Kind teacher carries China student with severe sleep disorder home on his back over 2-year period when he nods off in class

Sufferers can become drowsy during the day and it is difficult to wake them.

A very rare disease, narcolepsy affects just 0.03 to 0.16 per cent of the population and while it can strike at any age, has is more common among teenage boys, according to news outlet, The Paper.

Huang Shichang, a doctor from Peking University No 1 Hospital in Beijing, told baidu.com that if the condition does not improve, sufferers could gradually lose their memory, the ability to concentrate and their coordination skills.

Xu said he first noticed the boy, identified as Yinyuan, sleeping excessively about two years ago. He splashed water on the boy’s face or pinched him in an attempt to wake him up, but it did not work.

The teacher informed Yinyuan’s family and suggested they take him to hospital where doctors diagnosed the boy with narcolepsy.

Despite treatment, the boy’s condition has not been cured but it has improved slightly.

“The frequency of his attacks was 2-3 times a week before. It has been lowered since last year,” Xu said.

Xu said he felt compelled to take the boy home to be looked after because he was concerned about the possibility of accidents.

It is an arduous task carrying the boy, who weighs about 40kg, on his back down four flights of stairs from his dormitory to the ground floor, and walking for a further five minutes to the car park, admitted Xu.

“I have to walk slowly and steadily. I don’t want the boy to fall,” he said.

Yinyuan’s parents are divorced and he lives with his grandparents.

“Because of Teacher Xu’s help, we dare to send the kid to school. How kind Teacher Xu is,” the boy’s grandparents said.

Xu said it is his responsibility to do what he can to help, and his only wish is that the boy’s sleep disorder can be cured.

“What a responsible and good-hearted teacher. Salute to Teacher Xu!” an online observer said on Douyin.