The Remarkable Ways That the ‘Boy in the Plastic Bubble’ is Helping Doctors 31 Years After His Death

Retro Report looks back on the story of little boy named David Vetter who suffered from a horrific immune deficiency condition known as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which forced him to live in a sterile plastic environment the entirety of his short life. His unique situation earned him notoriety as the “Boy in the Plastic Bubble” and the only time he left his bubble was the few final days before his death in 1984 at the age of 12. Since David’s death, researchers and doctors have been discovering new ways to treat SCID, new bone marrow transplant techniques and new infant testing requirements that will help catch and treat the disease early. Throughout the video, David’s mother, Carole Ann, remembers her son’s ambition fondly.

I always thought at some point when David left the bubble that he would be a researcher himself and would help mankind that way. It turned out that he is helping mankind, but in a different way.