David VetterDied 22 Feb 1984 at age 12 (born 21 Sep 1971).American patient who lived his twelve years of life in a sterile plastic “bubble” to protect him from any chance of infection, because he was born with the a genetic disease, severe combined deficiency syndrome (SCID). He was publicly identified only as “David,” or “the Bubble Boy.” He died after an unsuccessful bone marrow stem cells transplant that had been hoped could save him. The confinment and loneliness caused psychological turmoil that was kept from the media, which wrote of a more benign experience. A made-for-TV movie was inaccurate. The bone marrow from his sister, despite screening to avoid such a problem, contained Epstein-Barr virus. He died of Burkitt's lymphoma (from which it was learned, for the first time, that a virus can cause cancer.) He lived his last 15 days outside of the bubble.« |
