Baby born without an immune system benefits from lessons learned decades ago

Mike Hixenbaugh:

The doctor’s call came in late February, a week after Blanca Romero and her husband brought their third child home from the hospital. She was busy changing newborn Sebastian’s diaper and didn’t notice the phone ringing a room away.

She heard it a few minutes later, but this time it was her husband, Emil, calling from work. He’d just spoken with the pediatrician, he told her, his voice shaky, then added: “You should sit down.”

Sebastian had been born around Valentine’s Day, a hearty 8 pounds, 9 ounces, with a head of thick black hair and chubby cheeks. Now her husband was saying something about the results of his newborn blood screening.