David cousin
David Phillip Vetter (born September 21, 1971 - February 22, 1984 ) was an American boy from Shenandoah , Texas , who was born with the hereditary disease Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a severe combined immunodeficiency. Due to the illness, David had no defenses against any kind of pathogen.
David Vetter became known as the “Bubble Boy” because he spent his entire life in a sterile plastic isolator. Staying in the protective layer of plastic that shielded David from the outside world was a scientific success for many. For others, it was just an absurd attempt to demonstrate the arrogance of medicine.
Life
David was placed in a sterile plastic box by doctors at Children's Hospital in Houston right after he was born . The shielding, intended as a temporary solution, turned out to be the only possible treatment method to protect David against pathogens over the years.
According to the three attending physicians, the physical development of the child was normal. The first problems arose when the boy damaged the plastic layer with an object. Then one of the doctors told the boy about the consequences of his actions. David's mental health deteriorated after hearing this news.
According to a child psychologist who looked after David for several years, the boy's mental state was not comparable to that of a normal child of the same age. The boy had a one-dimensional view of the world and therefore could not understand many things. For example, he didn't know any wind.
The NASA designed therefore for David a special protective suit, with which he could leave the hospital temporarily. The boy first wore the suit when he was five years old. Because of the boy's irrepressible fear of pathogens entering the suit, there were only six trips.
At the age of twelve, the first chances of recovery appeared. David received a bone marrow donation from his sister on October 21, 1983. At the beginning of 1984, however, the boy's state of health deteriorated massively, as a latent Epstein-Barr virus entered his body through the transplant , which had not been discovered when the donor marrow was examined. On February 7, 1984, David finally had to be released from the plastic insulation and died on February 22, 1984 of Burkitt's lymphoma . David's mother Carol Ann cousin kissed her son David for the first time on the day of his death.
The boy's treatment received worldwide attention. Subsequently, immunologists and hematologists gained knowledge about the properties of germ-free blood.
The boy in the bubble (song / film adaptation)
- The Boy in the Plastic Bubble , 1976 film with John Travolta
- In 1987 the song The Boy in the Bubble , written by Paul Simon , was in the US charts for 86 weeks and in the UK charts for 26 weeks.
- Barak Goodman, John Maggio: The Boy in the Bladder , documentary film (53 min.), USA, 2006
- Bubble Boy, 2001 film with Jake Gyllenhaal
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cousin, david |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cousin, David Phillip |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American patient |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 21, 1971 |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 22, 1984 |