Customer Reviews

"...First Do No Harm"

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

After reading the above review from the medical student, I feel even more compelled to encourage people to see this film. The lesson taught by this film is simple - educate yourself and your family on health. Medicine has helped millions of people and will continue to do so. However, prescription medication is not the only solution! This film was disturbing, thought-provoking and emotional. It will make you smile, cry and get angry as hell.

A friend from church loaned me this video to watch this weekend. She said when she saw it, it reminded her of us. I have a 5 year old son that has a seizure disorder (never diagnosed as epilepsy) yet no doctor has ever been able to figure out the cause. When he was 3 he went over 15 months without a seizure and was even taken off all seizure medication then almost 1 year later he started having multiple seizures of all types. He was hospitalized quite a bit within a 30 day period. He had all sorts of tests and they still couldn't figure anything out. One visit landed him in the PICU because he was having a focal seizure and quit breathing. Our lives were turned upside down.

Watching this movie was like watching re-runs of that time. The behavior issues from the new meds (which kept getting him sent home from school). He use to be in regular room Kindergarten and now he is in Special Ed full time. He was also taking 7 different prescriptions a day (this also because he is ADHD on top of this). 2 meds for seizures, 3 meds for ADHD and 2 meds to offset the affects of all of the other meds (way too many for liking) so we took him off of the 2 meds for the side affects.

My son was watching the part of the movie when the wheeled in the bed with the bubble top and he said "that's my bed!" Our hospital visits were nightmares because they had to pump him full of a valuum to stop the seizures but then he would be physically and verbally out of control for atleast 24 consecutive hours after he pulled out of his Postictal stage.

I just have to commend the producer of this movie for the work done because those who have never experienced this will never understand. This movie was more real than anyone will know. It not only addresses the medical part but the home environment and how hard it is. I have 2 daughters whose ages are comparable to Robbie's brother and sister and, yes, it was vey hard on them because everything we did from that point on revolved around my son.

We are one of the luckier ones because we have managed to get the worse seizures under control. He still has partials that cause him headaches, drowsiness, nauseousness, tremors and in a few cases his legs refused to hold him. I still don't think he is on the right medication and I don't know if the Ketogenic diet would be right for him, but for now he back at school and has a great teacher who works with him when he has his "episodes" and has to sleep for over an hour to recover during class. What I appreciate is the knowing that there is an alternative if the medications don't work, because I know my Pedicatric Neuroligst hasn't said a word to us about it.

My hat is off to you! Thank you.

This is a GREAT movie! I would encourage EVERYONE to see this one... even if you have never even known someone with this condition, you should buy this movie. There are not enough movies like this one out there. We need to support this type of film making. I don't want to give the plot of the movie away, so I won't go into great detail. Watching this movie gives me hope. Hope for so many people out there with this illness. Hope that they or someone close to them will watch this and will give this diet a try. Don't give up hope. Thank you to whomever made this film possible.

You will watch this movie and be unable to believe that it was made for television, it is so well done. A labor of love for director Jim Abrahams whose own son suffered from epilepsy helped by alternative medicine, this is the story of a farmer (Ward) and his wife (the ever wonderful Streep making a rare television appearance) whose youngest son, Robbie (Adkins) developes epilepsy. Michael Yarmush also fares well in his role as Robbie's older brother. Frank telling of a child's illness and its profound effect on a family.

This is an excellent movie for anyone in the healthcare field to learn more on ethics. The story is awsome and the actors give their all to tell this increditable story and how the healthcare workers can be wrong and need to listen to the parents who are with their childern more than they are.

As I student studying to be a pediatric neurologist, this movie changed my life. I know that what I have seen in this film will change the way I think about what's really behind medicine.

This was a great movie. I think I burst out crying every five minutes from beginning to end. Keep a box of tissues nearby! The acting was superb, so well done that it felt very real. And it is real--it's a true story, and the true story of many people in the world who are going through the same things that the characters in this film faced.

This movie is an inspiration to all; to medical workers or families of children with handicaps, even to someone who just needs to see how courage, faith and love can make dreams come true.

Any person who has epilepsy or any other seizure disorder or loves someone that does should see it. The acting is fantastic and the story is eye opening. This movie moved me and changed the path I was on. It has deeply impacted my life for the better.