LIFE is hard for a family living in an urban village in Nanshan District, as the family’s two grandsons are suffering from undiagnosed diseases.

The two boys, aged 6 and 4, cannot speak or walk on their own, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

The boys’ grandparents are the only breadwinners in the family. The couple in their 50s covers the family’s costs by collecting waste and working as a street cleaner.

The family is living in a one-bedroom rental apartment in the village. The mother of the two boys has left home and intends to divorce her husband.

Chang Yanbin, 6, and Chang Zichen, 4, are incapable of communicating with others or walking on their own. Though their grandparents have taken them to many hospitals to seek treatment, no accurate diagnosis has been made.

The grandmother, surnamed Zhang, said that doctors had only told them that Yanbin was suffering from developmental retardation with symptoms of hyperactivity and autism when he was 1 year old.

Zichen was born in 2013 and he seemed “healthier” than his brother as he could utter words like “grandpa” and “dad” at age 1. However, Zichen lost the ability to speak when he turned 2.

Chang Shugui, the grandfather, brought the two brothers to a reputable hospital in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, for treatment. To save money, Chang asked the doctors to examine only Zichen.

According to the doctors, Zichen’s disease was curable but the treatment would cost a lot of money. However, the hospital did not give a specific diagnosis for the boy, so the family gave up on treatment.

When asked why the boys’ parents did not work to support the family, Chang said that his son had been out of school since Grade-2 of primary school and had no skills, while the daughter-in-law had a handicapped arm. According to Chang’s son, his wife was found to have fertility problems after getting a physical examination, but the test was done after she had already given birth to the two children.

The old couple has tried to approach the local government, but since they don’t have a Shenzhen household registration, the government can’t accept their application for help. However, the subdistrict office where the family lives said that they have helped the family lodge an application for special funds and that the application is still being processed.

Now, Chang and Zhang’s earnest wish is that they will receive social aid that can help diagnose their grandsons’ diseases. (Zhang Qian)