Experimental gene therapy treatment created at UCLA gives 'bubble girl' born with rare genetic disorder ADA

CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A teenage girl is alive thanks to an experimental gene therapy treatment created at UCLA.

She was born with a rare genetic disorder, so any common infection could've killed her.

But instead of living her life in a bubble, she's now thriving.

At birth, 13-year-old Evangelina Vaccaro was dealt a pretty rough hand.

"It kind of felt like a death sentence that day," said her mom, Alysia Padilla-Vaccaro.

She recalls how a newborn screening test confirmed her daughter was born with a rare genetic disorder, making any common infection life-threatening.

"She had no fighting defenses. No immune system whatsoever," Padilla-Vaccaro said.

The 1976 movie "The Boy in the Plastic Bubble" was the first time many Americans were introduced to ADA-severe combined immunodeficie