Tuesday, June 26, 2007

"Oh my heart!" land

Someone pass me the nitroglycerin, please. I'm having a little angina. Ok, first, let me say that I have not watched an entire episode of Heartland yet. (who can sit for an hour with a toddler on the loose?) So I'm going to be a hypocrite and give my opinion on something that I haven't really given a fair chance, I suppose.



First of all, where do these shows find their medical consultants? Could someone please call me to consult on these shows? The transplant coordinator, Kate, asks the mom about donation IN THE HALLWAY for God's sake! Then, when mom says "no, I don't want him cut up" (and yes, many people do say that), she goes into this stilted, "but a little girl needs his heart." Hell, I would have kicked her out of the room too. Then there's the mom of the girl who needs a tranplant looking through an enormous picture window directly into the OR. Who would let a mom watch her daughter's heart surgery. You know, they take the hearts out of those patients-would you want to see that? In one scene, I even saw that the donor wasn't intubated-but I think it was a mistake, because in the next scene she was. The best, though, was when the donor's heart stopped and they had a moment of silence before resuming the operation. Um, the patient is dead already. And yes, it is weird seeing the heart go into asystole and not do anything about it, but at that point the surgeons are busy flushing the organs and putting ice in the chest to really notice. Would you like a better idea of what happens at asystole? Go here.


And the mom who's going to kill herself so the daughter can get her heart? Oy. Pass me some oxygen, too.


On a personal note, are there really TC's that attractive? Seriously, that girl belongs in hospital development. TC's don't clip clop around in heels. The drag their asses around in day old, wrinkly scrubs and snarl at people from severe sleep deprivation. (Not me, of course, I'm always perky and pretty, but that's what I hear). And did you see the house she lives in? She was married to a heart transplant surgeon. Now, I know tranplant surgeons whose significant others work as RECIPIENT coordinators. Those folks keep decent hours. But an ORC? Please. If Treat Williams was paying my alimony, the only thing I'd be working on is my tan.



Anyhoo, I will keep watching, if only so I can bitch about it.




I'm sorry, little girl, next time we'll have a better episode

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I whole "Heartedly" agree, transplant representation on television is lacking and inacurate at best.
The one that I would like to add is that some recipiant coordinators (like myself) keep as bad if not worse hours than donor coordinators. I work in a suburban transplant center outside of a large midwest city and I am on call for Liver transplant. We rotate 7 days on and 14 off, but when we are on we are still in clinic and the office durring the day followed by organ offers all night. If we accept an offer we fly with the surgeons and assist in the operation, I also "moonlight for other organs and sometimes assist with the recipiant operations.
So in other words I fell your pain, but seeing a recepiant rejoin socety it makes all the sleepless nights worth it.

Shig said...

See, I had no idea you guys flew out w/the team. Sorry. Our recipient TC's take call from home and if the team needs someone, they take a recovery specialist.

And yes, seeing the recipients do make it all worthwhile.

Anonymous said...

I am nurse as well but not a TC, (though i have learned alot through matrimonial osmosis)((that sounds wrong)).

This show sickens me on many levels. I can't stand to hear it on in the next room. I hold it in very high contempt. Am I holding back too much?

I think this show might actually do a disservice to donors, opo's and recipients.

Shig said...

Let it out. There, doesn't that feel better. Marital osmosis-isn't that how we had Sally?

Jessa said...

hahaha. my boyfriend (an ob/gyn) hates when i watch those medical shows because they're so badly written. but, if i watch a REAL medical show (i'm talking TLC or Discover Health) he gets grossed out. but, i do have to say, i watch reruns of ER on TNT on the days when i get to be home at 11am. there's just some vices i'll never be able to get over....

Shig said...

Your OB/GYN boyfriend gets grossed out? Didn't he have to do Gross Anatomy lab in med school? My husband can't watch anything having to do with surgery and I could watch operations til the cows come home. Maybe women just have stronger stomachs for blood.

Just Me said...

I was wondering if you would post about this show. I actually just watched the Pilot last night. To me, the editing seemed a bit choppy and the story didn't always seem to flow very well (unless I missed some of the show with my DVR). So, maybe they can fix some of the writing when they fix the editing! I thought they were going to fix the stereotype that if some "big whig" was waiting that he/she would get moved up the list, but NO, "magically" new information put him at the top of UNOS. Also, I know we have had at least one pediatric donor whose recipient was on the same unit, but it was as "hush hush" as it could be (since PICU parents ALL know each other and their stories). Anyway, I was hoping for better...too bad I didn't DVR the second episode...or maybe not. Thanks for posting your thoughts on this!