The boy, who has lived his entire life as an astronaut on an alien planet
The boy in the photo was called David Vetter (David Vetter). He lived a short, in his own vivid, but in fact infinitely tragic life. Severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome, identified at the stage of pregnancy led to the fact that right from the womb David Vetter got into isolated from the outside world impermeable plastic bubble, in which spent 12 years.
The first son of David's parents died at the age of seven months. Death occurred due to dysfunction of the thymus - prostate, in which the maturation and differentiation of immunologically "learning» T-cells of the immune system. The reason for this dysfunction was severe combined immunodeficiency syndrome (stki). At each subsequent child was a 50% chance of inheriting this syndrome. The doctors offered in such a case, immediately after the birth of the child placed in a sterile isolator that after some time for bone marrow transplantation. As the donor was supposed to make Vetter daughter Katrina.
The couple passionately wanted to have an heir, and decided to take another pregnancy, believing that after a short treatment their child could lead a normal life. To leave had been prepared sterile cocoon, where David was placed less than 10 seconds after delivery. Then David was baptized with holy water sterilized. However, after the birth of David revealed that Katrina is not compatible donor, and a bone marrow transplant is not possible. Bubble, was conceived as a temporary solution, has become his home.
David grew up and soon became neobhodimo equipped for him and the whole bladder hospital room. Water, air, food, clothing - everything was special treatment before it reaches the bladder. All manipulations were carried out through the walls of the bladder attached to the plastic gloves. Engines who supported the bubble inflated, published loud noise that interfered with normal conversation with David. When he was three years old, was attached to the bladder gaming compartment. But David refused to go into a new "room" of his bladder, while the therapist Mary Murphy is not persuaded, offering a good look at the goldfish aquarium with which she held in her hands.
Doctors and parents have tried to make it a normal life. He studied, watched TV. But David wanted himself to be a part of the world, that he saw through the window and on the TV. He once said: "In my talks, I have to do. Why should I learn? Why should I read? What's the use? Anyway, I can not do anything? So what is all this? "When David was about three years old, he could spend two or three weeks at his parents' house, where the established bladder. His sister slept with him in the same room. They were friendly, although sometimes fought using gloves. Once David Katrina hit and moved to the far wall of the bladder, where she could not get it. But in the end prevailed Katrina - she threatened to turn off the bubble, and even done it a few times. If the main bubble deflates David could take refuge in a small inner bladder.
He had friends, his classmates came to visit. Once, they even arranged for him to view the "Return of the Jedi" in the local movie theater where David was brought to the bladder, which is usually carried home from the hospital. When David was 4 years old, he found himself in a bubble, you can make a hole using a syringe accidentally left there. Then the doctors had first to tell him about bacteria, and about his illness. By five years, David is fully aware of their difference from others, and understand what the future he will. Despite the fact that the media created an image of quite a healthy baby boy, trapped in a bubble, in the life of the mind of David it was unstable due to the lack of human interaction and awareness of the hopelessness of their situation. On the face of it, as a rule, it was stressed polite, but the fury found out. One day, he scattered inside the bubble own excrement. Besides, he was very afraid of bacteria. He often had nightmares about the "king of microbes."
In 1974, NASA developed for David suit that would allow him to take a walk outside the bubble. When he handed over a suit, David refused to wear it in front of the press. Later, when journalists went, trying on all the same place, but David did no more than six steps. Later, he made himself a costume, but wore it only seven times until he became his small. New suit courtesy NASA, he did not put a single time.
Over time, the situation became unbearable. The chances of finding the treatment did not increase. Doctors feared that as a teenager, David will become more aggressive and unpredictable. The US government is going to cut funding for the project, which had demanded 1.3 million dollars, but did not bring any tangible results. In 1983, when David was 12, the same three doctors that originally came up with the whole experiment, his parents offered to do a bone marrow transplant despite incomplete compatibility of the donor. Find a fully matching donor and failed, and in the past years there has been great progress in operations with incomplete donors. The operation went well and within a few months after it had strong hopes that David will be able to finally leave the bladder.
But then David for the first time in my life got sick. He began diarrhea, fever, vomiting and internal bleeding. As it turned out, the bone marrow Katrina contained traces of sleeping Epstein-Barr virus. Once in the body, David, the virus began to spread rapidly and has created hundreds of cancer. The symptoms were so severe that he had to be extracted from the bladder to treat. When his father asked him directly if he wants to leave the bubble, David replied that he agreed to anything just to feel better. Outside the bubble of his condition continued to deteriorate, and he fell into a coma. Then his mother for the first time in my life been able to touch her son. He died 15 days later, on 22 February 1984. He was 12 years old.
