I don't know what "The Bubble Boy" is about but it was suggested b the life of a child near Houston who was born with the rare condition of having no immunological defenses. As a result his only p[ossibilty of survival was to remain isolated in a bubble, actually a kind of tent in which he lived his life. Meanwhile, he doctors tried to find a cure. As he grew older, the tent was enlarged. His mother could hug him using sleeves that were attached to an outside port.

I was at the time, and as far as I know, I remained, the only journalist allowed into the boy's home. It was a lovely family who had learned to live with their unusual child. The boy was bright, alert, and had a wonderful sense of humor. His doctors, researchers from the University of Texas, were captivated with him. When I asked his younger sister how she felt about her brother getting all the attention from journalists all over the world, she showed her own resilience by saying proudly that she is the only one in her shchool whose brother lives in a bubble!

Some people felt that the million plus dollars that the March of Dimes had spent on "the bubble boy" could have been better spent. The UT researchers tried to make the case that the boy gave them an insight into the way the human body works. As you might expect, when the AIDS epidemic struck and people went looking for what research had been done on immune deficiencies, they were grateful for the studies that had been done with the little Texas boy.

It was too late for him though. When he reached puberty, the doctors and parents agreed that it was time to give him the best treatment they could to prepare hm for life outside the bubble. They spent a year getting his immune system working as best it could and then , after discussing all the alternatives with him, they moved him from the bubble into a protected environment. His immune system wasn't able to handle even that and he died.

He was a lovely, brave, bright kid. I dn't know how he is treated in the new film but I believe it is a comedy so I don't suppose that viewers will get much of a sense of the dignity and value of that boy's life.

Sourdough