Anyone who has a teen in their midst pretty much walks on eggshells, fearing that every zit and bad hair day will send their child into a tailspin of self loathing. As parents, we try to calmly explain how trivial their concerns are as compared to someone like the man I’m about to describe.
Dubbed “The Tree Man,” Dede Kaswara lived a fairly uneventful existence in Indonesia until an injury to his knee transformed this normal teen into someone he, himself, would no longer recognize. A strange virus infected his system, which had already been compromised by an immune deficiency lying dormant in his genes. Dede soon became covered with warts that grew, mainly on his hands and feet, into what looked like branches. They grew at an alarming rate until finally Dede was unable to use his hands and feet anymore. His limbs had become useless and every waking moment was an emotional and physical nightmare for this man who committed the unpardonable sin of becoming physically unique.
Dubbed “The Tree Man,” Dede Kaswara lived a fairly uneventful existence in Indonesia until an injury to his knee transformed this normal teen into someone he, himself, would no longer recognize.
Dede had grown into a man with a physical handicap that repulsed even his wife. Apparently, she hadn’t the vision to see her husband’s forest for the trees, and deserted him in his time of need, along with the two children they shared.
Dede had no choice but to join a freak show, just to earn a living for his children, and there was little hope for any remedy that would improve his situation.
In 2007, a doctor from the US traveled to Jakarta, and diagnosed Dede’s condition as something quite rare, having to do with the HPV virus. At the time, the doctor believed that doses of vitamin A would control the growth of the warts and cure his condition, in time.
It didn’t.
Dede was given Vitamin A treatments and underwent numerous operations every few months to remove the growths that would allow him to use his feet and hands, only to have the warts and branches grow back with a vengeance.
The treatment was a failure, and to this day, there doesn’t seem to be a cure for his disease.
Dede has had to endure years of taunts and bullying on a scale that only very few people can possibly imagine. I bring his story up now, because it feels quite relevant to the times we’re living in today.
I do believe, somewhat optimistically, perhaps, that we are coming into an age where Pop stars like Lady Gaga, shows like Glee and movies like X-Men empower us to embrace our inner mutant and radiate tolerance and acceptance for those poor unfortunates who possess the rotten luck to be born ordinary and forgettable.