A Few Words...

What is written here is my opinion and personal experience only. I am not qualified to give advice - medical, legal, or otherwise. Please be responsible and do your own research regarding treatments, diets, doctors, and alternative therapies.

Friday, May 13, 2011

We Are

We were channel-surfing last night and came across an interview with Tom Shadyac, director of films like Ace Ventura, Patch Adams, and Bruce Almighty. He was talking about his new documentary =>


The Film | I AM The Documentary | Official Site

I couldn't help but see a parallel between what he has been through and what many of us with Meniere's have felt at times. Coping with a life-altering condition can end up resulting in a paradigm shift that can lead to something very positive and worthwhile.

Here's a clip from the site basically summarizing the part of the interview I saw:


But, at this critical juncture, Shadyac suffered an injury that changed everything. “In 2007, I got into a bike accident which left me with Post Concussion Syndrome, a condition where the symptoms of the original concussion don’t go away.” These symptoms include intense and painful reactions to light and sound, severe mood swings, and a constant ringing sound in the head. Shadyac tried every manner of treatment, traditional and alternative, but nothing worked. He suffered months of isolation and pain, and finally reached a point where he welcomed death as a release. “I simply didn’t think I was going to make it,” he admits.
But, as Shadyac wisely points out, “Death can be a very powerful motivator.” Confronting his own mortality, he asked himself, “If this is it for me – if I really am going to die – what do I want to say before I go? What will be my last testament?” It was Shadyac’s modern day dark night of soul and out of it, I AM was born. Thankfully, almost miraculously, his PCS symptoms began to recede, allowing him to travel and use his movie-making skills to explore the philosophical questions that inhabited him, and to communicate his findings in a lively, humorous, intellectually-challenging, and emotionally-charged film.

And a clip from The Oprah Show.

2 comments:

  1. this movie looks so interesting! too bad that here in n.c. it's only playing in a few places. the closest place is an hour away. although that's in one of my favorite cities-asheville! we can't go this weekend and i'm afraid we may miss it. if you see it, let us know what you think of it if you don't mind. i've given my bro-in-law that lives out your way a heads up about it and he's really excited to go see it.
    thanks for sharing!

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  2. I will give a review if I get around to seeing it before it is released on DVD. If you hear about it before me, fill me in!

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