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112 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A vision of our future...., October 3, 2001
When I first heard this movie was going to air, I purposely skipped watching it. It was too close to home. Our little girl was battling epileptic seizures and side-effects from drugs that didn't work, but I had been told by her doctors that the Ketogenic Diet would not work for her. A couple of years went by and we happily found ourselves in the hands of a new (to us) and wonderful pediatric neurologist in Portland, Oregon. Katera was not doing well and we turned to him for help. He actually recommended the diet for her right away, much to our amazement. We researched it and decided to trust him and go for it. She started the diet in October of 2000 at age 4 and one year later, is now seizure free, off all medications and thriving. I had an opportunity to watch First Do No Harm a few months after we started the diet and was profoundly moved... although some parts were very painful reminders of where we had been. There is a scene where the little boy is continuosly seizing while all the ER staff is surrounding him, working frantically to save him, and the mom is standing helplessly by, watching in horror. It was almost like they had filmed OUR lives.... because we had been through an event just like that. I will spare you the details except to say that scene was not overly exaggerated... it really does happen. Our daughter, just like the little boy in the film, has had dangerous, life-threatening status seizures that were CAUSED by the anti-epileptic drugs that she was given to supposedly prevent seizures. I know medications can work well for some but for those who aren't so lucky, this diet is a complete miracle. It has not been easy.... it takes dedication. But, nothing is hard after what we had been through.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PASSIONATE AND EVOCATIVE, March 1, 2005
This review is from: "...First Do No Harm" (DVD)
Although one could dismiss this film as an extended commercial for the ketogenic diet, one also can't help but admit to the power the film contains. Buoyed by the incredible performance of Meryl Streep, FIRST DO NO HARM looks at our medical system and how it sometimes disregards the needs and desires of the patients and their families. Epilepsy is portrayed as a truly horrible disease, and when it attacks someone so young as little Robbie in this film, it only increases its destruction. How this affects a normal family and how they manage to cope with its repercussions is poignantly captured in this movie. Streep is brilliant as always and she is given good support from Fred Ward in one of his best performances and Allison Janney as the seemingly heartless doctor who negates the diet itself. Interspersed are "real" people who have benefitted from the diet in small roles. Little Seth Adkins is remarkable as Robbie, he truly makes us believe he has epilepsy. While it may be considered manipulative and one-sided, FIRST DO NO HARM is undeniably a powerful film.
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is MY life, October 4, 2004
This review is from: "...First Do No Harm" (DVD)
My 3,1/2 year old daughter has intractable epilepsy that has been unresponsive to drug treatment, and has experienced very [VERY}undesirable side effects from anti-epileptic drugs [aeds] Hayven has been on the ketogenic diet for 4 months now. Although she is not seizure free, we have noticed about a 65% decrease in her overall seizure activity. She used to have 12-25 "drop" [atonic]seizures a day, with almost constant "pulsing, bucking, rythmic activity' [myoclonus] Since the diet she is down to 1-2 "drops' and almost no myoclonic activity. This movie paints a very realistic picture of the lives effected by this disorder. Although I never had to get on a plane against medical advice to take my child far away for treatment, I have had to literally SCREAM at the doctors and advocate for my childs best interests. We have been fortunate enough to have found a child neurology clinic 12 miles from home where they readily offer the diet as treatment, and our particular doctor [who we had to wait 2 years to see due to the red-tape of insurance companies [[[don't even get me started!!]]]] has already started to wean her off of the 3 aeds she is currently on. This diet is very labor intensive and strict, and I can't say that is has been a picnic, but the truth is that it IS worth a try. It is helping us tremendously even though is has also been a source of severe stress.
I recommend this movie to family and friends, and care givers of epileptic patients, and I will be sending this film to Hayven's grandparents to watch so they can have a "true-life" visual of a portion of what it is like to deal with this condition.
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