23. Silence
gs: Asante Jones (EMT) Keaton Tyndall (Arbus twin (God)) Kylie Tyndall (Arbus twin (God)) Mark Totty (Det. Carlisle) Christopher Marquette (Adam Rove) Becky Wahlstrom (Grace Polk)

When the hospitalized Joan is diagnosed with Lyme disease, she begins to question if she's been seeing God or merely experiencing the hallucinations that can be symptomatic of her condition...

Upon hearing that Joan may have been suffering from the symptoms of Lyme Disease for months, a somewhat relieved Will and Helen believe this news may explain Joan's mood swings and atypical behavior, while a concerned Adam wonders if Joan will be different upon her recovery. Meanwhile, the hospitalized Joan experiences a crisis of faith -- and considers revealing to someone close to her that she's been talking to God. In separate circumstances, Helen and Will begin to rethink their belief systems after, respectively, experiencing spiritual dreams and miraculous events.

When I first saw this thread I thought hey, they're going to raise public awareness. But after readingn teh synopsis,it looks like everybody is going to think that hallucinations are the norm and all lymies are nutcases.

That's gonna really help our cause to be heard.

I'm all for getting Lyme in the public's attention, but I'm concerned that Joan will be cured pretty easily by the end of the show, thereby removing Lyme as the cause of her hallucinations. So it's good that people will see that Lyme can cause some devastating symptoms. But it's bad if the public thinks we can be cured in an hour.

I'm reluctant to tell friends about the show. I'm going to watch and record. If it's good, then I might pass around the tape.

The other, altho hallucinations don't seem to be one of the more common lyme symptoms, it was one of Amy Tan's, and she wrote about her experience with lyme in her newest book.

So...in both cases....the hollywood scene may have fed the episode.

This episode is the season finale....
so maybe Joan won't be cured that quick.

In any case, whether the show handles this issue well or badly, I want to point out that Lymenet will probably experience an influx of people seeking info about Lyme after the show airs. Hope you guys are ready, because this could be a fantastic opportunity to educate people. I'm hoping I have the energy to do my part.

Edited to add: CBS has a page for JoA, and at the bottom there is a link for feedback. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/joan_of_arcadia/

I am not really able to watch TV (due to a really bad herx -- no focus/concentration) but I had the TV on while the episode aired and would like to add my two cents.....

Anyone?

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"We are, each of us, angels with only one wing. And we can only fly embracing each other."

I didn't have high expectations, and I'm glad for that.

The show portrayed Lyme as going from a rash quickly to flu and hallucinations and then passing out and in the hospital. Of course the first doctor she saw diagnosed Lyme and she was to be cured for sure! One night in the hospital and all would be well.

Hey, it isn't possible to portray Lyme in one episode like this and be the least bit accurate.

Unfortunately, they didn't even touch on the joint pain, fatigue, etc. They made it look like the worst symptom is hallucinations. What a hoot.

It would have been really great if they would have at least mentioned where people could get help if they experienced the real symptoms of Lyme.

That's t.v. for ya.

The reason that they mainly only talked about the hallucinations is because all season Joan has been 'seeing' God, so they were trying to give a possible reason to her parents and the audience. I think while trying to get some lyme awareness out there.

In an hour show about a kid who talks to God I don't think they could have done a whole lot more - though I do wish they would have said something about how long it could take to be cured if thats even possible.

What i didn't understand was why her parents were hallucinating. That hasn't happened on the show before (when i have seen it).

what I didn't like however, is that the doctor only talked about it as if it were a psychological disorder...the dr. said she would have had cognitive problems, memory loss, could have had hallucinations, and then full blown mental confusion and breakdown...I'm sure my employer whom I" still work for if he was watching, was thrilled to hear THAT part! I wish they could have mentioned some of the other sysmoms too, like fatigue, or numbness and tingling, or that it can mimic other stuff like ms etc...not just jump from flu symtoms to all this mental stuff...

that's the only part i didnt' like. it made it sound like everyone experiences halluncinations of god, and has 'mental' problems with lyme..not good.

But at least they DID show HOW SICK someone can get with LYME disease..nothing to laugh at, or take lightly..so that WAS good.

Lisa

I have to agree, for TV, they did ok. Good TV is rare, and this show is one of the better. I've enjoyed it this past season.

