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Shadot Hossain, a 47-year-old father-of-three, has been suffering for many years, with no end in sight.
Years ago, Hossain was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes non-cancerous lumps to grow all over his body. The growths began to appear on his body when he was just 13 years old.
At first, the tumors weren’t obstructive. They just dotted his forehead, so Hossain was able to continue working as a laborer and support his family.
But over the past five years, the tumors only got worse and began to grow all over his body, limiting his movement. The lumps now cover his entire body. “My eyes have been closed by them and I can’t see properly,” Hossain described.
Hossain isn’t able to wear clothes on the upper half of his body because they’re too painful, and he struggles to even feed himself.
“I also suffer a lot with itching on the body and the neck. My body feels heavy. The moment anyone sees me they try to move away from me. The kids when they see me they just freak out and start running,” Hossain explained.
“I cannot go outside because children are afraid of me. They call me ‘monster.’ I wasn't always in this condition. I was handsome in my young age,” he added.
“Nowadays Abdullah [Hossain’s son] doesn't talk to me. I understand why he feels like that. I can't do anything for my son or family. I feel very bad, at night I don't sleep because I feel afraid.”
Hossain’s wife, Tajmohel Khatun, 39, feels helpless to her husband’s situation.
She’s watched as her husband’s health deteriorated, and their children shy further and further away from him. But she has been unable to do anything to keep this from happening.
“He is not able to do anything alone now,” Khatun said. Every day, she has to help her husband change his clothes and even use the toilet.
The only way the family is able to get by is on the charity of the other villagers, who provide their family with at least some clothing, so Khatun doesn’t have to purchase them.
“Villagers provide us with clothes to wear as I am not able to earn a living,” she explained. “My husband is ill and I have to accept this fact. I have gotten my two daughters married but because of our financial crisis I cannot send my son to school.”
The longer Hossain goes without appropriate medical attention, however, the more likely it is that he will lose his eyesight.
However, the family is again short on money and is hoping that they will receive enough charity from others to send Hossain to the hospital.
Khatun prays every day, “I pray to God to cure my husband so I don't have to live the rest of my life as a widow. There is no peace in our lives.”
