As a doctor’s kid, I have spent numerous hours at my father’s hospital. My dad is a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician. Basically, he treats a wide variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, muscles, joints, ligaments, etc. After a lot of research and interrogation, I discovered that my father works primarily with people who have cognitive and/or physical disabilities. His patients have either been born with these conditions or have acquired these disabilities over time. Furthermore, my father has helped several quadriplegic patients.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw Me Before You with my mom. We were in absolute disbelief at the number of quadriplegic jokes and, of course, the main character’s decision to end his life, even after finding love. I respect that everyone has their own way of dealing with intense situations, but during the movie, I couldn’t help but think about my dad. He puts countless hours into these strong, courageous people and I cannot imagine how hurt he would be if he knew that one of his own patients decided to take their own life. I have heard him talk about some his patients like he would talk to me, so I know that every time he steps into the examination room, he is giving a piece of his heart away.
Not only is my father’s objective as a physician to provide medical care, but his goal is to inspire them to keep going, keep pushing. I remember watching the film and saying to myself, “Why is this movie trying to undo all the hard work my dad does every day? Why are they encouraging this behavior?” Although I enjoy a good romantic comedy, I guess I am confused on why this movie chose to celebrate suicide.
I am not sure whether or not I agree with the all the decisions that the writers made, but do I appreciate that the media has recognized euthanasia. All too often, we look at scary topics, like euthanasia, and refuse to shed light on them because we are scared of the backlash they might cause. Our generation is extremely sensitive and sometimes I feel like our true thoughts and emotions are flawed because we care too much about the opinions of others. I commend the creators of Me Before You for taking this horrifying theme and turning into something sort of beautiful.
I know this is a tough subject to talk about, but it really got me thinking. Is this the message we want to be sending to quadriplegics? When is it okay to be selfish? I do not know all the answers, but I do think this is a topic that will be discussed and argued for years to come. I guess everyone gets hurt, but it is the process of healing that truly displays a person’s will for life.
