Call the Midwife 4.05
Feb. 17th, 2015 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAm real life busy, so in all brevity:
Having read in a (German) book about just such a case - baby had brittle bone disease, and before that was diagnosed everyone thought the parents must have hurt it which was why it was taken away, painful drama ensued - I did figure out what was going on somewhat early, but that didn't make it less well played and painfully compelling to watch. You can't win in such a situation: the welfare of the child must come first, and if you do nothing when a baby you treat keeps getting fractures, you might ignore horrible child abuse going on. And that disease is so rare that it really isn't a likely suspicion. Otoh, how terrible for the parents to not only watch their baby suffer inexplicably but getting accused of maltreating it!
This also leads in the episode touching on Patrick's post war breakdown again, for the first time since that particular part of this backstory was introduced, and offers Shelagh another opportunity to work as a nurse once more. Guys, just make it official and let her return to this job full time, because patients looking down on her as a "receptionist" is just infuriating to watch. (Mind you, this instance also meant another Shelagh and Sister Julienne scene , and I always love those.) (Also, Timothy taking care of his father was lovely. He's going to make a great doctor himself.)
Barbara's storyline was the first time since the pilot (I think, but I might be forgetting something) that we had an expectant mother unable to speak English. It showcased Barbara as practical and compassionate at the same time in tracking down Ameera (spelling?), finding a translator in addition to Ameera's son and offering her professional assistance. Ameera thanking Barbara not only for this but also for her company since she's missed interaction with other women was another neat touch, since female companionship is one of this show's big themes.
Cynthia comes back as Sister Mary Cynthia (and we also briefly see Sister Evangelina, also soon to come back recovered), but sadly plays mainly as a part of Trixie's ongoing crisis. Cynthia was one of Trixie's oldest friends at Nonnatus House, and the scene where Trixie seeks out Cynthia to show her an old photo of them she's just found (and probably just wants to talk to her friend), finds her praying and leaves again before Cynthia notices her is so sad. Undoubtedly Cynthia would have been happy to talk to Trixie - if Trixie had only stayed. But Trixie, in her current state, feels too alienated by Cynthia's changed circumstances to confide in her anymore. She doesn't confide in a more recent friend like Patsy, either, and while she stops avoiding Tom and eventually has a conversation with him doesn't tell him their breakup is only part of her problems, and so at the end of the episode she loses her battle and starts to drink again. It's pretty realistic in terms of depression and alcoholism but heartrendering to watch.
Having read in a (German) book about just such a case - baby had brittle bone disease, and before that was diagnosed everyone thought the parents must have hurt it which was why it was taken away, painful drama ensued - I did figure out what was going on somewhat early, but that didn't make it less well played and painfully compelling to watch. You can't win in such a situation: the welfare of the child must come first, and if you do nothing when a baby you treat keeps getting fractures, you might ignore horrible child abuse going on. And that disease is so rare that it really isn't a likely suspicion. Otoh, how terrible for the parents to not only watch their baby suffer inexplicably but getting accused of maltreating it!
This also leads in the episode touching on Patrick's post war breakdown again, for the first time since that particular part of this backstory was introduced, and offers Shelagh another opportunity to work as a nurse once more. Guys, just make it official and let her return to this job full time, because patients looking down on her as a "receptionist" is just infuriating to watch. (Mind you, this instance also meant another Shelagh and Sister Julienne scene , and I always love those.) (Also, Timothy taking care of his father was lovely. He's going to make a great doctor himself.)
Barbara's storyline was the first time since the pilot (I think, but I might be forgetting something) that we had an expectant mother unable to speak English. It showcased Barbara as practical and compassionate at the same time in tracking down Ameera (spelling?), finding a translator in addition to Ameera's son and offering her professional assistance. Ameera thanking Barbara not only for this but also for her company since she's missed interaction with other women was another neat touch, since female companionship is one of this show's big themes.
Cynthia comes back as Sister Mary Cynthia (and we also briefly see Sister Evangelina, also soon to come back recovered), but sadly plays mainly as a part of Trixie's ongoing crisis. Cynthia was one of Trixie's oldest friends at Nonnatus House, and the scene where Trixie seeks out Cynthia to show her an old photo of them she's just found (and probably just wants to talk to her friend), finds her praying and leaves again before Cynthia notices her is so sad. Undoubtedly Cynthia would have been happy to talk to Trixie - if Trixie had only stayed. But Trixie, in her current state, feels too alienated by Cynthia's changed circumstances to confide in her anymore. She doesn't confide in a more recent friend like Patsy, either, and while she stops avoiding Tom and eventually has a conversation with him doesn't tell him their breakup is only part of her problems, and so at the end of the episode she loses her battle and starts to drink again. It's pretty realistic in terms of depression and alcoholism but heartrendering to watch.
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Date: 2015-02-17 03:51 pm (UTC)When Patrick was questioning himself over it, I just kept muttering "But you diagnosed it really fast compared to my grandparents!", which didn't help much but still. I've never thought much before about how those doctors felt after they worked out what was wrong with my uncle.
