Dhaka, Bangladesh (CNN) Not even in his wildest dreams did Abul Bajandra think he would live to see this day. 
 
 Lying on a hospital bed at Dhaka Medical College, Bangladesh's so-called "Tree Man" is just hours away from the first round of surgery that will hopefully change his life for the better. 
 
 He is suffering from an extremely rare genetic condition known as Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis, or "Tree Man" disease, which causes extreme wart-like lesions across the body. 
 
 "I don't think I can sleep tonight. For a poor fellow like me from a remote part of the country, this is too good to be true," he tells CNN from his bed. 
 
 For any first time visitor, it's hard to appreciate Bajandra's reality. He has tree-like branches growing out from all over his fingers, palms and feet, the sight of which would make most people squeamish. 
 
 Abul Bajandra, Bangladesh's so-called "Tree Man" is suffering from an extremely rare genetic condition known as Epidermodysplasia Verruciformis. 
 
 "I have fought for 10 years and endured the pain. Tomorrow, I have an operation due," Bajandra says. "I want to be able to start working again." 
 
 He cannot perform any activities by himself -- cannot eat, drink, brush his teeth or take a shower. He relies on his 21-year-old wife, Halima. Even their three-year-old daughter helps. 
 
 "This is pretty much the only thing I can do with my hand," Bajandra grins as he scratches his neck. 
 
 "I want to live like a normal person. I just want to be able to hold my daughter properly and hug her. It would be nice to eat with my own hands as well." 
 
 He cannot perform any activities by himself and relies on his 21-year-old wife, Halima, and their three-year-old daughter for help. 
 
 Bark-like tentacles 
 
 The 25-year old from southern Bangladesh first noticed unusual growths on his legs 10 years ago. He visited the local doctor who gave him medicine that he says didn't help. The growths continued. Three years later, he couldn't work as his fingers were completely covered with bark-like tentacles. 
 
 Journalists covering a local election spotted Abul in his hometown earlier this year, and the images of his condition quickly made national headlines. 
 
 That's when Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, President of the Society of Plastic Surgeons in Bangladesh, arranged to have him brought to the country's capital. The government then decided to bear the cost of his treatment. 
 
 "We have never done this sort of operation, so this is also something strange for us. May God bless us," says Dr. Sen, one of Bangladesh's foremost plastic surgeons. 
 
 When the operation starts, a team of nine doctors, led by Dr. Sen, starts removing the warts using a laser. They burn the dead tissue, layer by layer. Their main challenge is not to destroy any major nerves. 
 
 An x-ray image of Bajandra's hands. The president of the Society of Plastic Surgeons in Bangladesh arranged to have him brought to the country's capital and the government will bear the cost of his treatment. 
 
 Outside, Bajandra's family waits anxiously. His daughter cries, calling out her father's name. "Abu (father) will come back to us. "He will be okay," Halima says, trying to console the toddler. 
 
 As tears roll down Bajandra's father's cheeks, his mother sits in one corner repeatedly mumbling: "Allah, please save my son." 
 
 "I want to request everybody to pray for my son. He'll be back to me. Allah will give him normal life," she tells us. 
 
 Eventually, the wait becomes unbearable for the daughter. She tries to run towards the surgery room but is stopped by a policeman, who was assigned to guard Bajandra's room, given the intense media interest in his story. 
 
 Long road ahead 
 
 After almost three hours, Dr. Sen emerges from the operating theater and gives two thumbs up to the family. 
 
 The operation was successful. 
 
 "We have taken out bulk from his right hand. Now it needs to be trimmed further after a few weeks. Then we have his left hand and the feet to operate, followed by skin grafting on all of them," the surgeon explains. 
 
 He adds that the whole process will take six months to a year. 
 
 The key question is whether the warts grow again? There's no cure for the disease, so doctors at the hospital can't give any guarantees. 
 
 "I feel content, I feel lighter," their weary patient smiles in the recovery room. 
 
 Dr. Sen walks in and explains to him what they did to his right hand, as well as what they plan to do during his next round of surgery in three weeks. 
 
