Manusia Akar Gegerkan Dunia
KOTA, WARTA KOTA - Dede si 'Manusia Akar' asal Cililin Kabupaten Bandung, Jawa Barat, mengundang perhatian dunia. Sebuah lembaga di AS dan Inggris dikabarkan berminat mengobati Dede di negara mereka. Dokter asal Amerika Serikat, Anthony Gaspari, mengatakan pihaknya berminat untuk membawa Dede ke negerinya. Yang diperlukan oleh dia adalah kemudahan perizinan seperti paspor, visa, dsb. Namun Kepala Pusat Komunikasi Publik Departemen Kesehatan (Depkes), Lily Sriwahyuni Sulistiyowati, mengatakan Depkes tidak akan memberi izin kepada pihak mana pun yang akan membawa Dede ka luar negeri. Pasalnya, penyakit Dede adalah spesimen penyakit yang memang perlu diteliti oleh ahli kesehatan Indonesia. "Kami jelas tidak akan memberikan izin kepada mereka (ahli medis AS) untuk membawa Dede ke AS. Lagipula orang seperti Dede yang tinggal di kampung tentunya tidak akan mau dibawa apalagi diambil sampel darahnya. Biasanya orang kampung tidak sembarangan memberikan izin memberikan pengetesan darah kepada orang asing," imbuh Lily. Lily menegaskan, sebelum munculnya pemberitaan tentang Dede, ada sejumlah ahli medis asing yang ingin menemui Dede guna melakukan penelitian. Tapi pihak Depkes tidak memberikan izin. "Kami akan kirim tim Litbang Depkes untuk memeriksa atau mengambil sampel darah Dede untuk mengetahui penyakit apa yang diderita Dede," ucapnya. Menurut Lily secepatnya sebuah tim Depkes akan menemui Dede dan memeriksa darahnya. "Tapi untuk melakukan itu kan perlu waktu dan kalau diceritakan pastinya akan panjang," jelas Lily yang dihubungi Warta Kota via ponselnya, Senin (19/11) malam. Saat ini Lily mengaku sedang berada di Denpasar untuk suatu keperluan kerja. Lily mengatakan untuk mengetahui penyakit yang diderita Dede tentunya membutuhkan waktu dan langkah medis yang sungguh-sungguh. Saat ini yang dilakukan Depkes adalah mengumpulkan medical record Dede. Antara lain, kata Lily, Dede pernah menjalani perawatan di RS Hasan Sadikin, Bandung. Karena itu, Lily sedang mencari tahu penyebab sakitnya Dede, jenis darah, dan penyakit apa saja yang pernah diderita Dede. Di tepi Saguling Hanny Purwanto, pemilik Hanny Enterprise yang pernah membawa Dede ke panggung pertunjukkan di Bandung dan Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII), Jakarta, mengaku heran karena mendadak banyak orang yang memerhatikan Dede. "Hari ini saya menerima telepon dari sejumlah televisi yang akan mengunjungi Dede," katanya. Selain itu, ada belasan koran dan radio yang menyampaikan keinginan yang sama. Padahal, ketika Dede dia tampilkan di panggung baik di TMII maupun di Gedung Dezon Bandung dalam acara Gempar yakni parade paranormal tak ada pengunjung yang menaruh perhatian kepada Dede. "Paling meminta foto bareng dengan dia, cuma itu saja," kata dia. Menurut Hanny, Dede tinggal di daerah Cililin, Kabupaten Bandung. "Kampung atau desanya saya lupa, tetapi di pinggir Saguling," katanya. Dari Rajamandala, Kabupaten Bandung, tempat tinggal Dede bisa dicapai dalam waktu satu jam. Dia tinggal di sebuah gubuk ditemani dua anaknya. Dede sudah tidak beristri karena sang istri meninggalkannya. Penyakit itu diderita Dede sejak belasan tahun lalu. Di acara Gempar itu, kata Hanny, Dede bergabung dengan sembilan manusia langka lainnya yakni Brajakeling, Brajadenta, Brajapati, Jangkung, Genderuwo, Rosyid Monas, Nyi Jebleh, Trembilung, dan Dawala yang hadir bersama pawangnya, Nyi Dewi. Pengunjung Gempar saat itu dapat berfoto bersama bahkan bercakap-cakap dengan ke-10 manusia supralangka (istilah Hanny) dan membawa fotonya sebagai cinderamata. Dikontrak televisi Beberapa bulan setelah acara Gempar, sebuah televisi dari London yakni Fox London menghubungi Hanny. "Saat itu, Fox meminta izin saya untuk membuat film yang akan ditayangkan Discovery Channel terkait manusia-manusia supralangka ini. Saya akhirnya menghubungkan Dede dengan Fox karena Dede memang tak mau bertemu mereka kecuali saya temani," katanya. Saat ini, kata Hanny, Dede masih terikat kontrak dengan Fox dan kontrak itu berakhir Januari 2008. "Jadi ada enam episode yang harus dijalani Dede sesuai dengan kontraknya," kata Hanny. Hanny mengaku kedekatannya dengan Dede berawal dari ketidaksengajaan. Sedangkan ide menampilkan Dede di panggung pertunjukan berawal dari sebuah pertemuan Hanny dengan teman-temannya. Di pertemuan itu, dia bercerita soal kehidupan orang-orang yang mengalami kelainan seperti Dede. "Mereka seperti sudah kehilangan semangat hidup," katanya. Dengan niat mengembalikan semangat hidup, Hanny kemudian merancang acara di mana orang-orang seperti Dede dapat tampil dengan bangga di depan umum sebagai seorang entertainer. Pelan tapi pasti acara itu terwujud, hingga mereka bukan saja kembali percaya diri dan menerima keadaannya dengan ikhlas, tapi juga mampu menghasilkan uang untuk diri mereka sendiri sebagai seorang entertainer. (get) Sumber: Warta Kota ***** TREE MAN EXCLUSIVE Deep in wilds of Indonesia sits Dede, a man whose body is a mass of gnarled root-like growths With his rootlike feet and gnarled hands, he is known as "The Tree Man". Living in a remote village in the wilderness of Indonesia, 36-year-old father-of-two Dede has stunned medical experts. Most of his body is covered in growths which have become so large and thick they look like twisted tree roots growing out of his skin. Dede says his worst fear is that the cruel disorder will kill him before doctors have a chance to