Adversity is the mother of invention. Human ingenuity starts by solving problems, and this month a boy’s life was saved by this same ingenuity.

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The boy was diagnosed with Epidermolysis bullosa, a skin disease that can lead to hair loss, deformed nails and dental loss, such as tooth decay. Undeniably, the disease is called “butterfly skin” because the skin of these patients becomes delicate like the wings of a butterfly. The disease is caused by a deficiency in the LAMB3 protein in human skin, and in doing so it makes the skin unstable and prone to blisters from things as little as a handshake. The treatments for this disease haven’t been very successful at stopping it, but scientists tried a last effort that seems to be holding well.

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The scientists replaced 80 percent of the boy’s skin with a stem cell treatment that incorporated what was left of his skin, according to Science News. They then proceeded to replicate his skin and replace the unhealthy LAMB3 gene with a healthy version of it. Then, the scientists transplanted the new skin back onto the boy.

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First, the boy recovered miraculously. He plays soccer and goes to school. His skin is now fully functional, except for a few parts that hadn’t received treatment. According to Science News, the team of researchers that helped with this breakthrough went on record and said that, “he’s a patient, not a mouse.” They may need to do the surgery again to fix the rest of his skin, but they’re encouraging him to live his life.

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Beyond that, it also opened doors in the scientific community. There’s been a long-held debate about how stem cells work in human skin, and this study has helped researchers understand of how the lab-grown cells bonded to the cells in the boy’s body. The doctors replaced a significant amount of his skin, sure, but what was replaced didn’t cover all of his skin. His lab-grown skin, however, is more or less convincing his diseased skin to change its composition. It hasn’t been proven yet, and up until now the disease has been incurable, but it’s a step in the right direction.