For my third neuro note, I decided to write about the movie, Love & Other Drugs. This movie is about a pharmaceutical rep, Jamie, who, while trying to sell prescription drugs to a doctor, meets Maggie, a 26 year old who was just recently diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease. I chose this movie because I think it paints a picture of Parkinson's that we normally don't associate with the disease. The average age of onset for Parkinson's is 60 years old, but anyone at any age can develop this terrible disease. I think it does a great job of representing those young people out there getting diagnosed with Parkinson's every day that we don't usually think about because we sometimes think of it as an "old person's disease."
After Jamie and Maggie meet, the movie is centered on their relationship. In the beginning, Maggie is seen doing some of her favorite occupations such as taking photographs and painting, but then we see some of her early onset symptoms such as resting tremors, fatigue, loss of energy, and muscle weakness that impact her ability to do these and other simple everyday activities such as opening a Pop-tart wrapper, pouring liquids without spilling them, opening her pill bottles, getting up out of bed, and even walking. As the movie goes on, the two end up falling in love, but Maggie pushes Jamie farther away as he tries to get closer to her for multiple reasons. She believes that she is a strong, independent woman who doesn't need help from anyone, and she also doesn't want to bring Jamie into the wild ride that Parkinson's will eventually cause in her life. She knew the disease would get worse, so she pushed away anyone who got close to her because she thought she was protecting them from the bad times that were sure to come. Her outlook started to change once Jamie took Maggie to one of his pharmaceutical conventions. Maggie finds herself across the street at an "Unconvention" that was filled with people with Parkinson's disease that were sharing their stories like a sort of support group. Maggie was touched because she has always felt so alone with her disease and was scared of the unknown, but meeting those people and hearing their stories gave her hope for the future, a reminder that she is still her own person, and that she does not have to let her disease define her. This scene was such an uplifting one for me to watch because it showed just how important it is for our clients to have a support system in their lives. It is so important to be encouraging to them because there may not always be support groups that they can go to. Us OTs could be all that they have to uplift and push them to fight for themselves and their life. I truly believe that people who are more positive and want to have a high quality of life will have better outcomes in therapy.
Though this movie is technically a "chick-flick," I believe that its main message was to advocate and educate people about Parkinson's disease and how devastating it can be at any stage and any age of life. Most people, including myself, would think that stage one isn't that bad, but that's where the movie proved us wrong. Yes, someone in the early onset of PD would still be able to live almost a completely normal life with complete independence and only have slight symptoms, but the movie does a great job of showing that this disease is more than physical; it can be mental as well. I read an article about the movie that said the scene of the Parkinson's support group included actual people with the disease, not actors! One lady in particular said that the movie did a really good job in portraying that the early stages of PD come with a lot of emotions and anxiety of being sick and what's to come later on as the disease worsens. This movie made me see and think about that the terrifying unknown of having a progressive neurological disease not only effects the person diagnosed, but also their families, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, co-workers, and everyone else in their life. As OTs, I believe that knowing these things can help us be better prepared for when we may have PD clients. We talked about in class how in the early stages of Parkinson's, some of our main goals as their OT are to encourage clients to go to support groups, have them think positive thoughts, and to also have them start preparing for what's to come. It can be scary, but I believe that if we can help our clients begin preparing for how their future will look then we can help them and their family relieve some stress and anxiety of the unknown.
I definitely recommend this movie to everyone out there who is a sucker for chick-flicks like me, but also for someone who wants to learn more about how diseases like Parkinson's can take a toll on someone's life. I love how the movie advocated for those with PD, so I will too!
References:
Hathaway, A., & Gyllenhaal, J. (Actor).
Zwick, E. (Director). (2010). Love & Other Drugs [Movie].
Parkinson's
Patients Discuss 'Love & Other Drugs' (2010, November 28). In CBS
Pittsburgh. Retrieved from https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2010/11/28/parkinsons-patients-discuss-love-other-drugs/
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