save him. "I am scared that it will grow across my face and end up covering it all up," the former construction worker says. "I'm so afraid I won't be able to see, that I won't be able to eat." Dede grew up in a tiny hamlet near Bandung, south of Jakarta, the capital of the volcanic island of Java. He enjoyed a completely normal childhood, but just after he turned 15 he cut his knee in an accident on a building site. The injury - not deemed to be at all serious at the time - was to change his life forever. Within weeks, a huge growth had emerged from inside his wound. He says at first he was not unduly worried, believing it was a wart which would eventually drop off. But it didn't. And shortly afterwards, horrific welts started to spring up all over his body. "The first one was cut off in an operation, but that didn't stop it. Instead it just grew back faster. "Then it started on my foot, then my arms, then my other foot and then on my head," says Dede. By the time he had reached his early 20s, he could no longer hold a tool and struggled to complete basic tasks. He was fired and has remained unemployed since. His wife also left him, leaving him to raise their two children, Entis, now 18, and Entang, 16, on his own. "I feel sad because my wife left me," says Dede. "And with my condition I cannot look after my kids. I miss working very much. But unfortunately I just can't do it." Unable to work or earn a regular wage like his friends, Dede has been crippled financially ever since the shocking condition first took over his body. And as a single father, he knows he is not only responsible for himself. But just washing and getting dressed in the morning have become virtually impossible for Dede. He has been helped by his brother-in-law Imun, his parents and his close friends, who club together to make sure Dede has enough money to feed himself and his teenage kids each month. But his support network of friends and family have provided him with more than just money to survive. Each morning, family members take turns to put his specially designed trousers on over his sprawling feet and help him lift a fresh shirt over his body. Someone must be around if needs to go to the toilet. Friends have even designed a huge stool so he can reach his food - but even this has to be spoon-fed to him twice a day. Only smoking - he gets through 30 a day - can be enjoyed on his own, with a special cigarette holder. Indonesian doctors tried to help him when he was younger with a series of painful operations, but to no avail. "When I was in hospital I had some of my growths burnt off and I was injected several times. I was also given some pills. "But everything kept growing back after the operations, like just three weeks later. And they would grow back faster," he says. Now medical experts in America say they may be able to help Dede by producing a cure specifically for him. Dr Anthony Gaspari, chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the US, is fascinated by Dede's condition. "I was absolutely stunned," said Dr Gaspari. "I'd never seen anything like this before. "I've become really interested in his case because it's so absolutely unusual. The growths he has are just something we don't encounter in clinical medicine." Dr Gaspari took samples of Dede's growths and has now been able to diagnose his condition. He believes Dede has an extremely rare genetic disorder which means his immune system does not function properly. This is why his body was never able to recover from the initial outbreak of the growths, which are actually warts, caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Dr Gaspari is now working on developing a unique cure for him. But Dede says: "I worry that this disease will be passed to my children." And despite previous disappointments, Dede is hopeful that this time doctors can help him. "I'd love to be cured," he says poignantly. -MY Shocking Story: Half Man Half Tree is on the Discovery Channel on Thursday, November 15, 9pm. WHAT IS IT? There are more than 100 types of human papilloma virus - over 30 of which are sexually transmitted. The virus directly attacks the skin and causes warts, which can spread rapidly if touched. Normally the body's immune system will fight them off although gels help kill the virus. Dede's lack of treatment coupled with his poor immune system have increased the severity of his condition. sounce: www.sundaymirror.co.uk <http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk> [Dede] Half man.. half tree.... 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. ['Tree Man' barred from treatment in U.S.] Medical oddity: A Discovery Channel image shows Dede, dubbed "Tree Man", sitting next to his daughter at their home in Cililin, Indonesia. The warty growths are thought to be caused by an unchecked infection by human papillomavirus or HPV. Image: AFP/Discovery Channel An undated photo and made available yesterday by Discovery Channel shows Anthony Gaspari (L), a dermatologist from the University of Maryland examining Dede (R) dubbed "Tree Man" at his home in Cililin. An Indonesian villager dubbed "Tree Man" for massive bark-like warts growing on much of his body may be barred from travelling to the US to receive treatment, a report said on November 20. Photo: AFP http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=12417 <http://thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=12417>
