Legacy of Houston’s first ‘Bubble Boy’ helping children born decades later – Chron.com

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By Craig Hlavaty, Chron.com / Houston Chronicle

This weekend the Houston Chronicle told the story of a Houston child named Sebastian Romero who has the same condition as the late David Vetter (above) did. Vetter, dubbed "The Bubble Boy", died in 1984 but lessons from his life are helping keep Romero alive.

Click through to see more photos of the boy who lived in a bubble his whole life in Houston...

This weekend the Houston Chronicle told the story of a Houston child named Sebastian Romero who has the same condition as the late David Vetter (above) did. Vetter,

David Vetter was born in 1971 at Texas Children's Hospital with severe combined immunodeficiency.

Dr. William Shearer visits with his patient, "Bubble Boy" David Vetter, at Texas Children's Hospital in 1979. David died in 1984 at age 12.

David's disorder left him no natural immunities against disease. He died in 1984.

David Vetter, the "Bubble Boy," in 1983 at age 12.

David Vetter, the boy without an immune system, was placed in a sterile bubble within seconds of his birth in September 1971.

04/01/1974 - David the Bubble Boy

David wears a NASA-designed "spacesuit" on his first walk outside of his plastic sterile environment.

Carol Ann Demaret, mother of "Bubble Boy" David Vetter, and his physician, Dr. William Shearer, think the movie "Bubble Boy" makes fun of the disease that killed David.

November 4, 1977: Boy out of 'bubble' (David Vetter - Bubble Boy). C

Houston Chronicle section front - September 22, 1974 - Section 2, Page 1. 3-Year-Old David Laughs and Cries in Germ-Free, Bubble Environment (David Vetter - Bubble Boy)

Legacy of Houston's first 'Bubble Boy' helping children born decades later

Though he only lived for 12 years, the life of Houston's David Vetter captivated the public as he grew up isolated from germs and human touch due to a rare, inherited condition calledSevere Combined Immunodeficiency Disorder, or SCID.

This weekend HoustonChronicle.com told the story of a Houston child named Sebastian Romero who suffers from the same condition.

Vetter lacked the white blood cells that fight infection, meaning any germ was a potential killer. When he was born in 1971, there was no treatment. The "Star Wars"-loving kid died in February 1984after doctors attempted an experimental bone marrow transplant.

PREVIOUS:The 'boy in the bubble' who captivated the world

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A TV movie starring John Travolta partially based on Vetter's story was released in 1976, but it took many liberties with his situation. Hollywood has also attempted to turn bubble boy cases into comedy with 2001's "Bubble Boy" starring Jake Gyllenhaal and a 1992 episode of Seinfeld.

Born in February, the cute, chubby-faced Romero has decades of medical research on his side that Vetter did not. But Romero isn't completely out of the woods, as reporter Mike Hixenbaugh writes on HoustonChronicle.com. His family has a hard road ahead of them. SCID is still a very scary condition in any decade, but the doctors at Texas Children's Hospital are calling on lessons from 33 years ago to help save the boy's life.

PREVIOUS:'Bubble boy' medical legacy lives on years after death

Over the past few years, Texas Children's has treated several SCID babies, and most had been cured through bone marrow or stem cell transplants.

After a nationwide search, no matching donor could be found for Sebastian. Texas Children's instead proposed giving a stem cell transplant from a half-matching family member, the same treatment that failed to cure David more than 30 years ago.

If Sebastian is going to survive, it will be his mother's stem cells and lessons from the Bubble Boy that will save him.

The Romero family is currently holding an online fundraiser to help them pay for some of the expenses related to Sebastian's ongoing care.

With additional reporting byMike Hixenbaugh

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Legacy of Houston's first 'Bubble Boy' helping children born decades later - Chron.com