MS on Television: The Night Shift, part 2

I expected the MS storyline on The Night Shift to fizzle away and I didn't think we'd ever see the character again, but she's back. And the MS storyline is as ridiculous as ever, if not more so.

When we left off, the doc was off for "treatment" and said that as soon as her treatment was done, she'd be back on the ground in Syria. Her "treatment" now apparently "done," she shows up in Texas instead. Her main purpose is to be a source of conflict as a love interest for a main character doc who is still in love with another main character doc. So I get that this MS storyline is just a means to that end, but come on! You guys can do better.

I waited on bated breath to see if her MS or her mysterious treatment would come up at all. She looked good  (Did I just pull the dreaded "but you look so good!"??? Sorry, my bad, I should know better.), not having any of the obvious physical signs she was showing before. In fact, she was training people on combat medicine and running through an actual active shooter situation. The "treatment" must have worked like a charm!

running while loaded down with gear while an active shooter is on the loose
#TakeThatMS

I was surprised when her health did come up. Later in the episode, she apologizes to the main character doc who is the ex of her current love interest, saying "Sorry, I'm peevish these days. My treatments aren't going well." [This character has never been anything other than peevish, as far as I'm concerned.]

Other doc asks, "Treatments?

She says, "I have MS. TC didn't tell you?"

"Uh, no. He didn't. Do you mind me asking what kind of medications you're taking?"

Then another doc interrupts them and I yell at the TV because I also want to know the answer to that question!

But later, they talk again. We never learn what her mysterious treatment is or exactly why/how it is not going well. (Again, she seems to be functioning quite well, certainly better than before!)

"So does TC know the treatment's not working?"

"Not the extent, but there's nothing he could do. God knows he'd try."

The episode ends with her going back to do even more dangerous medicine on the ground in Syria. Will we ever see her again? I'd bet no, but I didn't think we'd see her in this episode.

My problems with this episode:

-The MS is just the means to a stupid end. It has no point (there's enough stupid drama and conflict in this love storyline...like the fact that she's technically still married to someone else!) but if MS is going to be used, at least use it responsibly! Medical dramas, especially, have something of a responsibility when portraying real life diseases. Some of them take this responsibility more seriously than others. MS has come up at least once on all of the medical dramas and while it rarely leaves me fully satisfied, it usually doesn't piss me off as much as this one does. And a non-medical show (The West Wing) is still the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned, for an accurate and responsible portrayal of MS.

-It's been maybe a few weeks! So how does she know the treatment isn't working? She seems to be doing significantly better physically than she was pre-treatment, so she's probably not having an exacerbation. I've been told that it can take months for MS drugs to really take effect. I've stopped MS drugs after a few months because they clearly weren't working but this clearly has not been even that long.

-I've taken flak for calling into question whether someone with MS should be president in relation to The West Wing (given the current political reality, I SO TAKE THAT BACK) but I'm REALLY calling into question whether someone with the specific challenges this fictional MS patient is having doing the kind of medicine she is doing. She's in the operating room on the front line in Syria and she can't really feel or control her fingers. She is putting other lives at risk in a stupid way. There are ways for her to contribute within the realm of medicine despite the MS.

MS on Television: The Night Shift

This is a new series for the blog. I watch a lot of television, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I'm happy to be living in this golden era of TV. Watching shows is actually a solid part of my health and wellness plan. Seriously! Distraction is a useful tool that I've had recommended to me by several different doctors. When my pain is really bad, it doesn't always fully work, but it can often help. I read as well, but I can't always focus my mind or my eyes the way I need to, but I can handle television.

MS comes up not as infrequently as you might expect, and quite often, there is something wrong with the way the disease is discussed. Often, this means bad or false information. I don't expect your minor storyline to be a long-form presentation on the disease in great detail, but if you're going to bring it up, at least have it be believable! And if you use your platform to show the disease in a true-to-life light, I will love you for it forever. Please watch The West Wing for some ideas on how to do it (mostly) right.

This series will highlight every time (or most times, anyway) that MS comes up on a tv show I watch. If you have any ideas for a fun MS-themed rating system I can use, let me know. Like a scale of five neurons? Or two myelin sheaths up or down? I know I have clever friends and readers - help a girl out.

First up, one of my all-time favorite genres: medical shows. I will watch literally any medical drama, even the bad ones. Most of them, I will love. NBC's The Night Shift is one that I love. It is what it is, which is a formulaic medical show, but it has heart and some great characters.

In Season 4 Episode 5, we see an army medic secretly shooting up with drugs and then we see her having some symptoms like tremors in an intense operating room situation. They are in Iraq or somewhere like that. One of the show's main characters, a doctor named TC later says to her: "Shooting up earlier, patchy numbness, weakness, and tremors How long have you had MS?"

She responds: "A while. I've been controlling it with steroids."

He says, "I can get you the best treatment." She insists that she just wants to keep doing her work, work that matters, says that she's no good to anyone laying in a hospital bed.

Later, she agrees to get treatment but then says, "The minute my treatment is done, I'm coming right back here."

This doesn't deserve a failing grade, but here are my issues with this storyline:

• Is shooting up steroids a thing? I mean, high dose relapse steroids only come in oral and intravenous doses over a period of days, as far as I know. (Okay, I just looked it up, and it is a thing, but I don't think it's a thing typically or ever used for MS, probably because you won't be getting a high enough dose to make a difference.)
• Also, a medical professional should know that not many MS treatments involve laying in a hospital bed. Some do, but not the majority, certainly not as a first course of action.
• Treatment for MS isn't a thing that is one-and-done. Like, see ya! I'm going to go get rid of this disease and BRB! We wish.
• The other symptoms make sense, but how TC adds shooting up to the list of things that made it obvious she had MS amused me.

I pride myself on diagnosing the characters on medical shows (you see a handful of the same weird/rare disease cases on every single medical show) but I did not think MS with this character, so I was surprised at TC's instant and easy diagnosis. I think the differential diagnosis would have involved a lot of other potential conditions and MS wasn't necessarily super obvious. (Other than the fact that she was a woman of a younger age, I guess. That would make MS rise to the top.)

Let me know if you see MS mentioned on a tv show and I'll add it to the series! And 

S.
with me.
I can get you the best treatment.
[Sighs] I just want to do my work.
That's all that matters.
I-I'm here now.
I'm no good to anyone in a hospital bed.
You were no 

Read more: http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-night-shift-2014&episode=s04e05