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THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- This week students at David Elementary participated in David Week to honor the life of David Vetter, also known as the "Bubble boy," who lived in Shenandoah.
David was born with a rare genetic disease known as Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome (SCIDS) which made it necessary for him to live in a completely sterile environment. He lived in plastic bubble to protect him from bacteria and germs. Everything had to be sterilized, even his food, before he could come into contact with it. NASA developed a special suit for him so he could venture out of the bubble. At the age of 12 he underwent a bone marrow transplant, meant to strengthen his immune system, but died from a cancerous infection.
The David Center at Texas Children's Hospital, established in honor of David Vetter, has led to incredible advances in immunology research and children born with SCIDS now have advanced diagnostic and treatment procedures to help them live normal lives.
All week students have participated in activities to to pay tribute to David's life and impact on our community and on Friday they held Dream Day. Students ran a mini-fun run, watched a video on David's life, heard from David's mother Carol Ann Demaret and his sister Katherine, and learned about the equipment used at Texas Children's Hospital from the Kangaroo Crew (a pediatric intensive care transport service that brings patients from all over the nation to Texas Children's Hospital for expert care.)
Additionally, students participated in David Week with:
- "No Shoes Day" - One of David's dreams was to walk barefoot in grass
- "Kids Helping Kids" Day - Students donated DVDs and Wii games to Texas Children's Hospital
- "Spirit Day" students wore a David t-shirt
- "Crazy Sock Day" - Students and faculty wore crazy socks to show how crazy they were about David Elementary
Demaret said she is very proud of the school and enjoys visiting with students and staff every year.
"David enjoyed school and learning," Demaret said. "Everytime I walk in the school and see his pictures its very emotional. The children and staff have been great and very supportive."
While speaking to the students she read one of David's original writings, one that she had never shared with anyone before. David wrote about his idea of what a perfect school would be. (See the link below for a scanned version of David's original writing, courtesy of Carol Ann Demaret.)
My idea of a perfect school
I believe that a perfect school should be run by the students every day of the week except for weekends and holidays.
The teachers would get the homework and the students get paid.
There would be no long division or fractions.(Except for cutting chocolate cake.) Rules and discipline would also be done away with.
For every two to three yards there would be a coke machine, video game or gumball machine. This is my idea of a perfect school.
When the Conroe ISD board named the school in honor of David, they decided to use his first name instead of using his last name, like most schools. His first name was used because the community knew him as David the "Bubble Boy." At the time it was the first school in the nation named in memory of a child.
The community is encouraged to come out to Woodforest Stadium for the David's Dream Run on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 8 a.m. "This is my eighth year doing the run and I look forward to it every year. It's a great opportunity for the community to come out and run, walk, or cheer," said Lee Allen, principal of David Elementary.
If you are interested in participating, race day registration will be available on site.
David was born with a rare genetic disease known as Severe Combined Immune Deficiency Syndrome (SCIDS) which made it necessary for him to live in a completely sterile environment. He lived in plastic bubble to protect him from bacteria and germs. Everything had to be sterilized, even his food, before he could come into contact with it. NASA developed a special suit for him so he could venture out of the bubble. At the age of 12 he underwent a bone marrow transplant, meant to strengthen his immune system, but died from a cancerous infection.
The David Center at Texas Children's Hospital, established in honor of David Vetter, has led to incredible advances in immunology research and children born with SCIDS now have advanced diagnostic and treatment procedures to help them live normal lives.
All week students have participated in activities to to pay tribute to David's life and impact on our community and on Friday they held Dream Day. Students ran a mini-fun run, watched a video on David's life, heard from David's mother Carol Ann Demaret and his sister Katherine, and learned about the equipment used at Texas Children's Hospital from the Kangaroo Crew (a pediatric intensive care transport service that brings patients from all over the nation to Texas Children's Hospital for expert care.)
Additionally, students participated in David Week with:
- "No Shoes Day" - One of David's dreams was to walk barefoot in grass
- "Kids Helping Kids" Day - Students donated DVDs and Wii games to Texas Children's Hospital
- "Spirit Day" students wore a David t-shirt
- "Crazy Sock Day" - Students and faculty wore crazy socks to show how crazy they were about David Elementary
Demaret said she is very proud of the school and enjoys visiting with students and staff every year.
"David enjoyed school and learning," Demaret said. "Everytime I walk in the school and see his pictures its very emotional. The children and staff have been great and very supportive."
While speaking to the students she read one of David's original writings, one that she had never shared with anyone before. David wrote about his idea of what a perfect school would be. (See the link below for a scanned version of David's original writing, courtesy of Carol Ann Demaret.)
My idea of a perfect school
I believe that a perfect school should be run by the students every day of the week except for weekends and holidays.
The teachers would get the homework and the students get paid.
There would be no long division or fractions.(Except for cutting chocolate cake.) Rules and discipline would also be done away with.
For every two to three yards there would be a coke machine, video game or gumball machine. This is my idea of a perfect school.
When the Conroe ISD board named the school in honor of David, they decided to use his first name instead of using his last name, like most schools. His first name was used because the community knew him as David the "Bubble Boy." At the time it was the first school in the nation named in memory of a child.
The community is encouraged to come out to Woodforest Stadium for the David's Dream Run on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 8 a.m. "This is my eighth year doing the run and I look forward to it every year. It's a great opportunity for the community to come out and run, walk, or cheer," said Lee Allen, principal of David Elementary.
If you are interested in participating, race day registration will be available on site.
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