The show was intense for me tho, brought up feelings I guess, and I felt indignant and angry that she got diagnosed so darn fast, and that the disease itself was described the way it was...a little dissmissive and confusing....

Granted, it's only an hour long show and they're multiple vignettes occuring simultaneously, but it would have been nice to see the frustration of the chronic Lyme dilemma. "Joan" was lucky to catch it relatively early. Needless to say, the duck in the ER seemed so sure that abx would cure Joan w/out a hitch. Typically, no mention or worry about Babs, Bart, metals etc. Perhaps ER will do an episode about chronic Lyme where they can get technical.

Alike us all, Joan could've gone through the obligatory maddening quest for a diagnosis. For example; the school nurse tells her she had a spider bite so months go by and she get no treatment. Then when she'd plauged w/symptoms, a duck tells her she's depressed etc. Hey, It's up to the writers & producers.

On the positive side, it was a small glimpse into giving the disease broad exposure.

I also was half-expecting (or at least hoping) for a little message at the end about Lyme and with info of where to go for more info, like they often do after shows where AIDS or Cancer (or other serious diseases) are discussed. But, maybe if we write in and get the Lyme storyline extended into next season (which it looks like it will be) we can get a little message put in at the end of future episodes.

All in all, I'm glad to get a little info about Lyme out there and it wasn't really bad information, just missing a lot of important info.

--Annie

Lyme disease was not meant to be the main topic of the show. I think it was being used by the writers as the basis for a crisis of faith.

I feel that it was chosen though because it was important to someone on the production staff. The real test will be if she continues to struggle with the disease next season.

The good thing they did was to indicate that she could have had it a long time, and it will not go away overnight. The bad thing -- really bad IMO -- is to create a public association between lyme and hallucinations, mood swings, and other psych symptoms which will be difficult to shake and will damage our credibility more than it already is.

My apologies to those of you who have had significant psych sx as a result of lyme, but my sx are mainly neuromuscular and cognitive, and I struggle every day to keep my job in a high tech field for a high-profile company that has layoffs every year. My husband has been out of work for 9 months (I suspect lyme but no one will test him.)

My coworkers do know that I have lyme and next time I'm in a position for a promotion, this can be used against me, especially thanks to this show. Because for most TV viewers, if it's on TV, it's real.

We do have to remember it is TV. Writers have 1 hr. to keep the viewers.

About 1 yr. ago on learn channel had true program on whole fam infected. They lost their 6 yr. old child to lyme. Sold their 1/2 mil. home for trying to get well. Some got better others did not. It was very true & sad.

The best thing we can do, as mentiond. Give them feedback to continue. Writers are always looking for material. Also this time add at the end how lyme & co-infections undetected are devistating to many lives.

That their are many symptoms that take yrs. do dx. How it can totally change 1's life. Especially since many are not getting proper treatment.

We have a voice, lets give them the true material. Can even sent this page.

They can easily open the next season with this.

Considering that, though, I think they did an amazing job. It's true they didn't mention the physical symptoms, but most of the public already thinks of Lyme as joint or muscle pain and fatigue. We do need them to hear about the cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of Lyme.

They also did give a lot of information about not always seeing a rash and about the dormancy of the illness. Stuff that people don't generally know.

I think we should all write to CBS commending the public service that might have been done by their using Lyme disease. Then we could add how they could further do a huge public service by showing the recurrent, intractable nature of Lyme. Might even make the show more interesting. Sure as heck has made our lives more "interesting".

I agree that someone involved has probably had experience with Lyme disease. But it's also interesting that Lyme disease is probably the only illness that could fit what they wanted to do with the plot.

They needed her to have hallucinations due to a chronic problem that could be reversed - or at least the hallucinations could be stopped.

Mental illness would not have fit in because of the social stigma involved.

So when you really think of it, what other illness could fit this bill?

To me , this is a stunning realization. Why on earth don't doctors then consider Lyme disease automatically as part of the differential diagnosis when they get someone with new and severe cognitive or psychiatric problems?

Maybe the show will get a few more people to ask themselves if their or their kid's cognitive problems and mood swings are actually Lyme. I wrote to CBS to thank them.

Lately, I've been phyically much better but neurologically toast.

Strange, she's lathering up the Calamine on the EM rash at the begining of the show, yet the duck said she might have had it in her system for awhile.

