Sometimes nature likes to play cruel tricks on people who are born with body deformities.
In some cases, their defects are disturbing to look at and make these poor people’s lives a living hell.
Here are ten incredible stories of people born with extreme deformities.
10 /10 Didier Montalvo - The Turtle Boy
Colombian boy Didier Montalvo had a terrible childhood, dealing with a body deformity that left him looking like a turtle and being shunned by the people in his native village.
The boy’s ‘carapace’ was, in fact, one colossal mole that grew up to cover most of his back.
It’s a condition known as congenital melanocytic nevus, but to the villagers, it was the devil’s mark, which is why they banned the child from attending the local school.
The nightmare ended when he was six, and a British surgeon traveled to Colombia to rid the boy of the burden he was carrying.
9 /10 Kankang - The Mask Boy
Little Kankang was born with a facial deformity, making him look like he’s wearing a mask.
According to doctors, it’s a sort of facial cleft that grew on top of his regular face.
Experts are unsure about what caused this congenital disability, maybe an infection or a consequence of his mother’s drug use.
Kankang’s parents spent a lot of money on several plastic surgeries to allow them to lead an everyday life.
8 /10 Dede Koswara - The Tree Man
Indonesian man, Dede Koswara was not born with his deformity.
It was a fungal infection that caused huge and painful growths on his limbs, which earned him the nickname Tree Man.
The fungus growing upon him looks almost like tree bark, and at some point, it was so out of control, Dede couldn’t use his hands and feet anymore.
He had part of the fungus removed, but that provided only temporary relief as it immediately started growing again.
7 /10 Jose Mestre - The Man With No Face
Hard to imagine something more dreadful than what Portuguese Jose Mestre had to endure.
He lived for 40 years with a tumor growing on his face.
It started with a little bump on his lip that turned into a giant tumor that left him almost totally blind, unable to breathe unassisted or usually eat.
An American doctor eventually removed the tumor.
Otherwise, Mestre would not have survived another year.