

By: Challahtronix

Challahtronix — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:36:09 -0800

[i]It's not the cold, but the changing seasons. Some branches of the family tree fall off, some stay.[/i] I was going to say that I guess she didn't want to put down roots, but I guess that's considered low-hanging fruit.

By: Challahtronix

Challahtronix — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:37:38 -0800

ugh. Why didn't I catch this in the "Live Preview" window?

By: bassjump

bassjump — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:45:48 -0800

It's gross, yet oddly fascinating. It doesn't seem real. stbalbach, that quote is great, but that guy isn't really able to wring his hands.

By: seanmpuckett

seanmpuckett — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:50:57 -0800

... he fights crime?

By: taliaferro

taliaferro — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:09:33 -0800

Unicorn on the cob - that was a dry addition to the puns here.

By: taliaferro

taliaferro — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:26:53 -0800

I sure hope this doctor doesn't rest on his laurels. I'll be damphned if I would.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:57:15 -0800

My imagination maybe, but I think that doctor looks a bit terrified.

By: Tacos Are Pretty Great

Tacos Are Pretty Great — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:48:38 -0800

I miss the img tag. *sigh*

By: MinPin

MinPin — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:16:41 -0800

He needed an E.N.T. doctor

By: internet!Hannah

internet!Hannah — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:12:28 -0800

So...how did he get that shirt on?

By: EndsOfInvention

EndsOfInvention — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:12:44 -0800

Sounds like what this guy has. Actually it looks really similar too. I wonder if the conditions are the same/related?

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:39:33 -0800

I'm truly happy that there might be hope for this guy - what a horrible disease!

By: 6am

6am — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:56:07 -0800

Want to witness ashen-faced and broken children washing their hands until all that's left is polished bone? "Washing hands is stupid Mummy. I'm not washing them. I'm not." "Oh that's fine dear. If you plan to look like this."

By: ultrogonic

ultrogonic — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 18:37:59 -0800

Sadly, life continues to imitate art.

By: cenoxo

cenoxo — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:42:26 -0800

stbalbach wrote: ..from Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie (1900):
...We see, as we grieve for them, the whole detail of their blighted career, a vast confused imagery of mishaps covering years, much as we read a double decade of tragedy in a ten-hour novel. The victim, meanwhile, for the single day or morrow, is not actually anguished. He meets his unfolding fate by the minute and the hour as it comes...
From the Victorian Web — John Merrick, the Elephant Man:

Ugly on the outside but sterling within, Merrick seemed the perfect fairy-tale Beast. Actually, he was a naive and ill man whose final years were not filled simply with ease and friendly callers. His disease [now thought to be Proteus Syndrome] was worsening, its crippling effect becoming more painful. For hours he would sit staring into space, despondently and rhythmically tapping at his pillow or the arm of his chair with his distorted right hand. Officially, however, Merrick gave his contemporary well-wishers what they wanted -- gratitude and a sentimental feeling that theirs was a good world: "Tis true my form is something odd, But blaming me is blaming God; Could I create myself anew I would not fail in pleasing you." "If I could reach from pole to pole Or grasp the occan with a span, I would be measured by the soul; The mind's the standard of the man." ...Both verses [from Isaac Watts' poem False Greatness] capped a statement of thanks to his benefactors that was appended to an account of him published in the British Medical Journal.

May we all be so measured.

By: Alex404

Alex404 — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:13:14 -0800

Not to pooh pooh this thread or anything, because I certainly laugh at people's expenses... but we could do with a smaller ratio of puns. So yah. Good for you, indonesian fisherman. You're life is a rare form of fucked up, and most people can't really even comprehend. Have you been horribly depressed? Has it ruined your life? Or has it just been really weird, surreal, and human? I, personally, don't have any idea. However the hell you've done it though, good for you for surviving. For managing to keep your kids alive too, you have my respect, whatever it's worth.

By: tellurian

tellurian — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:30:33 -0800

Shakes hand.

By: deborah

deborah — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:12:56 -0800

"I would like to bring him to the US to run tests on where his immune condition has come from, but I would need funding and to get him a visa as well as someone to cover the costs of the tests," he said. U.S. Customs is turning back Canadians with HIV. No way in the world are they gonna let this guy in. I really, really hope that the doc knows what he's doing and has a cure for Mr. Dede.

By: Brandon Blatcher

Brandon Blatcher — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:08:07 -0800

Video of Dede here and here.