Meet Tree Man

Meet Dede Koswara, a 35-year old Indonesian, more commonly known as "Tree Man". And if you have seen the video then you would have an idea of what why he's called as Tree Man. And in case you were wondering he is not half man and half tree. He is 100% man. The tree like growths on his digits and face are not plant in origin. They are actually over growth of warts caused by Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), the same virus that is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that causes genital warts. Unfortunately for Dede's case, he has an abnormal genetic make-up that causes his immune system to be as weak as a person with AIDS that is why the HPV is successful in literally taking over his body.

Dede was left by his wife because of his appearance and his two children (an 18 year old boy and 16 year old girl) had to live with his other relatives because he was not able to take care of them anymore because he is incapable of working (since he can't grasp things with his root-like hands) and is forced to live in poverty. He is able to survive by some provisions given to him by his extended family and from being the center of attraction at their village's local "freak show".

Good enough for him an American Dermatologist promised to help him return to his normal life by performing several surgeries to prevent the warts from totally debilitating him and taking his life as these warts could become cancerous.

And here is a picture of him after his first surgery:

Not much change is seen but at least his hands and feet are already starting to look like hands. From being the local village freak-show I do hope that he could achieve his dream of getting a job and returning to a normal life and maybe even find love. Well, Dede, I wish you all the luck!

I really honor the courage that he has. If I was faced with the same affliction I might not have survived at all. I know that many people are disgusted at his sight and are making fun of him but once you place yourself in his position, you would be able to have some empathy for him and you would realize what a strong person he is.

PR 0?! What the?

Ok my blog was never a PR 4 but it was a PR 1 and I'm so proud of that because I worked hard for that but all of the sudden my PR became 0 when it was a PR 1 last night. I am now wondering what I did to deserve such a drop in PR.

This is really so depressing... I don't want to live anymore! Hahaha that's a bit too much. The hell with PR! I blog because I want to and not for some rating (char). But still... ouch!

But honestly I don't think that I've done anything wrong. I even removed my Adbrite Ads since I thought that it made my Adsense earnings drop but ok enough with that.

On with my life... even if I have a PR 0 blog... huhuhu...

Operation Tuli

I was quite shocked at first when my very conservative friend who happens to be a girl sent me an SMS yesterday saying that she was able to touch 30 or more penises in the span of 4 hours. And she was quite proud of herself and happy with the whole experience. At first I was quite scandalized by what she said and all sort of naughty thoughts came running into my head.

It was a good thing though that she clarified what she told me and said that she just had the most wonderful experience in "Operation Tuli". Operation Tuli is an annual project of the Department of Health - Philippines to have young boys circumcised (Tuli in Tagalog) in their own towns and municipality. I'm kind of jealous because I too want to experience an Operation Tuli which I doubt would exist in Canada. In Operation Tuli, several young boys wait in line for their free circumcision.

Circumcision has been a ritual for many religions and culture. Circumcision paves the way into adulthood and manhood while it is also a ritual in the Judeo-Christian Tradition to strengthen the covenant with God. Medically speaking, circumcision (the removal of the foreskin of the penis) is for hygienic purposes as dirt and secretions tends to accumulate in the foreskin and will result to urinary tract infections (UTI).


In other countries though male circumcision is done 2-3 weeks after birth. And if you're wondering there is also a female circumcision which I will post about later since it deserves to be discussed further.

For more information on circumcision I recommend this very informative site, kidshealth.org.

Cebu Operating Room Scandal

Disclaimer: This video is not the property of this blog's owner and the video is hosted externally.

Before anyone reacts I wanted to share this video for the sake of discussion and as a reference. If you are not open minded and is not willing to accept the thoughts and opinions of other people then please do not continue to read this post if you will only flame me in the end. If you want to know my opinion on this matter please read on.

To those who have no idea what this video is about this is a video taken from a camera of a student nurse at an operating room at Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) at Cebu City, Philippines.

This video (that was spread on the internet like wild fire on Youtube, emails, and even cellphones) was of a 30 year old homosexual who had an Avon's Black Suede For Men Body Spray (thus the name Black Suede Scandal) allegedly inserted into his rectum when he had sex with a stranger.

What made the video so scandalous and caused such a sensation is when the doctors, nurses, and other operating room staff laughed and jeered at the patient's condition as seen in the video.

