I think that it has been well established that I am a
complete geek. So none of you should be shocked to learn that I have a
Presidents’ Day tradition. I marathon watch the West Wing and let myself
believe—if only for a few brief hours—that I could live in the America of
Josiah Bartlet as painted by the brilliant Aaron Sorkin.
You will now be granted a brief pause to make a single
comment about my nerdishness.
Anyway… This year I watched the West Wing through a new
lens. The MS lens.
Just to recap, it is revealed after President Bartlet is
shot in the Season One cliffhanger that he has MS. This diagnosis is important
for the anesthesiologist to be aware of as he preps the President for surgery.
And that is the last we hear about it for a while until—and stay with me
here—one of his senior policy advisers think something is fishy with the Vice
President (who knows the President has MS and is not planning to run for a
second term).
Still with me?
This year as I was watching the MS storyline unfold, I found
it interesting to see the character’s reactions to hearing about President
Bartlet’s MS. At the time the show was
on the air, The West Wing was both lauded and criticized for its portrayal of
MS. But I hardly gave it a thought back then. It’s all different now.
Having once been pregnant, I am always skeptical when I hear
a story about a woman who gave birth to a healthy baby while never having known
she was pregnant. That gives me pause. I can’t imagine feeling someone playing
football with my bladder going unnoticed. I can’t wrap my brain around someone feeling
a fetus swimming around her stomach and NOT thinking that—at the very least—she probably should address that sensation with a doctor. I would certainly want
some medicinal reassurance that my appendix hadn’t become sentient.
I feel the same way with the West Wing MS President. I just
don’t buy it.
Aside—Yes, I am well aware that we are talking about a work
of fiction. Written by one of the most gifted writers alive right now, but
fiction nonetheless. But like all art, Sorkin’s writing can only be
interpreted by me through my own experiences.
Back to the Bartlet administration.
The MS Society reports that four out of ten people with MS
have either failed to disclose or outright lied about their diagnosis to
friends, family, colleagues, and their employer. The same study reported that 36 percent of MS
patients feel it has a negative impact on their inter-personal relationships.
I’ve certainly noticed that it has impacted my relationships.
So I will give President Bartlet a pass on this one. I get it. And no one—not even
the President—is under any obligation to disclose their MS (or any other health
conditions) to their employer.
Bartlet’s choice to not disclose his MS is not where I
stumble. I have a hard time with his ability to manage both his MS and the
business of the country.
Let me expound.
MS advocates loved that Sorkin gave MS to the President.
They saw it as an endorsement that a person with MS can do anything. Yay. Go MS peeps.
Except, I don’t buy it. The symptom that people with MS feel
is most debilitating is fatigue. Extreme fatigue. Our country has seen
President’s with disabilities before. FDR was in a wheelchair. JFK was in
chronic back pain and needing medication and a brace. I don’t think Bartlet’s
need for an occasional walking aid is any problem at all.
But the soul-crushing fatigue? That is where I think MS
would defeat a President. POTUS has to spend 10 to 12 hours at work each day.
No weekends off. No vacations away from responsibly. No time for a nap. I can
barely make it through my 8 hour day without having to put my head on my desk
because I don’t have the energy to keep holding it up.
Oh, and let’s not forget one of the things that exacerbates
MS symptoms. Stress. But the President never has to deal with that, right?
Yeah, I’m not buying it.
I think we should reboot some other TV series and give the
main character MS. Then depict these characters with an accurate portrayal of
life with MS. In Breaking Bad, let’s
take away Walt’s cancer and give him MS. Trouble finds him when he falls asleep
in his motor home, ruining his latest batch of Meth. Which is bad, because he
needs the cash to pay for his Avonex.
Or maybe Ross would dump Rachel forever after her MS
diagnosis because he doesn’t want to deal with a lifetime of disabilities. He
has overlooked the benefits of being able to jump the lines at an amusement
park or park close to the door at a sporting event. So the rest of the Friends series can follow Rachel as she
navigates Manhattan with a cane, endlessly having first dates.
Or even a colorful, fluffy character on Sesame Street that just randomly falls down and can’t keep her hand
from shooting forward and punching people. Actually, someone needs to make me
that puppet.