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       #Post#: 368--------------------------------------------------
       WHEN I WALK (2013)
       By: agate Date: June 27, 2014, 9:20 am
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       WHEN I WALK (2013 documentary)
       Jason Da Silva, a filmmaker by occupation, was diagnosed with
       primary progressive multiple sclerosis in 2006,  when he was 25.
       He soon became severely affected, rapidly losing the use of his
       legs.  As he has proceeded over several years he made this film,
       which was aired on the PBS "Point of View" series recently and
       is available in streaming video format for a limited time.
       Jason is shown visiting Lourdes in the hope of a miracle cure.
       He also tries the CCSVI procedure that enjoyed a brief
       popularity a couple of years ago--a procedure based on the
       theory that clogged veins ("chronic cerebrospinal venous
       insufficiency"), once reamed out, can relieve the symptoms of
       MS.  Neither Lourdes nor CCSVI did much for Jason.
       He meets Alice, the young woman he eventually marries. Alice's
       mother has MS, and by the time Jason meets Alice, he is already
       using a scooter.  He asks her several "what-if" questions,
       including "What if I can't feed myself?" She doesn't have a
       ready answer for him. He sees himself as probably not living
       past 50.
       We see the couple through her pregnancy and miscarriage, and
       Alice at one point expresses the burnout she's feeling as his
       constant caregiver, pointing out that normally she'd go hiking
       several times a year but now she hasn't been hiking in two
       years. She takes off for a hiking trip in Utah (she and Jason
       live in New York City).  Presumably Jason is in the care of his
       mother and grandmother, who appear in the movie as well.
       Sometimes the dialogue is incoherent but this is a movie that
       makes many important points about a chronic neurological
       disorder, about the way it needs to be addressed many times a
       day, every day, as the person adapts to new ways of getting
       dressed, eating, using a computer.
       He makes the point that "there are no cabs in New York for
       people in wheelchairs," although this is not exactly what the
       situation is. The movie makes clear that there are cabs for
       people in wheelchairs but you have to hail them, and they are
       hard to find because there aren't many of them.
       Presumably he's lamenting the lack of transportation without any
       waiting time. New York, like most metropolitan areas now, has a
       paratransit system designed to meet the needs of
       mobility-impaired persons who need door-to-door transportation
       and/or lift-equipped vans. However, the rides have to be
       scheduled a day or two in advance.
       Omitting mention of this system, which is very widely used in
       any large city, indicates that Jason is a young man with high
       expectations when it comes to getting from point A to point B
       with little advance planning. He could be taken to task for
       misleading his audience in this way, but he's a young man and
       eager to get on with his life without being hampered by his
       disability.
       Jason Da Silva has done the world a favor by making this movie.
       He has been willing to share personal details of his life. It
       took courage to make this film, and I hope that the audience
       comes away with a better understanding of how devastating a
       disorder MS can be.
       One can only hope that Jason, who must now be only about 32,
       will have a long and happy life ahead of him in spite of his
       disease.
       #Post#: 978--------------------------------------------------
       Re: WHEN I WALK (2013)
       By: agate Date: October 20, 2015, 12:33 am
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       "When I Walk" has won an Emmy award.  More about it in this
       press release (September 30):
  HTML http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/pressroom/2015/09/pov-films-win-two-news-documentary-emmy-awards/
  HTML http://www.pbs.org/pov/blog/pressroom/2015/09/pov-films-win-two-news-documentary-emmy-awards/
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