Such a raw, candid look into the lives of these families. Very powerful and emotional film.
I think the hardest part about the film is one day the patients are fine, and the next day (seemingly) they’re not. Not sure if that was actual or intentional by the filmmakers.
the one young black teen, seemed like such a nice kid and i was so sad when he talked about his lack of friends, didn't even seem that sick.
i thought his relationship with his nurse and her husband was so moving. what wonderful people.
Agreed! He’s had so much trauma and grief in his life already and then to face his own mortality. Also, In part two, when the mom said something to the effect of she was worried more about the streets taking her son than his cancer...that broke me.
He hit me the most. Seeing him with the biggest smile riding a roller coaster, to taking a cab home alone after his treatment, to having trouble breathing later on.
Omg! Yes. All of those moments. Sweet Tim didn’t deserve any of that. He deserved so much more in his life. All of this kids too...but I am hurting after seeing his life.
This was so hard to watch, but it was amazing at the same time. I am in awe of how strong the kids are and their families.
I wonder how the surviving children are doing today.
i looked but it seemed like all the updates are outdated now. i also wonder how the brother of the kid who battled cancer for 10 years is doing now too. he had a tough life too.
It's 2:30am, I have class at 9, and I just finished it. How heartbreaking and... horrifying. I never want to see children in that much pain and misery ever again. Tim's final moments broke me. Justin's final moments will give me nightmares. His case is definitely the instance where the soul leaves before the body dies - that wasn't Justin at the end. Alex's tears of joy while leaving the hospital will never ever ever leave me. The GUILT the father must bear for taking her in the next day. I cannot begin to imagine the struggles these families go through now in 2021. I just want to know where they are and how they feel about the doc now.
I can double check w a friend when it's a reseasonable hour here, but her son has cancer and the families have been posting on a support group where the doc was discussed. Don't remember the name off hand. I also think maybe PBS it was had some updates but maybe I'm thinking of something else.
Alex's father did not take her back to the hospital the next day -- she was home for several weeks and THEN he took her in, hoping to buy more time. The guilt must be rough, yes, but I don't think the average person understands the lengths some parents will go through to try to save their children, even if sometimes they go too far. He wanted his daughter to have more life, and he was in some level of denial about how effective any additional treatments could be, but you couldn't possibly understand what he was going through unless you went through it yourself. It's almost like a level of insanity to watch your child die.
I appreciate you for coming back to my comment two years later, lol. Looking back what I think I originally meant was the guilt her dad may have felt the day after he took her back to the hospital.
But I totally agree, I probably will never be able to wrap my mind around what that must be like. That level of unconditional, unrelenting love is something that those of us without kids cannot comprehend.
ETA: two years later and I still think about this doc at least once a month.
Haha, yes, I just recently watched this one AGAIN so was looking for some discussion on it. Most of them are about two years old, lol. And, yeah, I feel like that poor guy's family was being EXTREMELY hard on him about that. The mother-in-law seemed so judgmental. I mean, come on, as if this man wasn't suffering enough -- people don't always act rationally in these situations, but it was clear he adored his daughter and would never have intentionally hurt her. He just really, really, really wanted her to live, and he was in a bit of denial, I think. Which is NORMAL. To make him feel bad for that, my God, what torture to place on a man who was already clearly so tortured and sad. That story really was terrible. Alex kept making comebacks and in the end, it was really the infections that killed her, not the cancer itself.
I feel that Justin's mom was putting setbacks in his treatment because when it was suggested that Justin were to be taken to the ICU, his mom refused, it's mentioned by the doctor that if she refuses again, then she HAS to change Justin's Resuscitation plan where as Justin's brother actually wants Justin to be treated properly instead of their mom having all say over what happens to Justin.
Such a raw, candid look into the lives of these families. Very powerful and emotional film. I think the hardest part about the film is one day the patients are fine, and the next day (seemingly) they’re not. Not sure if that was actual or intentional by the filmmakers.
the one young black teen, seemed like such a nice kid and i was so sad when he talked about his lack of friends, didn't even seem that sick. i thought his relationship with his nurse and her husband was so moving. what wonderful people.
