Synopsis
Diana, Princess of Wales’ many struggles with depression led to her recurring eating disorder, bulimia nervosa.
Manuel Uribe Garza, the world's fattest man, weighs 1,235 pounds, his morbid obesity largely attributing to challenges he faces like inability to move and walk.
Kurt Cobain, an American musician, best known for his roles as lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the rock band Nirvana, struggled with severe despondency, persistent bronchitis, and acute physical pain due to an undiagnosed long-standing stomach affliction—many doctors guessing that it was either a result of some form of childhood disease or stress related, with none being able to pinpoint the specific cause by the time of his death.
Whether dis-ease of the mind causes disease in the body, or the reverse, the public’s fascination with medical mysteries is at an all-time high as they continue to give audience to such televised docu-dramas as Discovery Health, Diagnosis Unknown, and Mystery Diagnosis.
Life Without A Fork is an 110-minute runtime documentary film that follows the real-life accounts of Vanessa Williams and co-stars, Brian Holden, Shelline Ross, Heather Campbell, Jacqueline Griffin, and Spencer Slama as they live with the rare non-hereditary form of the condition known as chronic angioedema, an orphan's disease that has been given very little analysis and research, and is idiopathic in that physicians do not know what causes it. This life-threatening condition is triggered by medications, dyes, environmental components, foods, trauma, and other elements that act as allergens, releasing histamine into the blood stream, and oft times causing anaphylactic shock. In addition to an extremely stripped down diet—usually mimicking anorexia—and other necessary avoidances, the major treatment to date is large quantities of antihistamines on a daily basis and, when exacerbated, epinephrine injections and steroids--although these drugs prove to be ineffective for HAE suffers, as well as the rarer, Bradykinin forms of angioedema.
From the humorous to the emotional and from the practical to the educational, Life Without A Fork’s segments range from how to’s on maintaining a healthful lifestyle, history and timelines, food limitations, excessive weight loss and its physical impact, relevant support groups, and medical practitioners. There are testimonials from fellow sufferers, family, and friends and endorsements from such featured celebrities as Dolph Lundgren—star of the $350,000,000 grossing film, Rocky IV, Quinton Aaron—star of Oscar award winning movie, The Blind Side, Doug E. Fresh—a renowned founder of hip-hop and the infamous human beat box, Amin Joseph, star of The Expendables, Chef and Food Network All Star, Debbie Lee, and more.
There are many people who have fallen prey to this condition and whose lives may be saved by making this infirmity as publicized and important as the more reputed diseases of Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia, diabetes, cardiovascular, and cancer.
 |
| Dean Cain |
No comments:
Post a Comment