(My family got super lucky - I have two uncles with it. Every doctor who takes my medical history is utterly fascinated by us.)
Sister Julienne's warning about Raymond's prognosis also broke my heart - what they didn't say is that the parents were probably warned Raymond wouldn't survive to adulthood. Neither of my uncles were supposed to. One died just before his 60th birthday, and the other one turned 60 last year. He's one of the oldest surviving OI babies around. Nobody knows what old age will do to him. Raymond possibly did make it to adulthood, assuming he didn't fracture anything like his neck and didn't get any infections from his fractures.
It was just...so incredibly well done. And very hard to watch.
The other plots, with Trixie and with Barbara, were also very good and Trixie's story continues to be difficult to watch at times because it's so real. But it was the OI one that got me balling this week, for obvious reasons.
And people still dismiss Call the Midwife as cosy drama *sigh*
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Date: 2015-02-17 05:12 pm (UTC)That's fascinating about your uncles - and how rare that they both beat the odds and reached their late 50s!
The first time I heard about this illness was in the movie Unbreakable, of all the things. And then in a book about child abuse where it was named as one of the few instances where intervening turned out to be disastrously mistaken.
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Date: 2015-02-17 05:24 pm (UTC)This, yes. In my family, babies are endless worry until we're sure they're healthy. And even then, watch them carefully. The OI is inheritable, so when Uncle2's wife was pregnant, it was a nervous time, until we knew she was unaffected. Babies are not automatically happiness and sunshine. Sometimes they're born in a way or into a place where that's not possible.
That's fascinating about your uncles - and how rare that they both beat the odds and reached their late 50s!
The fact that they *both* beat the odds really is amazing. They've been in a lot of textbooks over the years. Uncle1 died from complications due to OI - his spine and rib cage started crumbling, and he eventually died from respiratory collapse. Uncle2 was always the more fragile one, so it's interesting that he's the one still going, although it's noticeable that his mobility is decreasing a lot now.
If Uncle2 had been born first, the docs might not have spent six months investigating my grandparents for child abuse. Uncle2 had obvious deformities from birth :-(
The first time I heard about this illness was in the movie Unbreakable, of all the things.
Most people who have actually heard of it, that's where they learned about it. Even doctors rarely see it. None of my rheumatologists have ever seen it, and they're the speciality that usually deals with it, because OI is a connective tissue disorder. OI kids will see a bone surgeon when they have active fractures, but it's the rheumy who deals with the day-to-day management.
It's why I felt so sad for Patrick second-guessing himself, even though it probably does happen for any doctor in this situation. OI is never the first thought because it's so incredibly rare. Child abuse is usually the right conclusion.
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Date: 2015-02-17 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-17 07:49 pm (UTC)They've tackled his storyline in that regard beautifully. I really appreciated it, and the scene where he sees how much his patients care had me tearing up.
Shelagh continues to be one of my favourites for so many reasons.
But if she were able, she wouldn't be so much caught up in the spiral of feeling unworthy and self-medication she's in.
I thought that made a good contrast - Patrick being open and letting Shelagh know he needed help, while Trixie hasn't reached that stage yet. There's no doubt in my mind that her drink problem is rooted in a huge tangle of depression and self-loathing that's been building for a long time. And that she's spent so many years being the pretty, smiley, cheerful one, and that's contributing to her inability to reach out. She's got this mindset that she must be happy for everyone and it's trapping her.
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Date: 2015-02-18 06:28 am (UTC)Shelagh is wonderful. Also, she and Patrick as well as Chummy & Peter are great counterarguments to that old cliché (sadly still widely believed) that couples cease to be interesting the moment the UST is resolved and they get together.
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Date: 2015-02-18 12:58 pm (UTC)I feel like that's where it started, and she doesn't know how to break that cycle now.
she and Patrick as well as Chummy & Peter are great counterarguments to that old cliché (sadly still widely believed) that couples cease to be interesting the moment the UST is resolved and they get together
That old cliche happens because writers can't seem to to figure out how to write couples in an interesting way once they're established, without writing their breakup *sigh* Call the Midwife is doing a fantastic job with both couples.
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Date: 2015-02-18 07:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-18 12:54 pm (UTC)I'm wondering whether the storyline on Grey's Anatomy will help with recognition, although I haven't dared to watch it to find out how they're handling it. I'm suspecting it's not the most sensitive portrayal :-(
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Date: 2015-02-17 08:45 pm (UTC)Btw, when Sister Julienne spoke of the baby's bleak future, while I knew she was likely right, I also thought, "Then again, Rick Howland's doing OK..."
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Date: 2015-02-18 05:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-02-18 09:44 am (UTC)I mean, I don't want to minimize the physical trouble that he's probably had and that other people with OI (some with more severe forms, even) have had, but it's still possible to be awesome, y'know?
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Date: 2015-02-18 10:24 am (UTC)