Canada seeks US help in diagnosing ailment of 2-year-old boy in a bubble

A medical nightmare that happened to the parents of David Vetter in Texas is being replicated now in Canada. Because of American doctors’ experience in dealing with children suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), the parents of two-year-old Canadian boy Deagan Clavette are seeking the help of medical experts in the US.

Deagan had lived in the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton that past 15 months. Doctors have diagnosed the boy to have dozens of allergies, but what the physicians could not understand is his unknown spontaneous reaction to the allergies. He becomes unconscious and goes into shock sometimes when his allergies occur.

Jennifer Tregidgo-Clavette, the boy’s mother, describes his condition as being allergic to life. Unless doctors correctly diagnose the condition of Deagan – who had seven EpiPens in the last 24 hours – he would not survive, she points out, reports ABC.

David, born in 1971, was known as the boy who lives in a bubble since he lived in a custom-made sterile plastic bubble because of his SCID. However, despite the sterile environment, David died when he was 12. American doctors studied the boy’s blood cells which has contributed to a better understanding of SCID that American kids born with the condition now lead normal lives. David’s story inspired the production in 1976 of the made-for-TV movie “The Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” which starred John Travolta.

There are 14 of 16 such kids who received the experimental therapy nine years ago, and they are now living full lives, according to a recent report, notes CBS. Canadian doctors hope a similar therapy could be discovered by the US National Institute of Health, which specialises in discovering new ailments, to help Deagan, who despite being treated for a rare mast cell disease, still struggles.

As it is, living with Deagan’s condition is an uphill battle for the Clavettes, who, on top of caring for the boy, struggle financial to pay for his treatment. The couple has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help defray the boy’s medical bills. And to make matters worse, Deagan’s father is expected to lose his job in the coming weeks.