Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articlesavailable from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Ted DeVita(1962-May 27, 1980) was a victim of severe aplastic anemia who wasforced to live in a sterile hospital room for eight and a half years.His story, along with that of Texas patient David Vetter, was used tocreate the 1976 made-for-TV movie The Boy in the Plastic Bubble. In thefilm, John Travolta played 'Tod,' a teenaged boy who lived in a sterilebubble due to illness. Ted was 14 when the film, unauthorized by hisfamily, was released. In 2004, the story of Ted's life, illness anddeath, and the lasting impact of these events on his family was examinedin a memoir by his younger sister, Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn entitled TheEmpty Room: Surviving the Loss of a Brother or Sister at Any Age. TedDeVita was the son of NIH oncologist and researcher Vincent T. DeVitaJr., MD, who diagnosed his son's illness in 1972. Severe aplastic anemiais a rare disease in which the body is suddenly unable to produce newblood cells and platelets. Its victims have no effective immune systemand must be protected from infection. Ted was admitted to the NationalInstitute of Health Clinical Center.