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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Accuracy.

A lot of the time, diabetes portrayed on the TV screen is not accurate. They almost always end whatever scene it may be with the 'you'll never be okay' kind of thing. But once in a blue moon, there's one show that gets it right.

Body of Proof. It's a coroner crime show - the kind of thing I like. I never really watched it (there's lots of other good stuff), but my parents do. My mum told me that I should watch an episode that was on the PVR because it had something I would appreciate.

I watched it. There was a diabetic element - the lead character's daughter is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Although I wouldn't know as well as some people, they showed DKA very well and they did focus a bit on the events leading up to it (for example, missing the nail when you're hammering it into the wall). The best part, though, was at the very end. The girl is awake, scared, and confused. In a tear-jerking scene, she asked her mother how she can have diabetes. "I'm not even overweight! And now I'm going to go blind, and lose my legs..." (Sidenote: Don't quote me on this. It's just a jist.) The mother then tells her that that is not true. "Forget everything you ever knew about diabetes. Those are misconceptions. Type 1 is something completely different. It's a completely manageable condition."
The fact that they made an effort to show things right makes me incredibly happy.

It's a show that I will be watching from now on.

Endnote(s): The episode was called 'Identity', about two girls in a car accident. The awesome scene is near the end, at about 40 min. Apparently on live TV (I watched a recording) they showed a JDRF-endorsed PSA. If anybody can find it to watch somewhere, I'd love to see it.
We're not sure if the actress who plays the daughter (Mary Mouser) is diabetic - some people yay it, others nay. *Confused*.
There was only a few points of inaccuracy - apparently she had an insulin pump the next episode (still must watch). The timeline on TV shows is often skewed though, so that's okay. The only other thing that bugged me was her blood sugar - they said it was 450. It's an American show (set in Philadelphia) so I assume, using the divide by 18 rule, that her sugar was 25. I thought that DKA sugars were much higher? I was diagnosed at 26.something, with no DKA, so I don't know if it's just me or if they mixed up. But it doesn't matter - it was so accurate and happyfying, I just want to see whatever they come out with. I hope that this plot element remains and actually becomes part of the story. That would be cool.

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