Treasures - Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics

From Bubble Boy to Cowboy:
Cord Blood Transplant Gives Infant's Immune Disease
'the Boot'
Boots aren’t always made for walking.
In the case of Granton Bayless, they
were made for inspiration—a hope
for his family during the bleak days
of Granton’s illness when hope was all they
had to cling to.
The Bayless family’s ordeal started back in the spring,
when five-month-old Granton began having difficulty
breathing. An x-ray at the pediatrician’s office showed
that his lungs were completely clouded. He was admitted
to a Springfield area community hospital with pneumonia,
where doctors discovered that his white blood cell count
was dangerously low.
By the time the diagnosis was made, Granton was gravely
ill with RSV and PCP, a relatively rare type of pneumonia.
His only hope was a bone marrow transplant to rebuild
his immune system. His care team deliberately induced
paralysis to help him conserve oxygen and calories until a
donor could be found.
The question was, would Granton make it long enough to
get the needed transplant? As his condition deteriorated,
the doctors prepared his parents, Daniel and Jenni, for the
likely possibility that he would not survive.
On March 28, Granton was transferred to Children’s
Mercy Hospital and began an exhaustive series of tests to
determine the cause. The tests ultimately led to a dreaded
diagnosis—severe combined immunodeficiency, a genetic
condition that renders the body unable to produce T-cells
to fight off disease, leaving its victim helpless against any
illness. Often referred to as “bubble boy” disease, SCID
gained public attention in the 1980s with the case of David
Vetter, who spent most of his 13 years of life in a sterilized
cocoon.
2 | childrensmercy.org