A dad has shared his traumatic ordeal while suffering from a "gruesome" cyst on his week that he claims has stopped his daughter going near him.
Dave Taylor, 43, a deliver driver from Devon, lives with his partner Emily Waterman, 33 and their three children, Shelby, 13, Jayden, 11 and Kobi, 10.
The dad-of 10, who has seven other children from previous relationship, said a minor accident in 2018 changed his life a wreaked 'havoc' on his mental health.
What started as a small red mark on his cheek has quickly turned into a “gigantic” cyst, which he claimed is the same size as a 50p coin.
Instead of being the 'loud joker' who loved to socialise with family and friends, Dave said the cyst has changed how people perceive him.
He said he is unable to hug or kiss his daughter because she’s “scared” of the growth, and has also received harsh comments in public about his look – with many comparing the cyst to “a pair of balls”.
He said: “Horrid and nasty comments are made, such as: ‘Who did you nick a b***ock off?’ or ‘Why have you got balls growing off your face?” he told NeedToKnow.Online.
“While out in public, I get stared at and if I’m speaking with people, they’re only looking at the cyst.
“Myself and my partner tend to try and ignore any harsh words while the children are about, but sometimes these make us so angry that we end up telling people to f*** off.
“It’s upsetting for my kids [if they’re around] and myself, and they don’t like seeing me sad due to all of this, they just want me to be happy again.
“Shelby won’t cuddle or kiss me anymore due to the gruesome state of it, and sometimes she won’t even want to be near me.
“I find this really upsetting, as any parent would, and if I’m lucky, I only get a kiss off her while she’s asleep or on the forehead.”
The incident happened whilst he was working in a cemetery carrying out gardening work.
Dave said a tiny stone flicked him in the face and cause his eyes to water. But as he was wearing all the appropriate personal protective equipment and there wasn’t a noticeable graze or cut, he assumed the “painful” red mark would soon heal itself.
But, after a couple of days, multiple tiny spots began to appear and over time, the cyst has grown bigger – and he claimeds it’s now almost the size of a ping pong ball.
He said: “It’s about as round as a 50p piece and similar to a small sports ball – it’s very painful if I knock it or sleep on it.
“I thought nothing would become of it, but this cyst has played havoc with my mental health.
"I assumed the tiny red spots would just go away like normal red spots do – clearly that wasn't the case."
It wasn't until 2020 that he decided to seek medical advice, but quickly found out that he would have to pay for the cyst to be removed as the NHS won’t fund removal of the cyst unless it becomes cancerous or infectious.
For Dave, the news was “disheartening”.
He said: “For the amount I’ve paid into the system over the years, such as tax and national insurance, it’s been really disappointing.
“I recently drove to Chelsea, London, to see a dermatologist there and I hoped this would be the end of the cyst – but they didn’t want to remove it.
“Due to a blood vessel running straight through it, which is also attached to a muscle around my eye and cheekbone, they advised seeing a plastic surgeon instead.
“All my family were waiting outside and they could tell I was upset – my youngest broke down in tears when I told them they were unable to do it.”
Now, he’s hoping to raise enough funds to remove the cyst and believes the procedure will cost him over £4,000.
Currently, he's raised over £1,000 through his GoFundMe page.
While his partner, Emily, has been supportive, he said it has impacted his wife's life as well.
Dave added: “I try not to communicate with anyone if I can help it and I’m no longer my bubbly self.
“I hide my face in photos and this impacts us as a family, because we don’t go out as much.
“I can tell this upsets my partner too and I’m in so much fear of something like this happening again, that I’ve changed my job.
“I just want this gruesome-looking cyst removed so I can get some normality back – but I’ll have to keep my fingers crossed.”
A spokesperson for NHS Devon said: “We cannot comment on individual cases.
“Like all NHS organisations, we have to choose carefully how we use our funds and, unfortunately, we cannot fund all treatments in all circumstances.”
Additionally, the spokesperson provided notes to advise that the funding request panel considered applications based on "clinical need, evidence of clinical and cost-effectiveness, the impact of refusal and exceptionality".
