At 15 years old, when most teenagers his age are carefree and attending school, Dang Van Ban (born December 17, 2010, from Viet Lam commune, Tuyen Quang province) is spending his days fighting for survival in a hospital bed. He is currently under critical care at Bach Mai Hospital with anti-NMDAR receptor autoimmune encephalitis, complicated by sepsis and pneumonia—severe, life-threatening conditions without immediate and aggressive treatment.

His ordeal began with subtle speech difficulties and an unusual decline in health. However, his condition deteriorated rapidly, triggering incoherent speech, violent seizures, severe consciousness disorders, and progressive paralysis. For nearly a month, he was transferred between multiple medical facilities under conflicting diagnoses before doctors at Bach Mai Hospital finally identified his rare autoimmune encephalitis.

Ban’s medical journey has been a terrifying battle. At his lowest points, he lost consciousness entirely, relying on mechanical ventilation, intravenous nutrition, vasopressors, and undergoing multiple life-saving plasma exchanges (plasmapheresis). While his health shows fragile signs of improvement today, he still faces a long road of specialized medications, intensive rehabilitation, and rigorous monitoring to prevent permanent neurological damage.

Beyond his devastating illness, Ban carries the heavy burden of a heartbreaking upbringing. Raised by his grandmother since childhood after his parents separated to build their own lives, he has known little parental support. Officially recognized as a poor household, the family relies solely on his elderly grandparents' modest farm labor, leaving them in constant poverty.

To keep Ban alive, his grandmother has stayed by his bedside far from home for weeks on end. Although health insurance covered the bulk of his care, his total medical bill skyrocketed to over 753 million VND. Even after insurance deductions, the family is left with an out-of-pocket balance of more than 89 million VND—an impossible sum for an elderly grandmother living off the land.

Moved by his desperate fight, Bach Mai Hospital has partnered with the Loving Touch Foundation to launch an urgent support effort. Community support will help lighten this overwhelming financial mountain, ensuring Ban can receive uninterrupted medical care and a fighting chance at recovery.

Doctors emphasize that despite the extreme complexity of his case, there is real hope if he can complete his specialized treatment and stick to intensive rehabilitation. For Ban, every day he overcomes this disease is a day closer to returning to school, embracing his youth, and pursuing the unfinished dreams of a 15-year-old boy.

Dang Van Ban's story is a powerful testament to the resilience of a young boy defying all odds, as well as the life-saving impact of community compassion. Every act of kindness today is a vital lifeline, propelling him closer to recovery and a bright, healthy future ahead.