David Vetter

Diagnoses

Personal

Notable

American child known as "the Bubble-Boy," born with a rare disorder of immune deficiency. He made history by living in isolation inside a germ-free bubble for 12 years. The second son born to David, Sr., and Carol Ann Phillip with a rare disorder known as SCID (Severe Combined ImmoDeficiency), he was only able to survive by living in a completely sterile environment. His older brother died at six months of the same condition. Extraordinary precautions were taken at his birth to make his delivery as sterile as possible. David's parents and older sister adapted their lives for David to live at home in the plastic bubble. A generator kept the power going during storms and power outages. He could only eat food that had been sterilized. He was never able to have ice cream or a Coke. He went to school via speakerphone and was tested with a 126 IQ. He grew up as normal as possible, given his confinement to the bubble. He had a typical brother-sister relationship with his older sister, and he had friends who came to visit, staying outside the bubble. A bone-marrow transplant surgery was attempted in the hope of allowing him to live a half-way normal life. The last 15 days of his life were spent outside of the bubble, in a hospital room where his family could be with him, touch and hold him, before he died at 7:55 PM on 2/22/1984, Houston, TX. (Time magazine 9/03/2001 speaks of David with the name of David Vetter, resident of Woodlands, TX.) Link to Wikipedia biography