 Bajandra doesn't seem to grasp all the details but at least he knows this: for the first time in 10 years at least one of his hands has a shape of a hand. ||||| "Tree Man" Abul Bajandar, who has been unable to work for years and whose young family lives in the hospital, says he fears he will never be cured A year ago Abul Bajandar, a Bangladeshi rickshaw-puller dubbed "tree-man" for the bark-like growths that once covered his body, appeared to have made a full recovery from the rare condition that has afflicted him for a decade. 
 
 But twelve months after doctors declared him all but cured following 24 surgeries, Bajandar's hands are once again covered in the growths that characterise his rare condition. 
 
 Surgeon Samanta Lal Sen, who last year hailed his cure as a milestone in medical history, now admits Bajandar's case may be more complicated than first thought. 
 
 His patient, who has been unable to work for years and whose young family lives in the hospital, says he fears he will never be cured. 
 
 "I am scared to have any more surgeries. I don't think my hands and feet will be okay again," the 27-year-old told AFP at the Dhaka hospital where he first came for treatment in January 2016. 
 
 Bajandar suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition known as "tree-man disease". 
 
 Intrigued by his condition, doctors at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital treated him for free, surgically removing more than five kilos (11 pounds) of growths from his hands and feet. 
 
 He has been there ever since with his wife and family, who live together in a small room in the hospital. 
 
 Abul Bajandar suffers from epidermodysplasia verruciformis, an extremely rare genetic condition known as "tree-man disease" 
 
 "We thought we had achieved (a cure). But now it seems to be a time-consuming case," surgeon Sen told AFP. 
 
 "We will keep on investigating to reach the ultimate success, though it's tough to say how long it will take." 
 
 This week Bajandar underwent his 25th surgery to remove some of the growths from his hands. 
 
 Fewer than half a dozen cases 
 
 For his wife Halima Khatun, life is on hold as she tends to her husband and looks after their four-year-old daughter. 
 
 "We're grateful for the free treatment, we couldn't have afforded to pay for it," said Khatun, who passes her time in the ward making jewellery for a little cash. 
 
 Abul Bajandar, with his family at a Dhaka hospital, worries about money and how he will pay for his daughter's education 
 
 Fewer than half a dozen people worldwide have epidermodysplasia verruciformis, according to Sen. 
 
 Last year the Dhaka Medical College Hospital treated a young Bangladeshi girl suffering from the condition. 
 
 Doctors declared surgery to remove the growths a success, but her father later said they had grown back in even greater numbers. 
 
 He withdrew her from treatment, saying he did not want to watch her grow up in a hospital ward. 
 
 "Nobody deserves to be in a hospital forever," said a nurse working in the plastic surgery unit. 
 
 "Unfortunately, he (Bajandar) may have to stay here for a while." 
 
 Dhaka doctors had surgically removed more than five kilos (11 pounds) of growths from Bajandar's hands and feet 
 
 Meanwhile Bajandar worries about money, and how he will pay for his daughter's education. 
 
 "She's growing up so fast," he said. 
 
 "I always wanted her to become a doctor. But if my condition worsens, how can I even send her to pre-school, let alone a medical college?" 
 
 Explore further: Bangladesh 'Tree Man' sees hope after 16 surgeries
– A father and former bicycle puller is gearing up for major surgery at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in Bangladesh to remove more than 11 pounds of bark-like warts on his hands and feet that have earned him the nickname "tree man." The 26-year-old tells AFP he has suffered from what doctors call epidermodysplasia verruciformis for a decade, but that the growths dramatically increased in size and number four years ago. "Slowly I lost all my ability to work," says Abul Bajandar. "There are now dozens of two to three inch roots in both my hands. And there are some small ones in my legs." The genetic skin disease is so rare that one doctor says there are only three known cases in the world. At first Bajandar says he tried to cut the growths off himself but found it too painful, and when he went to a village homeopath his condition worsened. And while the six-person medical team is already starting to perform blood tests and biopsies, they describe Bajandar as too malnourished and weak for multi-stage plastic surgery, reports the Daily Star. "Doctors said I might need to stay here for six months," he said. His mother and sister are with him now, while his wife and 3-year-old daughter will join him soon. "Even here at the hospital, hundreds have already gathered" to try to get a look at Bajander, says his sister. Surgery is expected to start in three weeks, and the hospital is not charging Bajandar. (This baby's skin blisters when simply touched.)