Hi I am not sure if this is the right place but I am desperate for help/advice. My father went to Africa a couple of years ago and became very ill. He lost a ridiculous amount of weight and went from being an active kitchen fitter to an OAP in a matter of months. He is old school and never complains about pain etc but he is now at the end of his tether and I am getting seriously anxious about his well being and health. A man that cut his thumb of and stuck it back on with tape, never took medication and just got on with things is now loosing the will to live and even having acupuncture and taking tens of tablets per day. He has been diagnosed with arthritis but he has had that for years and this has developed exponentially since his trip to Africa. My mother and the rest of the family are now suffering as concerns grow and we desperately need a second opinion. As none of the specialist he has seen to date have got to the root of the problem nor offered any kind of solution that has made even the slightest difference I am trying to track down someone who has knowledge or experience of his condition. I have heard of a case where the symptoms where similar and the cause turned out to be a parasite picked up in Africa. His symptoms mainly consist of irregular swelling to his hands, wrists and legs. His thumb is currently 4 times its size and some sort of blister on top of that. As you can imagine the pain is unbearable and the strongest pain killers he has been given are only taking the edge of. I have pictures of his hand and thumb which I can forward on to anyone. Please help by either passing this message on or forwarding me details of somewhere I can turn to. My Father is much loved and we will give anything to get his life back and let him play with his grand kids once more. --------------------- he has now been rushed into hospital but they are unable to control the pain. I would greatly greatly appreciate it if you could get in touch with anyone who may be able to help as things are now getting desperate and I feel very anxious that someone somewhere must have seen this before or be able to help as I feel he is in so much pain he may soon give up. I and the rest of the family need him to pull through this; I am just asking that you try.