I can't believe I am writing this, but I guess it is time to get over my shyness and reservation in sharing this with our community. Awhile back there was a post encouraging parents to write to the Dr. Phil Show for a medical topic show. I almost did not write, but thought, what the heck, I am always up for awareness. About four days later I received a phone call from Paramount Studios and spoke at length with an associate producer from the Dr. Phil Show. For a week they called a few times each day and we would chat about various things. Before I knew it, the producer called a few times and both the assoc. prod. and producer was soon speaking with my husband and daughter. I knew they were speaking to many other families, so I still didn’t think too much of it, but somehow it seemed like we kept making the cuts.
We quickly learned how fast Hollywood moves....we found out we were chosen on a Tuesday, the film crew arrived on Thursday, and by the following Tuesday they were flying our family out to Hollywood. The Producer, Associate Producer and staff were all WONDERFUL to work with. They were just so awesome! All of this could make one just a wee bit nervous, but they were all just so nice and comforting. They spoiled us rotten with amazing hotel accommodations, food and top of the line transportation. My husband even had a stretch limo all to himself on his return to the airport. He deserved it after what I got him into!
So during the filming with Dr. Phil all I basically did was cry and cry. I knew it would be a very emotional experience for me, but I had no idea that so many emotions would suddenly come to the surface. I just balled like a little girl. My family and teenage daughter had lots of fun making fun of me after the show because of all the dramatic and funny facial expressions I made. Not exactly the way one would like to see him or herself on national TV. Plus, I am not portrayed in the most favorable light and look like a pretty pathetic mom. Oh well, I knew getting into this that it would be about drama, and that our strengths as a family or as individuals would by no means be highlighted in the show and they certainly were not.
I wish the show was specifically about the injury, but the show just focuses on relationships and how this has impacted the family, in particular mom. Dr. Phil did learn to say Brachial Plexus Injuries for the first time in his life, although he said it paralyzed the shoulder, and somehow left out the arm
. Oh well, Hollywood usually only gives you half the story. Viewers (which I was told include 5-6 million people) will get a personal glimpse into the pain, hurt and sadness that such an injury can cause in a family, and they will learn that babies can being seriously injured at birth, so that makes my personal vulnerability and the risk we took worthwhile. By the way, it was funny, because one of the producers spent some time on the UBPN website gathering information and reading the message board. He even read the Dr. Phil post and said, “looks like we caused a little commotion over there”. I assured him, nothing new…..drama and controversy have visited these boards on more than one occasion! Funny, since we never really know who may be lurking around here.
Anyways, that’s our story for now.
Take Care,
Lisa