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When Abul Bajardan met the love of his life as a young man, he knew his life would be forever changed. Yet, when the couple was about to tie the knot, his health took a strange and drastic turn that would define the next decade of his life. Now, after years of wondering what happened to his body, he can finally change his life for good...
Abul Bajandar
Abul Bajandar has lived quite a strange but miraculous life. He has suffered from a rare medical condition for a large part of his adult life, and the pain from this rare disease was almost unbearable to deal with. Abdul thought his life would be a never-ending cycle of discomfort, but after consulting some doctors, he discovered that there was an alternative he never thought possible…
So Far, So Good
Abdul Bajandar was born and raised in the southern Khulna district of Bangladesh. This is where his truly unbelievable story began. Abdul worked as a rickshaw driver and was a normal, everyday kind of guy. It was while driving one day that he met his soon-to-be wife, Halima Khatun, for the first time. Back then, he was in good health and had no glaring medical issues. However, everything for him was about to change...
In Sickness and In Health
Bajandar and Khatun quickly fell in love and were eager to start on their wedding plans. Right when they started making their plans to tie the knot, Abul’s health took a turn for the worst. Despite this health scare,, the couple got married and it wasn’t long until they gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They were happy together, but it wasn’t an easy life for the small family...
Money Problems
His career took a toll as his condition worsened. The pain had centralized to just his hands and feet, but it was enough that simply driving the rickshaw put him in agonizing pain. He stopped working, which was a difficult financial decision. His bank account was already stretched as a new father to a little girl, but clearly something had to change. He looked to others with the disease for help...
A Rare Case
There are not many other examples of this detrimental disease. In fact, only three other people in the entire world suffer from the same rare health disorder. Those people all claim the same painful symptoms on their hands and feet. The worst part though was the appearance that grew on his appendages. People began to mock him because of how he was starting to look...
Tree Man
Bajandar’s disease earned him the nickname “Tree Man” and you can clearly see why. The painful and strange growths on his skin resembled tree bark, which didn’t make life much easier. Technically, the actual scientific name of his disease is epidermodysplasia verruciformis, usually abbreviated to EV. The effects made the responsible father’s skin break out into disturbing growths on his appendages…
Pure Pain
However, EV is much more than just some warts on the man’s hands and feet. His condition had some very severe consequences, and things weren’t so easy when every movement was traumatizing pain. Even playing with his baby girl, holding her, or doing anything at all, meant surefire agony. He knew something needed to be done so he could get back to his life, but what?
Warts All Over
For those who suffer from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, they are at a higher risk for HPV, also known as human papilloma virus. They can form infections on their skin that begin to show up over time. The HPV infections for those who carry EV can create wart-like skin lesions which, over time, become tumors. This occurs in about half of all recorded patients, according to reports...
Carcinoma Skin
“Carcinoma” is the name of malignant skin tumors that develops on the skin of EV patients. Squamous cell carcinoma (either situ or invasive), develop at a frequency of 30-70% these patients., Usually, it shows up on sun-exposed areas of the body and begins between ages 20 and 40. The HPV infection is bad no matter what, but for some, it can mean something much worse...
Unbearable Weight
The warts and growths on Bajandar were not only unpleasant in appearance, but they also gave him immense and uncontrollable pain, not numbed by any medications. In a 2017 article from The Guardian, Bajandar described the sensation as “unbearable.” Not only that, but the growths were very weighted. They were heavy enough to add about 11 pounds to his body mass, but things would soon change...
Change Is Coming
Not all hope was lost for Bajandar and his family, though, at least not yet. On the horizon, there was a big change coming for his rare medical diagnosis. By way of intensive medical treatment, he could get his life back. Though EV was extremely rare and unknown by most doctors, he eventually received surgery on his hands and feet. This surgery would change his life forever...
Free of Charge
Dhaka Medical College and Hospital admitted Bajandar for the surgery. There, he was treated on his appendage warts by medical professionals. Even better, it caused no financial burden since the hospital covered all his bills. He was so grateful for the help he was about to receive. The Tree Man was finally going to fix his pain, his torment, and maybe even his life...
Incoming Cure
After undergoing more than 16 different surgical procedures, Banjandar hoped that he would be able to find a cure for the strange mutation of his skin. An overwhelming mass of 11 pounds were removed from his hands and feet, coming off of the growths on his body. Through an extensive series of careful medical treatments, the doctors and nurses believed that their hard work had been a success…
A Remarkable Milestone
A plastic surgery coordinator at the hospital, Samanta Lal Sen, noted in the January 2018 article from The Sun that the result of the multiple strenuous surgeries was, in fact, “a remarkable milestone in the history of medical science.” Samantha hoped that Bajandar would be able to get his life back on track and that they had completely cured his case epidermodysplasia verruciformis, being the first ever patient to do so…
Historical Precedent
In Indonesia in 2016, a man named Koswara died from the same terrible disease that Bajandar had. Just a few years later, Bajandar was seemingly cured of EV and holding his little baby girl without any pain. It felt like seeing a miracle. His recovery seemed to be going well, so after a month in the hospital, he received his prognosis and was ready to get back to the homestead…
Back to Basics
Bajandar was ecstatic to finally be getting out of the hospital room and back to his old life, though everything was different for him now. According to an article by Daily Mail Bajandar was quoted saying, “I can hold my daughter in my lap and play with her. I can’t wait to go back home.” She was certainly happy to have her fully healthy father there as she grew up...
