A Real-Life Story; Good Enough to Launch a Television Show

A real-life experience that could inspire a television show is what we are trying to discover. I have one, a real one. Unfortunately it is not carved in the annals of world history. It is carved into the history of my wife's family.

Let me say I do not want to use my father-in-law's name. However some people will know who I am talking about.

The history:

In 1968 my wife was the second oldest, and the oldest girl, of a family of 11 children. Her dad had a nice job at a local company. Occasionally employees were asked to have an exam. In early 1968, March was the month, my father-in-law, although he wouldn't carry that title for another five years, had his exam. It revealed that he had an aneurysm of the ascending aorta. For those of you who do not know what that is his aorta had developed a balloon that could rupture and kill him at any time. Up until that time a diagnosis like that was a death sentence. Patients with that condition did nothing and waited to die.

The societal drama:

Luckily the local doctor knew of research that was being done by a famous doctor down in Houston, Texas, Dr. Michael DeBakey who now is a legend. Dr. DeBakey had developed a system whereby aneurysms were "fixed" with a Dacron tube. My wife's parents went to Houston for the pioneering open-heart surgery.

The family drama:

Because of the situation family wanted to put all the kids in a home until their parents returned. My wife at the tender age of 17 would have none of it and was able to keep the family in tact by contacting local relatives to help. However the children were emotionally sick. This surgery was so risky and so little was known and, could their father who was only about 44-years-old survive until the surgery?

The legendary, but true, story:

My father-in-law was a religious man, a very religious man. Of the 11 kids the youngest was just a baby who had not attained his first birthday. My father-in-law went to church and asked God to allow him to live until his baby was 18-years-old. In other words he asked for another lifetime.

The outcome and the story:

My father-in-law survived the surgery and came home a reasonably healthy man. Survival time was put at five years.

What is the story? Whether you're talking about transplants or risky surgeries or sudden deaths or any medical condition, there is a story about the patient but there is a bigger story about their family. How do they get through it? What changes do they have to make? What are the new roles they take on? Who breaks down? What about the spouse?

Sometimes the drama is right in front of us and we do not see it.

By the way, my father-in-law passed away in late 1985. It was right after his youngest child turned 18.

References:

Personal Experience

Encyclopedia Britannica Website, "Michael Debakey"