In a dilapidated house in Huong Vinh ward, Hue city, Ms. Do Thi Bong gently used medical equipment to take care of baby Dang Nhat Phong (born in 2022, photo) whose whole body was cracked and covered with thick, hard scales.

Ms. Bong said in tears: “Since birth, Nhat Phong had dry skin and cracked skin all over his body, so he was transferred to Hue Central Hospital. Phong's condition became more and more serious when the skin around his eyes was stretched, causing his eyelids to turn outward, making it impossible to see his eyeballs. His ears, arms and legs were swollen and stiff, and his fingers stuck together. The initial diagnosis by the doctors was that he had congenital ichthyosis (Harterquin ichthyosis, a disease that only occurs in 1/500,000 children due to a recessive gene mutation on chromosome 2).

For the past two years, Nhat Phong has been living on high doses of antibiotics and his pain has been relieved by paraffin-soaked gauze and antibiotic ointment, which are very expensive. All the assets in the house were sold by Ms. Bong and her husband to treat their son. The food for Ms. Bong and her children depends on the small amount of money that Mr. Dang Van Thanh (Ms. Bong's husband) earns from his job as a bricklayer.

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VAN THANG