The cause of Opiyo’s engorged penis and testicles is unknown, though it was thought to be the result of a mosquito bite when he was around 10 years old. That, Opiyo said, is when he first noticed a cyst growing on his genitals.
“This thing started very small, like a boil. Then it was the size of my fist,” Opiyo said, according to the Daily Mail. “It just continued to grow bigger and bigger.”
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That bite reportedly released larvae under his skin, which then developed into parasitic worms that blocked Opiyo's drainage system. The tissue surrounding his genitalia swelled as fluid accumulated causing a medical condition known as scrotal elephantiasis.
For years, Opiyo suffered from the trauma of his enlarged genitalia, and was even forced to drop out of school. “The pain became increasingly unbearable, so that I couldn't even walk or sit. I walked as if I had bowed legs,” he said.
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After Opiyo had endured years of pain, he and a friend posted several shocking images to social media in a plea for help. "I took his photos and posted it on my Facebook and shared it all over the internet,” Opiyo’s friend Duncan Otieno said, according to The Sun. "After three days, we got a call from Our Lady of Mercy Ranguma and an ambulance picked him up from the village.”
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Indeed, doctors at the Doctors at Jaramogioginga Odinga Hospital were able to assist and provide this much-needed surgery. Opiyo even learned he can still father children one day.
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“Now I can run and I can play football,” he said. “Now I'm free! The next step I want to take is to get an education. Who knows what will happen in the future?”