Bubble Boy: Child Experiment David Vetter
'11.10.2020'
Source: Yandex Zen
During those almost six months that we were in isolation, many almost went crazy. Now imagine what it's like to be in eternal quarantine from birth. Most will refuse such a fate, but little David Vetter was not asked, writes the author of the blog "Inside Out" on Yandex Zen.
In the early 70s of the last century, the married couple Carol Ann and Joseph Vetter decided it was time to acquire an heir, but things were not so simple. The fact is that Carol was a carrier of a rare mutation that disrupts the functioning of the immune system. Even though the woman herself was healthy, the risk that the son would inherit the disease was 50%, which means that the child could die from the very first microbe.
When Carol did get pregnant, the couple turned to the trio of medical professionals who were absorbed in research, talking about their problem.
It was then that the scientists, greedy for scientific knowledge, but not particularly humane, began to build their experiment. They convinced the Vetters that if the baby was born sick, it could be kept in a sterile isolation ward until he underwent a bone marrow transplant from the boy's sister (this operation was supposed to make the immune system function normally).
The vetters decided they wanted to take the risk - preparations for childbirth began. Since David could have been born with severe immunodeficiency, already 3 weeks before his birth, his mother lived in a completely sterile room, ate processed food and did not contact almost anyone except doctors.
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The corridors of the hospital were equipped with signs for patients so that no one inadvertently entered the ward of a woman in labor and brought an infection. It was forbidden to talk in the room, and during the operation (caesarean section), the doctors communicated with neat gestures, and the assistants stood with bated breath.
The newborn stayed in the air for less than a few seconds and immediately went under the sterile dome.
The parents were waiting for the results of the examination, but it turned out that the doctors' calculations were initially incorrect. The kid was seriously ill, and his sister's bone marrow did not fit him. Imminent death awaited David.
His life turned out to be a real fantasy (unfortunately, scary) - Vetter lived in an inflated bubble, he never touched the world, did not walk or walk more than 6 steps in one direction. The hum of the pumps that pumped the air drowned out the conversations of the relatives and doctors around him, and each book, toy or pill was carefully processed.
Until the age of 3, the boy lived only in a hospital. Its ball gradually expanded as the baby grew older. Soon there was even an "extension" in the form of a playroom, but David was terribly afraid to go there - he was only lured with the help of a psychologist.
In 1974, an analogue of a sterile ball appeared in the parental home, and the boy was able to come on vacation (transportation also took place in the ball). David spent a lot of time with his sister Katherine: they played together, slept in the same room and even fought.
Once, in a quarrel, the brother "grabbed" the girl with rubber gloves and ran off to another part of the ball, where she could not reach. Out of anger, Katherine cut off the power to the dome, and the air began to come out. It didn't come to the tragedy, but, for sure, David was no longer eager to argue with his sister.
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Vetter's life was widely reported in the media, and many people began to think about the ethical aspect of such an experiment.
The boy grew up and began to realize that he was doomed. The media spoke of him as an absolute normal child who just lives in a bubble. In reality, David was extremely unstable - he was often nervous, annoyed and panicked by microbes. He had to behave well-mannered and calm, but suppressed feelings made themselves felt - he was just a child who dreamed of playing on the street, catching up and sweet Coca-Cola.
David was educated, had friends who even arranged sleepovers around his bubble, but was absolutely not happy. Vetter dreamed of leaving his sterile dungeon, while the government, meanwhile, was thinking about reducing the cost of treating the boy (by that time, $ 1,3 million had already been spent).
By the time David turned 12, science had made great strides - it turned out that a sister's bone marrow transplant was quite possible.
On October 23, 1983, the operation ended in success. The boy still lived in a bubble and even met Christmas in his parents' house, but soon he felt bad for the first time in his life. Vetter had to be urgently taken out of the ball, but how could that have saved him?
Carol Vetter first touched her son shortly before his death, but could not fulfill his last wish - to taste sweet soda. David considered the psychologist Mary Murphy to be his best friend, it was she who, before his death, entrusted the writing of the "true story of his life."
The book was postponed many times due to legal difficulties, but is now available in English under the title Was It Worth It ?: The True Story Of David The Bubble Boy. ball ").
On the gravestone of David Vetter it is written: "He never touched the world, but the world was touched by him."
Yes, the experiment cannot be called ethical, but the life of a “boy in a bubble” has in many ways helped medicine to better investigate the disease and advance in its treatment.
Original column published on the blog. "Wrong side" on Yandex Zen.
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