Another Stupid MS TV Story
 

Tonight on Law&Order SUV, a young woman with MS was raped by a caretaker and was in such bad shape, she couldn't do anything but blink for yes. Her mind was clear and at the end the defense attorney forced her to point at the perp and she very slowly did it.

I could be wrong, but, I have never seen anyone with MS, this bad, up and moving around and certainly wouldn't be able to lift her finger to point. There is a very rare fatal MS, but she would have been flat on her back and very ill.

I just hate when they do this....it scares the bejeebers out of a newby. :mad:

I saw the beginning of that episode, I sometimes watch L&O, but ended up not watching it because I bought my mom a copy of Blindside and she was all excited to watch it. I ended up getting sucked into watching the movie (altho I left before it was over so I could get some stuff done)

Maybe we should write the producers of these shows that keep misrepresenting MSers and tell them that they're scaring our newbies...maybe make them wear the MS suit. (wetsuit, one swim flipper on one foot, a high heel on the other, glasses that you can barely see out of, and several layers of rubber gloves and socks on the hands and feet...oh, and a tight belt around the ribcage.)

I remember when that episode of Cold Case aired where the serial killer had MS, and I was a newbie MSer at the time. Freaked me out a little bit.

So far, the only show that I've seen that's portrayed an MSer in a positive way was an episode of Fame (aired way back in the early 80's) I watched it on Hulu last summer on my computer when I was at the infusion center getting a couple of bags worth of IVSM.

I think they take such dramatic license with MS because most americans know so little about it. If this is how they are educated, no wonder folks will look at you and give you that sympathetic face when you tell them! No wonder folks dont want to tell their employers!

We are all gonna be on the floor unable to do all but blink, and pee our pants. :o I hope that show gets letters!

I saw it too, Sal and all I could think was how she looked so good! :)

Did you notice how she kind of grunted & struggled to move her finger? Let me testify that all the grunting & struggling in the world won't move certain parts of me. Maybe I'm just weak willed?

Maybe we could turn this into a money-making opportunity. :Rich: We could write to the show and tell them how off-base their perspective is about MS. Then......we could offer our services as "experts" in the subject. We could proofread the scripts, give them pointers as to what's too unrealistic and what to do to make the character believable. :Clever: We'd be cheaper than a doctor but have the real-life experience no one could have but someone with the disease.:cool2:

Yeah, Kell, we know more about MS than any Doctor, unless it's a Doc with MS.;)

She looked darn good, AMN. :D

Law & Order SVU is also at the top of my list for "stupid depiction of head injuries". The characters get knocked cold on a regular basis, but they're always back in the next scene brilliantly solving the crime like nothing happened. Please?????????

Geez, it's TV. They have people to do hair and make-up.

yeah, you dont want an ugly MSer on tv, gotta make them look good.

there arent any ugly MSers out there anyways, because we all "look so good!" :p I wonder if MS makes us more attractive, since people are always telling us how good we look.

Yeah.......I'm tired of "looking so good". :rolleyes:

I wonder what the heck I looked like before I was dx? I've gotten more compliments in the last 4 years than I have my entire life! :cool:

lol Erin. But hey, how's that go? Any Publicity is Good Publicity?
*edit* :)

Sadly because of the business I'm in the majority of people with MS I have known personally are bedridden and totally dependent, sigh. Personally I think if people see just how bad it can get they might be more clued in with how difficult we have it sometimes.

The other thing I think about is how discouraging for the people that are totally debilitated if everyone with MS was depicted on TV as healthy and able bodied. Plus I guess the story wouldn't be as dramatic if they told it from the perspective of someone like me would have snatched his kiwis off if he tried getting into my bloomers uninvited.
:D

Jules makes a good point. People already have misconceptions about MS. This scenario can be just as frustrating for those who have severe disability from it. When people see someone with MS who looks fine otherwise, it just makes it harder to explain the disease to those without it.

I was going to say something like what Jules said. I think it's a no-winner. There are so many of us, and all different, that I think no matter how it's "portrayed", somebody would be able to say "That's me!"

Seeing how bad it can get can spur people to action. Seeing how good it can be might give a newly diagnosed person hope. What's too bad is that people forget that TV shows are "shows". They're not real.

Just like when I see an actor play a paraplegic. Im one and can call it in seconds if theyre real. Only one I can think of thats real is the black guy that was on tv show "Ed" and now something else. I was in balcony seating with him to watch "Aida" with Tony Braxton on broadway yrs ago. Didnt know who he was till I saw him on the show. Was a shocker.