That's One Way to Celebrate Earth Day...

Some people plant trees for Earth Day, some grow them... inside...

Last week a 28-year-old Russian man complained of chest pain and a horrible cough and x-rays showed that he had a mass in his lungs. His doctors thought the mass was indicative of cancer and operated, but what they found was something quite unexpected.

Just before the surgeon removed half of this young man's lung, he decided to stop and do a biopsy of the mass first. Well praise Allah, thank the Lord, etc. he did that because the man didn't have cancer after all. Nope... he had a tree branch GROWING in his lungs. The branch was about five centimeters long! The spiky needles of the evergreen were piercing capillaries in his lungs, causing severe pain and blood when he coughed.

Scientists think the man must have inhaled a spore that germinated in his lungs and began to sprout a tree. And you thought you had allergies!

A strange phenomenon to be sure, but not as strange as the infamous "Tree Man", Dede Kasawa, an Indonesian fisherman who's hands and feet have literally sprouted branches. His body was slowly overtaken by the wart- and branch-like growths causing him much pain and suffering over the past seven years. Baffled by his condition, a dermatologist finally pinpointed that the Human Papoloma Virus (HPV) was at the "root" of his troubles and after nine months of operations and the removal of 13 pounds of warts from his body, Dede regained the use of his hands. Unfortunately, his warts started to reappear within the year and doctors reported that he would have to undergo surgery twice a year for the rest of his life to keep the warts at bay. Apparently he has what's called epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an abnormal susceptibility to HPVs of the skin. Don't believe me? Check this out.

So on this Earth Day 2009, plant a tree, inhale one, or heck, become one, but do your part.

More useful earthy, green tips to come later this month. :-)