According to the original account, doctors had told the family that a stem cell transplant might offer Lei a chance of survival, provided a suitable donor could be found.
The possibility gave the family something they desperately needed: a reason to keep hoping.
Stem cell transplantation is used to treat certain serious blood disorders. Depending on the diagnosis, a transplant may allow a patient's body to produce healthy blood cells. However, it is not suitable for every form of anemia, and the potential benefits, risks, and requirements depend on the exact disease and the patient's medical condition.
Finding a compatible donor can be complicated. Doctors evaluate specific tissue markers, among other medical considerations, to determine whether a potential donor is suitable.
The account states that neither Liyong nor Deng Min was a compatible donor for Lei.
For parents, learning that they cannot directly provide the cells their child needs may be another painful setback. They may feel that their own bodies, despite being the source of their child's life, cannot offer the particular solution the doctors are seeking.
Yet the possibility of finding another donor remained.
The couple reportedly decided to have a second child in the hope that the new baby might be a compatible donor for Lei. Deng Min was expected to give birth on July 7, according to the original report.
That decision reflected the family's determination to search for another possibility. It also revealed the extraordinary emotional and medical complexity of their circumstances.
A second child cannot be guaranteed to be a compatible donor for a sibling. Compatibility must be assessed through medical testing, and the decision to pursue a transplant requires specialist guidance. Pregnancy and childbirth also involve their own medical and emotional demands.
For Deng Min, the situation was especially demanding. She was reportedly expecting another baby while already caring for a seriously ill daughter and facing financial uncertainty.
A mother in such circumstances might experience several emotions at once.
She might feel hope that the new baby could help Lei. She might feel fear about the outcome of the pregnancy, anxiety about the transplant process, and sadness about the condition of her first child.
She might also worry about how the family would care for two children when so much of its energy and money had already been devoted to one.
The original account does not describe every private conversation between the couple. Nevertheless, the facts it presents suggest that the family was trying to find a way forward even as their circumstances became more difficult.
The expected birth of the second child represented another possibility, not a guarantee.
For a family living with such uncertainty, even a possibility could become something to hold on to.
The Price of One More Chance
Hope, however, came with another financial obstacle.
According to the report, the estimated cost of preserving and transplanting the stem cells was 12,000 yuan, approximately 40 million Vietnamese dong at the conversion used in the original account.
Although that amount may sound smaller than the more than 140,000 yuan the family had already spent, it was still far beyond what they could comfortably afford.
For someone with substantial savings, the cost might be a serious but manageable expense. For a family whose monthly income was around 2,500 yuan and whose resources had already been exhausted by medical care, it could represent an impossible barrier.
This is one of the most painful aspects of the story.
The family was not simply asking whether treatment existed. They were facing the question of whether they could reach it.
Medical advances have created treatment options for many conditions that once offered very little hope. Yet the existence of a treatment does not mean every patient can access it.
There may be costs associated with donor testing, hospitalization, medication, preparation for transplantation, follow-up appointments, and management of complications. The exact expenses vary according to the diagnosis, hospital, treatment plan, and local healthcare system.
For a low-income family, even a single part of that process may be difficult to finance.
The gap between medical possibility and financial reality can be devastating.
Imagine being told that a treatment may help your child, only to realize that the money needed to pursue it is beyond your reach.
The emotional experience is not simply disappointment. It can be a mixture of helplessness, guilt, anger, and fear.
A parent might wonder whether there is another hospital to contact, another relative to ask, or another source of assistance to pursue. They might calculate how much they could borrow, how long it would take to repay the debt, or what possessions they could sell.
They might spend nights searching for answers while their child sleeps nearby.
And when every option seems uncertain, the mind can begin to focus on the worst possible outcome.
For Liyong and Deng Min, the question was not whether they wanted to save Lei. Their actions had already demonstrated how much they wanted to help her.
The question was how to continue when the resources required for treatment appeared to have run out.
Their story illustrates a painful truth: poverty can turn a medical crisis into a crisis of hope itself.
The Internet Reacts: Strangers Share a Family's Pain
When the photographs and story of Liyong and Lei spread across Chinese social media, people from different backgrounds responded with shock and sympathy.
Many readers were moved by the image of a young father lying in a grave he had dug himself. Others focused on the circumstances surrounding the family: a seriously ill child, a father earning a modest wage, medical bills that had consumed the family's resources, and a mother preparing to give birth to another baby.
The story traveled far beyond the small village where the family lived.
People who had never met Liyong or Lei suddenly found themselves thinking about them. Some said the story brought them to tears. Others expressed a renewed appreciation for their own parents or children.
The reaction was understandable.
The story brought several deeply human fears into a single frame: the fear of losing a child, the fear of being unable to provide, and the fear that love may not be enough to overcome every obstacle.
It also challenged readers to imagine what they might do if they were placed in a similar situation.
How would they respond if their child needed treatment they could not afford?
How would they cope with a future that seemed to be closing in?
Where would they find the strength to keep going?
For some readers, the photographs may have felt unbearable because they represented a form of grief that people usually hope never to experience. For others, the story was a reminder that families living with serious illness often face struggles that remain invisible to the outside world.
The original account states that many internet users called for support to help cover Lei's treatment costs.
That response demonstrated the potential of online communities to bring attention to a family in need. A story shared by one person can reach thousands of others, and that attention may create opportunities for practical assistance.
At the same time, stories involving sick children require care. Medical information should be checked where possible, donations should be handled transparently, and families should be protected from unnecessary exposure or exploitation.
Compassion is most useful when it is accompanied by responsible action.
A moving photograph can encourage people to care, but meaningful support may involve verifying the family's needs, contacting legitimate charitable organizations, or helping connect the family with appropriate medical and social services.
For Lei's family, the attention offered something they desperately needed: the possibility that they would not have to face every difficulty entirely alone.
Why the Story Made People Think About Their Own Families
One striking part of the public reaction was the number of readers who said the story made them appreciate their own fathers or children more deeply.
At first glance, that response might seem surprising. Liyong's circumstances were extraordinary, and many people who read the story had never experienced anything similar.
Yet the emotional connection was easy to understand.
Most people know what it means to love a family member. They understand, at least in principle, the desire to protect someone who depends on them.
What they may not fully understand until confronted with a story like this is how frightening it can be when protection has limits.