Media Coverage
Media outlets around the world were amazed by the Tree Man’s story of pain and triumph. Hundreds of sites were eager to tell the story of his strange and rare medical condition and the powerfully successful treatment. This widespread coverage led to some amazing acts of kindness in the form of monetary donations across the entire globe. The family, so poor from the condition’s effects, was very grateful for the generosity...
Fun and Funding
What does one do with large sums of money after a medical miracle? Well...Bajandar planned to launch his own company with the newfound funds! He hoped that the EV wouldn’t return the way it once had, and he could continue his life as he originally planned. In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Bajandar said he was concerned about raising his children while being pained by his EV…
Coming Back
He hoped he would never have to return to that state, calling EV a “curse”. With all things considered, he desperately did not want it to come back to haunt him. Sadly, hope is not enough to keep the disease at bay. The young father’s worst fears became a terrible reality. The EV was subsided by the medical surgeries, but not entirely cured. Something else would have to happen…
History Repeats
Toward the end of January 2018, a series of photographs revealed to the public that Bajandar’s twisted fate had returned. He had new growths and warts on his hands despite all he had been through. While the blemishes covering his hands appeared to have grown substantially smaller than the one’s pre-surgery, it was still not a comfort to see them on his body again...
Complications Arise
After Bakandar’s surgeries, it was thought that he was on the fast track for a successful life. Doctors had hoped that he would become the first-ever patient to be completely cured of the painful epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Sadly, as the growths preformed on his hands and feet, the doctors were forced to acknowledge that this case of EV was maybe much more complex than they had originally thought. And now Bajandar must try it all again…
Surgery Scares
Though Bajandar is unhappy to go back on the surgery table, he might have to in order to alleviate the pain. “I am scared to have any more surgeries,” AFP quotes him saying “I don’t think my hands and feet will be okay again.” Nevertheless, his plastic surgeon is eager to help him get past this and wants him to find lasting relief that he’s never had before. “We will keep on investigating to reach the ultimate success,” she says “Though it’s tough to say how long it will take.”
Dede Koswara
Abul Bajandar was not the only man to live with a tragic case of epidermodysplasia verruciformis. In 2008, a man named Dede Koswara went public with his own tragic tale of living with EV. The 34-year-old Indonesian man appeared on television programs like Discovery Channel's My Shocking Story and ABC's Medical Mystery to talk about living with this condition.
Pounds Off
Like Bajardan, Koswara had hoped for removing warts and growths from his skin. He was able to receive a similar surgery that took 13 pounds of warts from his body. The procedure happened in three parts. First, removing the thick carpet of warts and horns on his hands. Next, the doctors would handle removing smaller warts on the head, body, and feet. Lastly, they covered his hands with grafted skin.
Search for the Cure
At the end of his surgery, over 96% of his warts were completely removed. He even had a documentary cover his surgery. The episode, titled Treeman: Search for the Cure, made his fate seem optimistic but behind the scenes, things were not going according to plan. Doctors realized he would need two surgeries a year forever if he wanted to maintain his new standard of living...
Not Worth It
The Discovery Channel was willing to help out their documentary star. The television channel was able to fund a blood analysis where they discovered that the man lacked a vital immune system antigen. This antigen fights yeast infection and might have been treatable. More tests were offered to him, and despite their ability to determine whether EV could be helped, he did not wish to undergo the treatment.
Temporary Bliss
Koswara underwent many new and innovative surgeries to remove reemerging warts in 2011. Sadly though, these surgeries only provided temporary relief for Koswara. Warts continued to regrow over and over again. Since his major surgery in 2008, he underwent three additional operations. There was only one thing left that doctors could think to do for him...
New Medicine
A couple of doctors from the Japanese Society for Complementary and Alternative Medicine brought Dede a drug made from Job's tears in December of 2010. Job's tears is a plant from different parts of Asia and is typically used in Asian medications. As of 2016, the medicine was still undergoing testing. But fate for Koswana still undetermined. How would he stop the growths?
Unable to Heal
Tragically, Koswara passed away at age 42 from complications with Epidermodysplasia verruciformis. He passed away on January 30th, 2016 at about 3:30 PM. The Discovery Channel covered another man, who was from the same Indonesian town as Koswara, who also suffered from EV. Thankfully, that man's treatment worked much better and he is still alive today.
Newest Case
The most recent report of someone suffering from EV came from a five-year-old girl in Honduras. Cristhél Suyapa Martínez was diagnosed with this strange and rare disease in October of 2018. Though substantial progress has been made, recovery is a difficult road for all afflicted with this disorder. The media has already dubbed her "Tree Girl" in publications.