Last week’s W5 dealt with the fallout of two very different situations. The first half hour dealt with two Newfoundland families, the Browne’s and the Callahan’s, who lost loved ones due to mistakes made by Eastern Health’s emergency room doctors. The segment was hosted by Victor Malarek.
The Browne’s lost their sister and daughter Paula nearly 8 years ago and although much time has passed this family’s grief is still very fresh. It’s become impossible for them to move on because her death has become an ongoing investigation. An Emergency Room employee named ‘Tom’ spoke to the family after Paula died and also to W5 on the condition that his identity is concealed. ‘Tom’ called the Browne’s and told them that their loved one died because the ER doctor administered the medication Verapamil to slow her heart rate down which was elevated when she was checked during admission. But with a blood clot confirmed in her lung, the medication was the equivalent of a “lethal injection” Tom says.
Victor then spoke to Donna White, the daughter of Ellen Callahan who died after being admitted into the hospital for internal bleeding. Incredibly, Ellen was administered blood thinners for her condition, even after documented protests from the nursing staff on duty that night. According to Tom the doctor outright ignored their concerns and proceeded with this counterintuitive method of treatment that also proved fatal.
The journalism in this segment, and portrayed in the next, was in my opinion very admirable. I felt inspired and a little awkward at the very direct questions put toward Vickie Kaminski, the newly instated CEO of Eastern Health with regards to the procedures and protocols for families dealing with loss. Maybe it’s my Canadian manners, who knows? But the inadequacy of her responses left me and the rest of the audience to conclude that their need to cover up truly does outweigh closure for the families.
Paula Todd had some hard hitting questions of her own for Steven Page, former front man for the Barenaked Ladies. But she didn’t have to dig too hard to reveal the underlying bitterness, passive-aggression and arrogance in Page that this interview revealed. As her narration told us, Steven Page had it all and lost it. For me, the interview showed that Page is intellectually aware that he lost it all, but he hasn’t yet accepted it. I suppose it would be hard for him to accept this type of loss when the band you founded continues touring and recording with the name you helped create, and the only way he can make a name for himself is by performing songs that remain so iconic to the Barenaked Ladies history he was written out of.
I couldn’t help but feeling like these tell-alls and exposes put a chink in the Canadian armor. Of all things, we knew we had our health care system and the Barenaked Ladies as part of our identity. Now what? We’re left with conspiring doctors and an alcoholic/coke-head as a fallen star. No country’s perfect (although I think Canada is pretty darn close) but if W5 aims to knock people like me off our Royal Canadian Mounted high-horses...on second thought I have to say I kind of enjoy it. Love can’t and shouldn’t be blind and this episode underscored the weaknesses that need to be strengthened in the near perfect country I call home. Page’s rise and fall are a good lesson for Canada as a whole. I think Canada is on the brink of becoming the star of the globe that Canadians know this land to be. As we rise, the nation must be mindful of these weaknesses and address them as they come up— never hide behind CEO’s like Eastern Health, or in the basement with our girlfriend like Steven Page.
Every country on this earth can say they have learned something from Great Britain and in the History Channel series Britain’s Greatest Machines, hosted by Chris Barrie, individuals watching television can learn a little more.
The first installment reviews the 1930’s- The Road to War as it’s titled, and we who weren’t living at the time get to look into the innovations of the century that were born of this country, but also the renaissance period of human creativity when it seemed improvements and inventions were popping up in all corners of the world at lightning speed.
The retrospect begins in Croydon which was the Heathrow of its time. Airlines caught the competitive fever of the decade and were all aiming for the number one spot when it came to transporting passengers over vast distances in the shortest amount of time. Here we are introduced to the D’Avalon Dragon Rapide. With the host’s British accent and his 1930s cap and vest, it almost felt like I went back in time and was looking at this groundbreaking machine, nestled in the rolling green hills, like a member of the British elite of the time. This airplane had two 14 metre wings as opposed to one like the other planes of its time and it could take 8 passengers from England to Scotland in 3 hours. It sounds quaint but I really was impressed. In 2010, where everything seems to be a “new version” of some original, to imagine what it was like for people traversing territory that was previously relegated to only birds and clouds for the first time is breathtaking. It was the first of many experiences that would teach mankind that nothing is impossible, something we’re very aware of now. And of course this plane, along with the construction lorry and the tank were all eventually perfected and utilized to varying degrees for the upcoming World War. ‘Superpowerdom’ has heavy burdens.
The feature length of the week was the 2003 success Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock. I am probably one of the last people in North America who have never seen this film, which is why I chose it. I’ve felt nauseous ever since.
First of all, I can’t believe that McDonald’s has delivery service in the US. Secondly, I cannot believe a human being can gain 17 pounds in 12 days. And finally despite the annoying music, and creepy McDonald’s figurines, this documentary has done exactly what a documentary is supposed to do: create awareness.
Spurlock’s success with this film has brought about unprecedented changes in the way the villain McDonald’s operates. We saw that he had major difficulties locating nutritional information on the menu items at virtually every restaurant in Manhattan. I can say that now in Canada, there is nutritional information listed on individual boxes and packages in every store. This has to be in relation to the backlash felt after this film, because it was never done before and it was done quite recently. Never mind that he also made an appearance on the Oprah show, and Oprah is the Queen of America.
I found this film to be terrifying, horrible, and depressing all at once. Spurlock’s persistence in his quest to prove McDonald’s to be seriously unhealthy was aggravating and exhausting. And yet it all proved worth it in the end with the success of his film and the change it brought about.
The fact that Ronald McDonald is more recognizable than Jesus Christ was very hard to swallow. But whose fault is that? Whose fault is it all? The movie asks the very relevant question of, where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin? I don’t think personal responsibility ever ends. Yes, McDonald’s is cheap, but an apple is cheaper. So are a head of broccoli and a can of tuna. The choice is always there for the individual to make and I think this film has also successfully provided a portrait of part the American consciousness in the new millennium. Litigious. Apathetic. Irresponsible.
While it may sound like I am judging, I really don’t feel like I am. As I’ve said all along, there are lessons to be learned here and lessons can’t really be categorized as good or bad. The important thing is that the lesson is learned. What I’ve watched this week has offered valuable teachings in the school of life. Documentaries are really powerful when not only individuals, but nations can learn together.
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