|
Wesley Warren Jr. (June 23, 1963 – March 14, 2014) was a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, who attracted worldwide attention for his problems with scrotal elephantiasis, which caused his scrotum to grow to weigh more than and hang down a little below his knees . After launching a campaign to raise the money for an operation to resolve the problem, for which he raised only $2,000, he underwent surgery in April 2013 after visiting a doctor who was aware that Warren couldn't afford the surgery and so did it for free. Warren's struggles with his condition and his subsequent operation were filmed by a British television crew for a documentary ''The Man with the 10-Stone Testicles'', which aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on June 24, 2013. He died of complications from diabetes on March 14, 2014. ==Onset of Warren's condition== Born in Orange, New Jersey on June 23, 1963, to Wesley Warren, Sr. (1935-2009), and Starquisha Briggs (b. 1940). His grandfather was Samuel Warren (1903-1990).〔''The Man with the 10-Stone Testicles''. Channel June 4, 24, 2013〕 Warren was a former resident of New York City, where he worked in security and as a messenger. He moved to Las Vegas in the 1990s and worked on commission to find locations for automated teller machines in the Las Vegas Valley. He fell ill in late 2008 and attributed the onset of his condition to accidentally striking his testicles while sleeping. He said that he had "never felt such pain. It was like a shooting pain through my entire body. When it stopped, it was like a huge tractor trailer went off the top of me. I think it ruined my lymph nodes down there." The following morning he found that his scrotum had swelled to "the size of a soccer ball".〔 Warren's condition was not unknown in the tropics, but is very rare in the United States. In tropical regions, it is caused by parasites that are spread by mosquitoes, causing an infection called lymphatic filariasis. Parasitic worms block the body's lymphatic system and cause fluids to collect, resulting in a swelling called lymphedema. In Warren's case, however, doctors found no trace of an infection and suggested that it may have resulted from trauma.〔 He underwent a two-week course of antibiotics, but this had little effect and a series of doctors, including a lymphedema specialist, were unable to find a solution. The swelling continued to grow to such a size that he became unable to work. In early 2010 he underwent an eight-week course of treatment at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. They were unable to determine the cause of the swelling, writing up 20 different documentations in the process. He was given multiple courses of antibiotics and anti-viral medications, which failed to resolve the condition.〔 The lymphedema had a severe effect on Warren's personal life and health. He already weighed before the onset of the condition and he suffered from high blood pressure and asthma. The swelling increased his weight to about . Because his penis and testicles were enclosed by his gigantic scrotum, he was unable to urinate normally or to have sex. Simply keeping his scrotum under cover was a challenge in itself, which he eventually solved by wearing an upside-down full-size hooded sweatshirt over it with his legs in the sleeves. Traveling on buses required him to bring along a milk crate and a cushion on which to rest his scrotum during the journey.〔 As travel was so difficult, he would spend most of his time in his apartment's living room watching television while propping his scrotum on top of the milk crate.〔 Warren's doctor advised him to seek surgery on Medicaid, which would involve cutting away the swollen tissue and performing reconstructive surgery, including skin grafts to restore his penis and testicles. However, Warren was advised that they might have to be removed along with the tissue. This was not welcome news: "Basically, he was telling me there was a good chance that I would be castrated and have to go to the bathroom through a tube for the rest of my life. I really would like to have a relationship with a woman. I should be in the prime of my life right now."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wesley Warren, Jr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|