Take Nine: Bubble Boy

This morning waking up was a huge struggle. After re setting my alarm 5 times I finally gave in to the light creeping through my curtains. My dad was nagging (sorry dad), my milk had run out, there were no left overs for lunch and all together it was not my morning. I arrived at my 9:30 specialist appointment proud of myself for arriving with time to spare, only to find that they had told me the wrong location and my doctor was at another hospital today. I made arrangements to go straight to the other location and they agreed to slot me in on arrival due to their stuff up. After pushing through traffic, finding a park, paying too much for the park, finding the clinic, and watching a sleazy man hit on the receptionist for 13 minutes, I finally met with my doctor to find out that it was “probable” that I would require surgery on my foot within the next few weeks but I would have to wait on a MRI scan. Woop de do. What a great way to start the day! Obviously this was the last news I wanted to hear as this time last year I was in emergency waiting to have my gallbladder out. Lucky for me I had many people around to remind me how hopeless and accident prone I am, so helpful. All my life people have laughed as they make snide remarks to me or my mum about how I “should have been wrapped in cotton wool from birth”, or how I am a good candidate to be the first “bubble girl”.


This got me thinking about the bubble boy, wondering if my extensive list of previous injuries would allow me to become a member of some exclusive “Unco’s Only Club”, UOC- it has a good ring to it don’t you think?


Anyway, with a little bit of Wikipedia action I was able to feel less sorry for myself. Turns out this poor child by the name of David Vetter lived his entire life in a bubble. At 10 seconds old he was placed into a plastic cocoon only to be touched by plastic gloves until moments before his death at age 12 when, while he was in a coma, his mother finally touched him with her bare hand. This little boy had always wanted to try Coke after seeing it on TV and hearing about it from his friends. It was one of the first things he asked for when he was taken out of the bubble before he died but the doctors said no due to his frail condition. This child spent his life as a science experiment, often becoming a bit of a celebrity attraction as they visited to have a stare at the fascinating yet barbaric situation. After hearing the expression “bubble boy” for years I had never fully understood the horrendous context it evolved from. So, a little heads up, you do not want to be the next person to use that expression around me.


Tomorrow when I wake up I should embrace the sun knowing I am not in a controlled environment which prevents me from feeling different temperatures. I should be glad that if my dad nags I can give him a good whack without worrying about encountering fatal germs, I should be greatful I have had the opportunity to try milk and a variety of food even if I’m not in the mood for toast, and finally I should attempt to see the positives in my bung foot. I had the opportunity to travel the world, where I stuffed my foot having the time of my life.