Our son Wesley Matthews and daughter in-law Ellen Matthews became parents to their precious daughter and our first granddaughter Zoe on Christmas Eve, December 24th, 2024.

Although Zoe appeared healthy at birth, upon newborn screening she was diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) also known as the bubble boy or bubble baby disease. The type of SCID she has is Artemis-SCID, one of the more rare types of SCID occurring in 1 of 300,000 births (3-4 babies a year). This is a severe form of immunodeficiency caused by a mutation in the DCLRE1C gene. This mutation prevents the production of the Artemis protein which is needed to repair DNA during the development of T and B cells. This condition is fatal, usually within the first year or two of life unless infants receive immune-restoring treatment.

Zoe has been hospitalized since January 8th and kept in isolation, first at Cardinal Glennon Childrens’ Hospital and after four weeks there transferred to St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Zoe has been accepted into an Artemis-SCID gene therapy clinical trial that is being conducted at UC-San Francisco. This treatment has shown promising results by using gene therapy to correct their own bone marrow stem cells, allowing them to develop functional T and B cells.

Zoe and Ellen have a medical flight scheduled on Monday, February 24th to begin the gene-therapy treatment with Wesley driving to California to join them. On March 3rd, Zoe will have her stem cells harvested. A healthy copy of the Artemis gene will be inserted into the stem cells and the corrected stem cells will then be infused back into Zoe. She will continue to be in isolation for 3 months at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and then will need to stay in San Francisco for 5 additional months for follow-up treatment.

Needless to say, this has been a very challenging time for Wesley and Ellen. They will be faced with financial costs including medical expenses not covered by insurance, housing, transportation and daily living expenses while in San Francisco in addition to maintaining their home in St. Louis.

Wesley Matthews, my son, and daughter-in-law, Ellen Matthews are the beneficiaries for this fundraising campaign. Your generosity and support would be greatly appreciated during this difficult time. Every donation, no matter the size, would allow them to concentrate on Zoe’s care and recovery.

We understand if you are not able to donate, but we would sincerely appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts for Zoe, Ellen and Wesley during this time. If you could also share this with others it would be deeply appreciated.

God Bless

Alison and Doug Matthews