But here are are some of my reaction upon some comments of people online regarding the said topic:

• On Medical Malpractice - As defined by Larry Curtis Law Firm is a form of negligence where an injury results from a medical professional’s or medical facility’s failure to exercise adequate care, skill or diligence in performing a duty. We should actually congratulate the doctors for a successful operation. No invasive procedures were done on such an extraordinary case. The operation was a success and there are no complications.
• On Breach of Sterility - The people seen in the video were curious staff from other operating rooms within the operating room complex therefore they are considered sterile. They did not come from outside the operating room. And the people with no gloves were at least 12 inches away from the operating table so as stated by the sterile technique the operation is still considered sterile. Besides the people with out gloves did not perform the operation.
• On Cameras in the Operating Room - Actually in my case, cameras are allowed inside the operating room and we student nurses are indeed allowed to take pictures for the sake of documentation which would be used for future case studies.
• On Breach of Patient Confidentiality - When I reviewed the video footage the patient's identity was not at all exposed. The patient's face was not seen and no distinguishing body marks such as tattoos and birth marks were not captured on film. We wouldn't even know the sex and age of the patient if he hadn't exposed himself to media saying that he was a Florist, he was 30 year old, and he even divulged how that can arrived at his rectum. And yes his consent was asked and he did agree to have the operation filmed because as I reiterate this is a very unusual operation. So the video taking had the patient's consent.
• On the Revocation of the Doctor's Licenses - I think that the people are overly reacting just like the way Filipinos over-reacted to Teri Hatcher's "some doctor from the Philippines" comment. It's not like the doctors killed someone or anything, I agree that sanctions may be imposed on their behavior but revoking their titles for laughing and cheering is way too harsh.
• On the Operating Room Staff's Cheering & Laughing - To be fair to the patient, I would also be furious if I were in his position if I knew that a video of me was circulating on the internet but then I would realize that no one would know that it was me. It's also normal for people to be curious and have fun and joke around. In fairness the doctors and nurses were laughing at the situation not at the patient, that is a totally different context. It would be a normal reaction of a normal person to an extraordinary situation. No person was hurt, just a pride that was bruised. But now that we mention it isn't it the patient's fault that he was in this predicament because he had a one night stand with a complete stranger. He was lucky that he wasn't killed by his promiscuity. But that is a totally different issue and that is not my problem. The issue that I am concerned of is the outcome of the health care professionals who are being crucified for an issue that is overly exaggerated.
  

This issue had circulated and has been talked well enough and I think that this should already be wrapped up and more important issues were tackled like the improvement of the health care system in the Philippines and the improvement of nurse's wages and patient to nurse ratios.

I know that this post would gather a lot of negative reactions but let me again reiterate the blog's disclosure policy: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own, as this is a personal blog.

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Sources:
Sun Star - Doctors may lose licenses over surgery scandal
Inquirer - Video scandal grips Cebu hospital
Inquirer - Black Suede scandal

Archbishop Oscar Cruz: A Public Sinner

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said ‘public sinners’ should not be given the Holy Sacrament of Communion including, he said, President Arroyo. ‘I would not give communion to somebody receiving communion in public whom I know is a public sinner.’ Because to do so would be ‘like throwing the body and blood of Christ into the garbage.' from abs-cbnnews.com

What an awful thing to say for a person whose life is supposed to be devoted to God. What gives him the right to condemn and crucify any person (sinner or not) denying them the body and blood of Christ? If I remember the Lord's words when he was asked why he eats with known social sinners as tax collectors and this is what Jesus Christ has answered:

Those who are well have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:15-17)

Jesus calls for us to love our fellow men but Oscar Cruz calls us to choose a stone and throw it at our President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It is quite unfair that he released such statements in public. We must remember that he is just a man. He has no right to judge who are the sinners because he himself is a sinner.

In fact he is a public sinner himself. He is a liar! A public liar and he had absolutely no shame and lied. Oscar Cruz said that the media misquoted him and had taken his statement out of context that he had never said that he will refuse communion to President GMA and her family but the video recordings of his statements are very clear and are attacks directly made to the president. Video camera recordings don't lie, people do.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, along with 27 other congressmen, have urged the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines to impose sanctions on Cruz for his statements regarding the President. And if the CBC do not take actions in giving sanctions to Oscar Cruz for conduct unbecoming of an archbishop, congress is willing to take the issue to Vatican.

We have heard of so many rotten priests in the world who are guilty of rape, child molestation, and yes even corruption. Let us all Catholics unite to stop these people from abusing the holy power that was entrusted to them. These are the priests that tarnish the name of the Church and all that is holy.

Mr. Oscar Cruz for lying and being a public sinner why don't you abstain from taking the body and blood of Christ? Better yet condemn yourself like what you do to other people you tag as sinners.

The church is supposed to be an advocate of peace and love. Not hate...