Half Man; Half Tree

[DaShi]

Originally posted by LordShiva
He's half man, half bear-pig.

No, he's more like half bear, half man-pig.

[Alinestra Covelia]

ManBearPig isn't real though. In order to see him you have to use your imaginaa-aaaaaa---aa-aaa-aa--a-a--a--...tion.

Half Man Half Tree is real.

[Guynemer]

But hasn't ManBearPig had a bigger effect on you than ManTree? Doesn't that make him more real?

[Seeker]

According to certain Philosophies of Science, YES.

[Wezil]

Dede should rent himself out as a lawn decoration.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Seeker
According to certain Philosophies of Science, YES.

They dont'deserve to include the name science in my opinion.

JM

[Alinestra Covelia]

Apparently he's undergone surgery on his hands and feet. He can move his hands now and eat some foods and use a cell phone. He can walk without pain.

Link is here to Telegraph.co.uk

'Tree man' regains use of hands: New pictures

By Adam Lusher and Matthew Moore
Last Updated: 3:00am BST 21/04/2008

The "Tree Man of Java" is now able to send text messages and eat from his hands after operations to remove the bark-like tissue sprouting from his limbs.
# Telegraph TV: Tree man Dede recovers in hospital after his operations
# Tree man of Java hopes to marry after 4lb of warts removed
# Tree man 'who grew roots' may be cured

New photos show that Dede Koswara's treatment - revealed on Telegraph.co.uk this weekend - is proving a success and helping him live a more normal life
Dede the tree man
Telegraph TV: Tree man Dede recovers in hospital after his operations

The images, taken in an Indonesian hospital, show him using a mobile phone and eating and drinking unaided. Around 4lbs of warty horns have been removed from his limbs, allowing him to use his hands and walk without pain for the first time in 20 years.

Dede, 37, now hopes to find a bride after two more operations to graft undamaged skin onto his hands, feet and face.

Speaking from an Indonesian hospital, Dede told the Telegraph: "What I really want first is to get better and find a job. But then, one day, who knows? I might meet a girl and get married."

Dede's ordeal began when he was 15 and cut his knee in an accident. A small wart developed on his lower leg and spread uncontrollably.

Eventually he had to give up work as a builder and fisherman, and scratch a living in a traveling freak show.

His wife of ten years left him as it became impossible for him to support her and their two children. Late last year, however, Dede's plight was highlighted in a Discovery Channel documentary.
Dede the tree man

The documentary team took American dermatology expert Dr Anthony Gaspari to Indonesia to see if he could find a cure. Dr Gaspari, of the University of Maryland, concluded Dede's affliction was caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a fairly common infection usually causing only small warts.

Dede's problem was that he has an extremely rare immune system deficiency, leaving his body unable to contain the warts.

The virus was therefore able to "hijack the cellular machinery of his skin cells", ordering them to produce massive amounts of the substance causing tree-like growths known as "cutaneous horns".
Dede the tree man

After clearing up a dispute about authorisation with the Indonesian government, Dr Gaspari returned to Indonesia and is now liaising with the doctors caring for Dede at the Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java.

Dede went under the knife for his first operation in January. In the most recent operation, in March, doctors removed growths on his feet. The medics are now trying to ensure that the warts don't grow back.

Dede is taking vitamin A tablets to boost his immune system, and Dr Gaspari is hoping to get expensive anti-viral medicine available only in the US.
Dede the tree man

His father Ateng, 72, said: "You can see the form of his 10 toes now. He can wear flip flops. He loves doing sudokus. He is in good condition."

Ateng added: "The first priority is to get cured and get a job, but as a father, of course I want my son to remarry. He is a normal guy and he is still a young man."

[Wezil]

Around 4lbs of warty horns have been removed from his limbs...

Dede told the Telegraph: "What I really want first is to get better and find a job. But then, one day, who knows? I might meet a girl and get married."

He probaby has no problems getting a woody.

[DaShi]

He supposedly has 2 kids already.

[Winston]

Pah! Al Gore perfected the art of being nearly 100% wooden decades ago.

[VetLegion]

Scary. Makes one understand one's minor flaws are really that, minor.