Dan Maurer was in his 20s when he noticed that his scrotum was growing larger. Doctors advised him to lose weight, which he did. However, his scrotum kept getting bigger. The stigma associated with such a condition forced him to consult specialists in secret – his parents thought he had a leg growth.
Maurer realized he wasn’t alone after watching a cable documentary about Wesley Warren, a man who had a 132-pound scrotum. He contacted Dr. Joel Gelman of the Center for Reconstructive Urology at the University of California-Irvine, who offered to remove the 80-pound mass in Maurer’s scrotum for free.
Dan Maurer is alive and has adopted a healthier lifestyle
Maurer is alive: he lives in Burlington, Michigan, with his wife, Mindy. Maurer has a Facebook page that he rarely updates. Every year on 14th January, his friends wish him happy birthday on his page.
Maurer replies to some posts, likely from his loved ones, and ignores the rest. In September 2019, Facebook user Annie Fritz, concerned by Maurer’s inactivity on the platform, asked how Maurer and Mindy were doing. “Doing good,” he replied. “Thanks for checking on us.”
Per The Daily Mail, Maurer’s condition had strained his marriage. The outlet reported that the pair hadn’t engaged in ‘marital relations’ in nearly a decade due to Maurer’s enlarged scrotum. Thankfully, Maurer and Mindy resumed ‘marital relations’, and she confirmed that everything was ‘still in working order’.
Maurer told USA Today that he got the surgery for his wife: “It was worth it. I did it for my wife [Melita]. If I had been alone I wouldn’t have done it, because I don’t think I was worth it. But she’s worth everything.”
Maurer launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for his surgery and recovery. On 23rd March 2018, he wrote on the page that he’d adopted a healthier lifestyle:
“I am a big fan of Kevin Smith and he just had a heart attack and he is changing his diet and losing weight and I think I am going to follow his lead and try to get my weight under control in hopes of not having to have a heart attack to do it.”
Maurer suffered from depression after his life-changing surgery
The 18-hour operation left Maurer with a painful sore on his back. Furthermore, for a reason doctors couldn’t decipher, he couldn’t walk. “I thought I’d have surgery and be home in a week,” he said. “But my legs didn’t work.”
To compound issues, the sore and incision got infected. “I couldn’t believe I was back in a hospital,” Maurer said. Consequently, Maurer spiraled into depression. Connie, his mom, said:
“He was in a dark place. His mental state was at the breaking point. He had traded scrotal lymphedema for disability and his frame of mind was terrible. I told his dad to hide the guns.”
Maurer told USA Today that he was depressed but not suicidal. He said he hoped to raise awareness about scrotal lymphedema. His Facebook cover photo contains the condition’s name in full caps. Maurer said:
“It’s not as rare as people think. Most of them aren’t as severe as mine, but Gelman probably has 50 patients a year. We need to talk about it. We didn’t talk about breast cancer 20 years ago.”
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