Bubble Baby

Source Credit: PBS 

A landmark milestone in the history of medicine was made when David Vetter- the Boy in the Bubble, made the headlines. The 9-year-old boy suffered from Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare disorder that paralyzes the host’s immunity and makes a person vulnerable to common-place infections- maybe even the common cold. He had lived his whole life so far in a plastic bubble. His plastic home had shielded him from illness and disease, and he had been kept healthy, safe, and alive. At 9 years, he would finally transition from his life at the hospital to living a close-to-normal life at home.

SCID: The disease

When Carol Ann Vetter and David Joseph Vetter Jr lost their first child to the disease, they were cautious about their subsequent pregnancy. They had borne one healthy girl child- Katherine, but Carol Ann was found to be a carrier of the SCID variant gene which would express itself in male children. Being strict Roman Catholics, the couple knew that abortion or birth control was not an option, and they sought rigorous genetic counseling to ensure the next pregnancy would be safe. Carol had a 50% chance of giving birth to a diseased child, and even then, doctors were confident that a matched bone marrow transplant would help cure the deficiency completely. And so, in 1971, Carol Ann Vetter underwent a historic C-section in a closely monitored aseptic environment. Her baby, who was later found to have SCID, was put in a plastic bubble, a temporary measure that would last until he had his life-saving bone marrow transplant from his sister Katherine. All was assured to be okay until it wasn’t. Katherine was not found to be a perfect match, and David was without a transplant.

Source Credit : NPR

The Bubble

David would then live the next 12 years in this plastic bubble. Raising a child isn’t easy, and it certainly isn’t in the way David was raised. He was kept in an isolator that was kept inflated with motors. It had multiple pairs of rubber gloves attached to the inside, allowing him to communicate with the outside world. All items that were to be placed in the isolator were to be sterilized with pericric acid. The isolator would be aerated with Ethylene Glycol to maintain aseptic conditions.

Besides his doctors, David also had a team of child specialists, a child psychologist, and a speech therapist with whom he interacted closely. All aspects of his growth and development were equally important. David was familiarized with the natural world outside his bubble through his sessions with his psychologist. He also attended virtual classroom sessions through his bubble. He was deemed an intelligent boy with a high IQ and early signs of development, which was also reassuring.

At age 9, doctors found a way for David to live comfortably, even at home. He was carefully transitioned using a portable isolator to a similar setting at home. A special team at NASA also devised a special suit for David to venture out of his bubble and allow him to explore the outside. While curious and excited, David often found the most comfort in the premises of his isolator.

Source Credit : Houston Public Media

Eugenics and Ethics

The particular case of David Vetter often raised pertinent questions on eugenics and bioethics. How long would a boy be kept alive at the mercy of Science and technology? Was David then just a mere specimen for Science and research? Will David ever yearn to live a more normal life? These were questions that the team of doctors faced on multiple occasions. They maintained that the boy was healthy and thriving and they would do everything they could to keep it that way. David’s parents found peace in taking it one day at–a–time and patiently waited for research to find a solution to save their boy. However, David often had questions about how different his life would be if not in a bubble. Once he was taken home, his mother often found him lonely and curious about life outside his immediate environment.

Source Credit : The New York Times

The Transplant

In 1983, a major scientific breakthrough found that it was possible to transplant partially matched bone marrow transplants into recipients. David’s doctors re-explored the idea of transplanting Katherine’s bone marrow into David. After much counseling, a cautious couple, the Vetters, decided to try the bone marrow transplant. While they were assured of the tremendous success rate, if it did fail, they would transfer David back into the plastic bubble again. And so, David Vetter was given ounces of his sister’s bone marrow while doctors patiently monitored him for any signs of rejection or Graft vs Host disease.

A few days passed, and David was deemed to be stable. He spent Christmas with his family, and all seemed okay until New Year’s Eve when Carol found that David had been sick and had spiked a temperature. Over a few days, David’s condition worsened, and he started bleeding internally. As hard as they might try, doctors could not save him, and David was brought out of his plastic bubble. He finally passed away in 1984 at the age of 12. On autopsy, it was found that there was a dormant Epstein Barr virus hidden in the bone marrow transplant that had been missed due to the lack of screening at the time. The virus had unleashed its full potential in David’s unguarded body and had multiplied to develop lymphoma.

Source Credit : littlethings.com

The Legacy and Beyond

The story of David Vetter provided multiple significant breakthroughs in Science, medicine, and research in general. From his account, scientists were finally able to further study the oncogenic potential of the Epstein-Barr virus. After David’s death, many states in the United States of America adopted the regular screening of SCID in newborns. Additionally, he is testimony to the fact that Science and technology have come a long way in developing and shaping medicine. We can trust that the best is yet to come. David Vetter’s grit and determination in the face of adversity is a lesson learned for us all, and his legacy will remain forever.

References

1. David Vetter - Wikipedia. (2015, December 19). David Vetter - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vetter

2. David Vetter was ‘the boy in the bubble.’ His short life provided insights into how the rare disorder SCID works. (2020, January 24). Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/david-vetter-was-the-boy-in-the-bubble-his-short-life-provided-insights-into-how-the-rare-disorder-scid-works/2020/01/24/b698e774-3d3a-11ea-baca-eb7ace0a3455_story.html

3. “Bubble Boy” 40 years later: Look back at heartbreaking case. (2011, September 21). “Bubble Boy” 40 Years Later: Look Back at Heartbreaking Case. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/bubble-boy-40-years-later-look-back-at-heartbreaking-case/

4. The Boy in the Bubble | American Experience | PBS. (2006, April 10). Watch the Boy in the Bubble | American Experience | Official Site | PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/boy-bubble/

5. The Boy in the Bubble | Retro Report. (2015, December 6). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSGt_duNjGg&list=PLKB8zkQFlMyJ7iBJqT9pnnwTfXz_jtxbu&index=23

6. posts by Tabea Tietz →, V. A. (2022, September 21). David Vetter, the Bubble Boy | SciHi Blog. David Vetter, the Bubble Boy | SciHi Blog. http://scihi.org/david-vetter/