Media Coverage Leads to a Cure
Because of all of the media coverage, doctors from all over the world were trying to figure out the cure to SCID. This was such a rare disease, no one really bothered to find the cure, because it affected such a small population. Only one in every 50,000 kids is born with this genetic disorder, but many doctors believe that it is actually more common than we think, because it is often misdiagnosed. Because of David, the research finally got the funding it needed.
Even though the bone marrow transplant failed, the doctors were on the right track. It turns out that the answer to the issue is to take the baby’s own bone marrow and stem cells from the umbilical cord, so that there was a perfect match immediately. This works in 95% of cases. That last 5% is usually because the parents had no idea that SCID ran in their family, and the baby did not show any symptoms until they were a few months old. Once a child with SCID has caught their very first infection, it is already too late to help them, and there is nothing that can be done.
Today, identifying SCID is so advanced, babies can be diagnosed with it when they are still in the womb. Doctors can inject a bone marrow transplant while the mother is still pregnant so that children can be born with a healthy immune system from day one. Not every state requires a SCID screening, but parents all over the United States are pushing to make it mandatory, so that no child ever has to be born with this disorder again.
Since we almost never hear about anyone with SCID anymore, the idea of a “boy in a bubble” has become almost a joke. It is often misunderstood as a result of helicopter parenting. The Bubble Boy movie in 2001 was also a comedy based around an overprotective mother, rather than a child who was truly too sick to function in the outside world. It even appeared as a gag in Seinfeld and The Simpsons. David’s parents, and the parents of children with SCID were disgusted by the fact that the genetic condition that lead to their son’s death has been turned into a comedy.
Because of David Vetter, hundreds of children’s lives have been saved, and doctors now have a much better understanding of bone marrow transplants when it comes to other diseases. They also now understand that the Epstein-Barr virus was linked to cancer. This was a revelation to the medical community, and doctors now understand that other viruses can cause other cancers, as well.
Even 40 years after his death, the ‘Bubble Boy’ case is making waves in the medical community. David’s mother, Carol Ann Vetter told the New York Times that she believes even though David could not grow up to become a doctor, he is still helping mankind. “This story had a beginning, a middle, but there is really no end. And that is because of David’s Legacy.”
Where Do We Get This Stuff? Here are our Sources:
The Boy In The Bubble. Retro Report (YouTube). New York Times. 2015.
PBS – David Vetter’s Spacesuit
The New York Times – ‘The Boy in the Bubble’ Moved a World He Couldn’t Touch
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