People with SCID -- also known as "bubble boy disease" -- cannot cope with infections and usually die in childhood.

MSN: European regulators back first gene therapy drug

One piece of context that led me to think differently: via Emily Willingham, this article on how Instagram was helping one many share the story of a boy with a rare disease.

FORBES: Instagram's Importance To Patients; Living In T. Rex Time; Wine, Chocolate, And Beer

And in San Diego, a measles outbreak in 2008 was traced to an unvaccinated 7-year-old boy who contracted the disease in Switzerland and passed it on to 11 other unvaccinated children, including in his family, his school and his pediatrician's office.

WSJ: Where Could The Next Outbreak Of Measles Be?

Three of the schoolmates who got sick caught the disease indirectly, from others the boy had infected.

WSJ: Where Could The Next Outbreak Of Measles Be?

At Mr Helms's request, a seven-year-old Cuban boy was allowed to fly back to the United States with the delegation to receive treatment for liver disease in North Carolina, where he has relatives.

ECONOMIST: George Ryan in Cuba

Regional newspapers relish tales of posties' life-saving heroics - resuscitating a choking nine-month-old boy, carrying a blind pensioner out of a burning house or spotting the jaundiced face of someone with liver disease, to name a few real-life events.

BBC: Are we falling out of love with the postie?