A pensioner branded a modern-day “Elephant Man” has been given fresh hope by specialists treating the mystery disease which has made his life a misery for the past 10 years.
Michael Cull has endured a decade of pain after his left leg ballooned to more than two stone in weight, leaving him incapable of walking any distance and making him the target of taunts from strangers.
The 66-year-old accused the medical profession of turning its back on him earlier this year after being told there was nothing that could be done to treat his condition.
However, after sharing his ordeal with Press and Journal readers in June, he is now optimistic that he might finally be on the brink of a life-changing operation.
Mr Cull said specialists in the north of England were discussing surgery to remove the deformed tissue from his lower leg and return it to a more manageable size.
Last night, the retired computer technician from Rosehearty, near Fraserburgh, said he was hopeful that his life might soon return to normal.
“It looks like I’ll be going to Hull for the operation – it can’t come soon enough for me,” he said.
“Finally, things are being put in place.
“As far as I know, it’s a surgical procedure to remove all the tissue on the lower part of my leg.
“It will mean a big improvement to my life, it will bring things back to normality.
Mr Cull’s nightmare started following a car accident while he was living in London.
He was later diagnosed as having gross lymphedema.
Despite attempts to halt the growth of his leg with stockings after he moved to Scotland, it continued to swell.
The condition has now spread from his toes up to his hip, leaving his leg lumpy and deformed.
It was only after Mr Cull contacted First Minister Alex Salmond that he was referred to a consultant in Dundee last year.
He diagnosed elephantiasis, a disease found in third world countries, and said the condition was causing large cysts to form on his kidneys.
However, when Mr Cull visited the London Hospital of Tropical Diseases earlier this year blood tests failed to find any signs of the parasite which is the most common cause of the condition.
It was then that the pensioner approached the Press and Journal in desperation, saying the failure to tackle the condition had all but wrecked his life.
He said he rarely left his home in Rosehearty’s Union Street because he was in so much discomfort – and when he did he was often the butt of “Elephant Man” jokes in the street.
Last night, Mr Cull said he was glad he had spoken out.
“People have been a lot nicer, more friendly, they have been a lot more understanding,” he said.
“I think it has made the medical professionals move a little bit quicker, too.”
He said he hoped to hear from his doctor again in the next week and expects to travel for surgery in the next month.
“I still don’t know what it is,” he added.
“I think, after all this time, I’d like an answer to that, too.”