Việt Nam's smallest boy Đinh Văn K'Rể. Photo vietnamnet.vn

HÀ NỘI Việt Nam's smallest boy Đinh Văn K'Rể has died at the central Quảng Ngãi Hospital for Children and Women. He was 11 years old.

K'Rể was taken to the hospital after he had a stroke at Sơn Ba Primary School's canteen on November 5 and died four days later. 

Dr Trần Đình Điệp, the hospital's head of Intensive Care and Toxic Management Department, said K'Rể was unable to breathe on his own and had developed heart problems, sepsis and encephalitis.

"He was put on a ventilator," said the doctor. "We tried our efforts to treat but he was in a chemical-induced coma."

K’Rể is the son of 30-year-old Đinh Văn An and 28-year-old Đinh Thị Pia, living in Gò Da Village in Sơn Ba Commune, Sơn Hà District.

An and Pia are close relatives and married in 2006. Their first son, Đinh Văn Siêng, K’Rể’s elder brother, was born healthy one year later.

Pia gave birth to her second son, K’Rể, after eight months of pregnancy in 2009. At birth, K’Rể weighed just 600g and was the length of a hand. They thought his small size was due to being born prematurely. However, at the age of seven, K’Rể weighed 3kg and measured 50cm in height. He was unable to speak or walk normally.

He suffered from Seckel syndrome, a genetic disorder characterised by growth retardation and microcephaly, or a small head. Only around ten cases of the syndrome have been recorded worldwide.

In 2013, teacher Đặng Văn Cương, the principal of Sơn Ba Primary Boarding School met K'Rể by chance. 

Moved by his tiny appearance, the teacher encouraged the parents to enrol him at school when he was old enough.

Keeping his word, two years later, when K’Rể was seven, Cương travelled over three kilometres through the forest to persuade his parents to let him go to school.

Recently, the teacher brought K'Rể to live with his family in Quảng Ngãi City and K'Rể studied at Quảng Ngãi Centre for Educational Integration Supporting. 

Minister of Education and Training Phùng Xuân Nhạ went to meet him in March, 2018. — VNS