Hwlatin-I grew up in Southern CA, Alhambra, to be exact, and spent much time up in the San Gabriel mountains . . . rambling thru the forest, hiking, camping, etc. Of course there are ticks up there!!! Maybe the smog factor keeps their numbers in check, and the wall to wall concrete jungle that are the cities right below those mountain ranges, may have something to do with Lyme not being too well known down there, but I could very well have gotten bit by a tick and gotten my Lyme from having gone up to the S.G mts.

That said, Arcadia, where this show was or is supposed to be located, is right up against the same mountains-the San Gabriel mt. range. I bet those kids in the show may have gone up to the mountains at some point or another, I can't really say for sure since I only saw it for the first time last night, but the Lyme premise is not too far out there, considering that if you live in Arcadia, you have probably gone to those local mountains at some time or another, even if it's just up to Mt. Baldy to ski!

Anyway, I didn't know that the Arcadia part of the title of this show meant it was supposed to be taking place in Aracadia CA. I guess I'm hooked to watching this show no matter what next season!!!

did they mention the town? I thought the police station was in dedem?

Lyme Disease is a device the writers are using to create a false plant. You see this in mystery writing quite a lot. The reader thinks he knows 'whodunnit' because all the clues point in that direction. But the payoff is when someone else is exposed as the real murderer. I wanted to write plays for stage and screen, but Lyme Disease set me back. Still, I studied the craft. I have a degree in Rhetoric.

When the false plant is created, there's a rule that good writers will follow. They will provide subtle clues. If you're paying attention, those clues will point you toward the real murderer. That's part of the entertainment is trying to figure it out.

The false plant in the episode was Lyme Disease. The clue that it isn't the culprit is that the Mom and Dad are also hallucinating. So either all three have Lyme Disease, or their house has lead paint, or God is real. Take your pick.

I'd like to comment on her symptoms as an ex-would-be writer. The writers had to compress the symptoms of Lyme Disease into one character with hallucinations being the main symptom for obvious reasons. If the writers gave Joan every symptom we have in this forum, the episode wouldn't be believable. The writer's term is verisimilitude. Also, writers compress time as well, but not for believability. They have to put as much information into short scenes as they can. They also like to be visual. That's why they showed Joan's rash when they did.

I forgive the writers, as a sufferer of Lyme Disease, for all these things. They have to be dramatic, and they were. It would be nice if they would post something about the disease. I hope they do, because here is my fear.

I'm afraid of the jokes we may have to endure if the writers don't treat Lyme Disease seriously. Be careful. When you tell someone you have Lyme Disease, the response might be this. "Hey! Can you ask God for some nice weather on Saturday? I have a tee time at 1."

quote:

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Originally posted by dulcamara:
JoA takes place in the fictional city of Arcadia, Maryland. Ironically, the unnamed hospital Joan was at was probably based on Johns Hopkins.

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If all of the above is correct, then the part about her being dxd in Johns Hopkins is a REAL S-T-R-E-T-C-H-!!! Never would happen in a million years!

It was disturbing to hear the doctor mention in a way (or maybe it was the way I took it) that abx would be started and everything would be ok.

Since the show is based on her speaking to God I do not see how they can dismiss the whole season as to her imagining this. And her mother.

Unless......the next season goes into how diffulcult Lyme is and the fact that it can be passed onto your children.

That probably will not happen. Cliff hangers.....We have to wait.

I hope it is not all chaulked up to;
A rash, mood swings, flu symptoms and a doctor saying "good thing it was caught now, years ago they would have marked her crazy"

Hopefully someone on this show has a personal experience with it and wants to get the serious side of the this disease out.

If the next show has her well after an abx IV and life goes on, I think we all are just going to puke.

Hopefully, it will show the struggle, the pain, the confusing protocols, the expensive test, meds and God forbid.....The government.

Depends on how much CBS wants to rock the boat. If they really dug their heels in and used this program to promote Lyme awareness they could hit top ratings. I would bet money on it.

If they used it just as a subject line to end the season to get a good audience for the next season and cure her quickly next season......I would think it would hurt them more than boost the ratings with an on going story of Lyme.

If they end it to quickly it also leaves the public with the wrong impression of "That tick disease that is cured with abx".

We all know better than that. Send CBS emails and voice our concerns.

[This message has been edited by Kathy Boss (edited 23 May 2004).]