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General Major 
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TITLE |
For
Hope (1997) (TV Film) |
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DISABILITY |
General
scleroderma scleraderma |
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NOTES |
A little
time is spent showing the victim has a job and a family and then we
get to the nitty gritty. In this week's film she has scleraderma,
and the worse sort. One can say "she" |
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because this
disease affects only women. |
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In fact
there's a lot of good information in this film and maybe |
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it's best
digested in a sweet drink. |
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SHE is a
single teacher and has a teenage son who is |
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desperate to
leave home. The son objects to her bringing |
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back dates
who sleep over. |
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Her problems
start with a stiffness in the fingers. Initially she |
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is diagnosed
with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and by one |
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doctor told
to see a psychiatrist. Frustrated by what is |
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happening to
her she moves from Philadelphia to her parents |
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in, I think,
California. There she sees a new consultant ( a |
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woman) who
tells her she has systemic scleraderma. The |
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lesser form
results in hardening of the skin around the fingers |
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and mouth
but this more serious and fatal form affects the |
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There's no
know cause, no cure and she's is told she has up |
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another ten
years of life. But she's determined to lengthen |
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The best
part of the film is when she visits what looks like the |
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scleraderma
institute and meets a woman there who explains |
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to her the
implications. This woman actually has |
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scleraderma
(Sharon Monsky) and is playing herself |
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Putting
aside my cynicism this is one of the more worthy |
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examples of
"disease of the week". |
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Of course
you guess when her brother's wife is going to have |
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a baby she's
going to die. Birth renews from death. |
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And once
again medical insurance is a problem, being |
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English I
have little idea of the impact of this. |
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Interesting argument from brother's wife who is only one
urging her to let go and die and be released from the pain.
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Notes
See this excellent
site on the subject |
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