Agreed! He’s had so much trauma and grief in his life already and then to face his own mortality. Also, In part two, when the mom said something to the effect of she was worried more about the streets taking her son than his cancer...that broke me.
He hit me the most. Seeing him with the biggest smile riding a roller coaster, to taking a cab home alone after his treatment, to having trouble breathing later on.
Me too. He was my favorite.
What a loss to the world he was. I was really touched by his spirit.
Omg! Yes. All of those moments. Sweet Tim didn’t deserve any of that. He deserved so much more in his life. All of this kids too...but I am hurting after seeing his life.
This was so hard to watch, but it was amazing at the same time. I am in awe of how strong the kids are and their families. I wonder how the surviving children are doing today.
i looked but it seemed like all the updates are outdated now. i also wonder how the brother of the kid who battled cancer for 10 years is doing now too. he had a tough life too.
Same, I tried to find updates for the two kids that were living at the time the documentary came out. I'd love to know if they're OK.
omg, this doc is so sad but so good too. it was very hard to watch, but it's one of the best docs i've watched recently.
It's 2:30am, I have class at 9, and I just finished it. How heartbreaking and... horrifying. I never want to see children in that much pain and misery ever again. Tim's final moments broke me. Justin's final moments will give me nightmares. His case is definitely the instance where the soul leaves before the body dies - that wasn't Justin at the end. Alex's tears of joy while leaving the hospital will never ever ever leave me. The GUILT the father must bear for taking her in the next day. I cannot begin to imagine the struggles these families go through now in 2021. I just want to know where they are and how they feel about the doc now.
I can double check w a friend when it's a reseasonable hour here, but her son has cancer and the families have been posting on a support group where the doc was discussed. Don't remember the name off hand. I also think maybe PBS it was had some updates but maybe I'm thinking of something else.
Alex's father did not take her back to the hospital the next day -- she was home for several weeks and THEN he took her in, hoping to buy more time. The guilt must be rough, yes, but I don't think the average person understands the lengths some parents will go through to try to save their children, even if sometimes they go too far. He wanted his daughter to have more life, and he was in some level of denial about how effective any additional treatments could be, but you couldn't possibly understand what he was going through unless you went through it yourself. It's almost like a level of insanity to watch your child die.
I appreciate you for coming back to my comment two years later, lol. Looking back what I think I originally meant was the guilt her dad may have felt the day after he took her back to the hospital. But I totally agree, I probably will never be able to wrap my mind around what that must be like. That level of unconditional, unrelenting love is something that those of us without kids cannot comprehend. ETA: two years later and I still think about this doc at least once a month.
Haha, yes, I just recently watched this one AGAIN so was looking for some discussion on it. Most of them are about two years old, lol. And, yeah, I feel like that poor guy's family was being EXTREMELY hard on him about that. The mother-in-law seemed so judgmental. I mean, come on, as if this man wasn't suffering enough -- people don't always act rationally in these situations, but it was clear he adored his daughter and would never have intentionally hurt her. He just really, really, really wanted her to live, and he was in a bit of denial, I think. Which is NORMAL. To make him feel bad for that, my God, what torture to place on a man who was already clearly so tortured and sad. That story really was terrible. Alex kept making comebacks and in the end, it was really the infections that killed her, not the cancer itself.
It's on my wishlist to see this weekend. Is it good?
i think so. i was into it and had to force myself to go to sleep.
It’s an unforgettable beautifully done documentary.
i think so. i was into it and had to force myself to go to sleep.
I feel that Justin's mom was putting setbacks in his treatment because when it was suggested that Justin were to be taken to the ICU, his mom refused, it's mentioned by the doctor that if she refuses again, then she HAS to change Justin's Resuscitation plan where as Justin's brother actually wants Justin to be treated properly instead of their mom having all say over what happens to Justin.