"When I Walk" Impressions?

[kwarendorf]

I watched the first half of "When I Walk" on PBS last night (taped the rest). It is a documnetary film maker's personal account of his life with PPMS. So Sar I like it.

It's not full of science, but rather it looks at things like how can I go to a restaurant in my scooter? Will girls Like me? Everyday stuff.

One area of interest is how he portrays his mother. I think he means to show her as a no nonsense, you know what your issues are so deal with them type. To me she comes off as a head in the sand, I don't want to hear about it type. I think one of the issues we all face is finding the right ear to chew when we want to vent. Most people try and fix "it". SOme cover theier ears and go "LA LA LA LA".  The film maker's mother seems to be both :-)

Anyone else see the movie?

Kyle

[calamfred]

Watched it with hubby. I felt his mom was like that trying to appear brave, especially in front of him. I later read interviews from him, Mom, and Alice. His mom admitted she used "bluster partly to control her anguish.".
I know it's darn hard watching my great guy going thru all of this, I can't imagine watching it being my son struggling... Here's a link to more info/interviews/ etc. on When I Walk:
http://www.pbs.org/pov/wheniwalk/film_description.php

I also had several times I just cried...tried to hide it because I don't want to bring my hubby down any more. At his last Neuro appt hubby was reclassified from Relapsing-Remitting to Relapsing-Progressive..2 weeks later he had his 1st and only fall, at work, hobbled about with broken femur that was originally missed at ER.

Had surgery back in April, and his future work ability is up in the air. It was prior to the Fall, much more so now. If I'm honest with myself it's probably not up in the air, but very much down to earth and he's looking at disability. 2 of his Drs have said that is their recommendation. He also can't safely walk without a cane. He can't use a cane where he works, there are lots of stairs and walking.

Anyways, I loved the documentary, hated that Jason wasn't filming his life WITHOUT MS, but reality is real (how profound, Mrs. Obvious..lol). While it was at times heartbreaking to watch, it was also very poignant.
C

[kwarendorf]

I agree about the bravery thing. Bravery is running into a burning building to save a child/pet/senior citizen. Dealing with MS is just playing the cards I was dealt. The person running into the building has a choice. We don't :-)

[doublevision1]

His mom is definitely not sentimental. HeII, even I was crying when Alice read her wedding vows, while Mom was smiling and dry-eyed the whole time.

I love the part where he chuckles and sort of rolls his eyes when talking about the people who say "Oh, you're SOOO brave!" Most of us have probably heard this ourselves at some point. I say No, I'm not brave at all, I just have no choice in the matter. Bravery has nothing to do with it. If I did, I would choose not to have this, thank you. I know people mean well but it is kind of condescending, though they don't realize it. What do they expect, that we would otherwise be balled up in the corner fetal position, were we not so darn brave? ;)

The funniest thing about this to me is that on Dasilva's FB page the day after the film aired on PBS, there were so many comments like "you're SO brave!" I could just picture him laughing and shaking his head.

[kwarendorf]

OK, so Mom redeemed herself in the secnd half :-) One thing that impressed me favorably was the honesty between David and Alice. In the scene about before her trip, she flat out tells him that she needs to do this for her. She didn't seem to provide any room for discussion. We all have cargivers to one degree or another. It's important not to lose sight of their needs. :-)

Kyle

[PeninaD]

He did a short "OpDoc" film for the NY Times that showed the miserableness of the NYC public transportation system for disabled folk.

[Corriel]

I recorded it to watch later this week. I am looking forward to it because we rarely see anything of any length on MS.

Laura, good for you for helping it get it broadcasted!

Corrie

[kwarendorf]

I suppose my impression of her is colored by my experience. My mother tends to display "If we don't talk about uncomfortable things they don't exist." :-)

[Lulu54]

I've seen this and supported it through Kickstarter and pushed  to bring it to town through our local NMSS.  Jason's look at life with PPMS progresses through the film and I'll be interested in hearing what you think after finishing the entire 90  minutes.

In particular, I like his mom because she pushes him to not let go of his dreams and doesn't allow him to hide behind having MS.  She is a no-nonsense women in those terms publicly, but I imagine she quietly grieves for her son which is a side we don't get to see. I didn't get that same sense of sticking her head in the sand which again shows we all interpret things differently based on our own perspectives.  :-)

If you didn't catch it on tv, it will be available online after it is finished showing this week on PBS.

Laura