美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: The Doctor And 'The Boy In The Bubble'

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

As 12-year-old old David Vetter was about to die at Texas Children's Hospital in 1984, he gave a last wink¹ to his doctor, William T. Shearer². His wife told us Dr. Shearer carried that wink through the rest of his life. Dr. Shearer, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, died this week at the age of 81. David Vetter had been born with severe combined immunodeficiency, a rare disease that could have made it fatal for him to be touched, held, kissed by his parents or even take a breath of fresh air. Doctors devised a sterile³, clear, plastic pouch⁴ to keep David alive until medical science could come up with something else. David Vetter became the boy in the bubble. As he grew, it was a joy to see occasional photos of him smiling, playing and so manifestly alive. It was also heartbreaking to see his smiling little boy who had to live in a bubble and wonder how long he could or even should live that way.

NASA engineers constructed a space suit for David when he was 6 that enabled him to walk around his family's house and even play catch with his sister, Katherine. But psychologists who worked with him said David was growing bitter about the way he had to live in a bubble. We all knew the day would come when a decision would have to be made - in or out - Dr. Shearer recollected⁵ for a New York Times video in 2015.

When David was 12, Dr. Shearer and his team used a new technique for a bone marrow⁶ transplant from his sister. There turned out to be a dormant⁷ virus in Katherine's marrow. The transplant didn't work. For the first time since he was born, David was freed from his bubble to be kissed by his mother, feel the air of the world on his face and to die with that last wink.

Dr. Shearer never really let go of David Vetter. He used lessons from his care to guide him as he focused on the new epidemic⁸ of HIV/AIDS in children. And today, early screening means many children can have a bone marrow transplant before they're even born. What we learned from David is a textbook, he told the Houston Chronicle last year, a textbook that he wrote with his life and that we're still learning from. Lynn de Prez, Dr. Shearer's wife, told us this week that they only traveled to medical conferences, and he worked seven days a week. But he also had three marriages and six children, five of whom were adopted. And she says he kept David Vetter's wink in his heart. I like to think, she told us, that he has a friend up there to show him around.

1 wink   

n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁

参考例句：

• He tipped me the wink not to buy at that price.他眨眼暗示我按那个价格就不要买。
• The satellite disappeared in a wink.瞬息之间，那颗卫星就消失了。

2 shearer   

n.剪羊毛的人；剪切机

参考例句：

• A bad shearer never had a good sickle. 拙匠无利器。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Eventually, Shearer lost faith, dropping him to the bench. 最终，希勒不再信任他，把他换下场。 来自互联网

3 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

4 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

5 recollected   

adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I recollected that she had red hair. 我记得她有一头红发。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His efforts, the Duke recollected many years later, were distinctly half-hearted. 据公爵许多年之后的回忆，他当时明显只是敷衍了事。 来自辞典例句

6 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

7 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。