It's also nice that it was done by Showtime rather than Discovery or TLC or some network like that. If it had been done by one of them, it would have been some cheap, commercial every eight minute, program being glorified in the same ad breaks as "Honey (I'm really just a white trash, morbidly obese child with white trash, morbidly obese relatives that entertains people of an IQ no higher than a bucket of warm hamster vomit) Boo Boo", with the emphasis being on how stupid the relatives are in making decisions and how everything in their lives goes completely wrong.
Showtime treats the subject with dignity and care, and doesn't exploit the people that it profiles. It is probably one of the best documentaries about real life situations that I have ever seen. I also like the fact that it's not afraid to talk about everything that goes on with people that are terminally ill. Warts and all, as you put it.
I, too, wish that Maria had better support. Her older daughter can only do so much, and the younger children were only making the situation worse. I'm sure it's something that they are going to regret for a very, VERY long time. But as we all know, never leave angry, as you never know if you will get the chance to say "I'm sorry". They won't.
My mother, who is a Family Nurse Practitioner, worked for an oncologist for a few years before she retired (she actually still works a little, but just one day a week in a little one person clinic (a barn), and she does some house calls, all for our local Amish community) and I did the medical transcriptions for her. I heard some real horror stories about how some people had very little support and pretty much died alone. Sad. Very sad. Cancer is an awful way to go. My mother also had breast cancer 14 years ago, but is fine now. She got very sick from the chemo, but had my stepfather there to cater to her every need.
For me, Laura's death wasn't the hardest to take, but it was definitely the most shocking. The transition from her looking healthy (I know she had her stomach and gall bladder out) to four months later, where she was at the end, was SHOCKING. There was no warning that it was coming, and when I saw her in the first shot from four months later, I had to look away and pause the program for a minute. It made me light headed.
Anyway, like I said, the show is informative and handled in a dignified manner. A truly great program.
If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.
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rcunningham58
10 years ago
When the fur really began to fly with Maria and the kids, it seems to have been when she was on steroids to manage the swelling in her brain due to the presence of metastasis. While this reduced the pain and swelling, unfortunately a side effect of steroids is irritability. And she had behavioral changes related to the edema. Had she had good nursing support, she could have had the dosing adjusted and some anti anxiety meds thrown in along with good teaching to the kids that she wasn't fully responsible for that irrational hair trigger temper we observed. It killed me to witness that. I wanted to help them so badly!!! It really didn't have to go down that way. Maria suffered from what I call psychic pain. Not all pain in cancer is of the "ouch" variety, but that overwhelming fatigue and hopelessness is terrible and can be managed! Even if it is simply understood, it makes it more acceptable to people and patients and families can cope better.
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Gabe1972
10 years ago
For sure. Prednisone markedly changes people's personalities. Nasty side effect, but the good normally outweighs the bad. Normally. She was definitely in emotional distress. How could you not be. And the fatigue is definitely one of the worst side effects of treatments, and of the cancer itself. Just soooo drained. It's hard to even get out of bed to use the bathroom. Like I said, doing those transcriptions exposed me to some horror stories about people's struggles, and one of the biggest complaints was fatigue and depression. How could someone in their situation not be depressed? It definitely would have been better if she had proper support, and I think that as she got worse that would have happened. I think she just wanted to remain independent for as long as possible. Admitting you need help is one of the hardest things to do.
If your nose runs and your feet smell, you were built upside down.
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zeropugs
10 years ago
She was a trooper. I was surprised she was still driving . It is sad she didn't have hospice it would have helped the whole family. I was surprised the kids were in foster care. Those two kids will have a lot of regrets for not spending more time with her . Those kids should have had some kind of counseling to help them cope .
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