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Remembering “Lorenzo’s Oil” Part Two of Three By Dave Andrusko
You can read her lovely column at http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/cristinaodone/100034354/lorenzos-oil-is-on-telly-tonight-i-defy-you-to-watch-my-familys-story-and-support-euthanasia. I think you will be fascinated by many of the same things I was. In reverse order there were the online responses. Some were really vicious. I am obviously no expert on Great Britain, but whenever someone seems to write a life-affirming response to any difficult situation, the automatic put down appears to be that you are a religious fanatic who cares not a twit about “real people.” And that applies even when there is not a whiff of a specifically religious argument. On a more uplifting note, there is the basic story. Turns out that Lorenzo, the boy at the center of the 1992 film, is Odone’s half-brother. Here it is in one paragraph: The facts are reproduced faithfully. When Lorenzo turned 7, this bright and lively little boy lost every faculty in the space of a summer. The cause was adrenoleukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder that, doctors told my father and step-mother, would kill him within two, maybe three years. His parents refused to accept this verdict and, despite having not so much as a science A level between them, began researching the disease themselves. They discovered an oil, now called “Lorenzo’s Oil”, which stopped the dread disease in its tracks; and, in those boys who, unlike my brother, still had all their faculties, kept them healthy. After initial scepticism, even the medical community came round to recognising the extraordinary impact of the oil. (I remember watching George Miller’s film as though it were yesterday. Incredible performances by Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon.)
But beyond that, you will love Ms. Odone’s beautiful ode to faithfulness and the value of every human life, even those who can’t communicate with us. Her brother, Lorenzo, “was still very much alive, a loving presence at the very centre of our household. (His bed was in our sitting room – and there was never any talk of putting him in a home.) He was constantly cared for and reminded of how cherished he was.” That is an always important reminder, but especially now when the skids are being greased in Great Britain for “assisted suicide.” I would never idealize our collective acceptance of people with disabilities, but there seems to be an especial dislike in Great Britain for people whose “quality of life” does not measure up to some arbitrary standard. Odone’s conclusion warmed my heart and made my day. In a culture where the quality of life is measured by goods you can buy and the status you have acquired, Lorenzo seems a pitiful reminder that we can’t control everything. But in his presence such values seemed worthless. No, he could no longer score a goal or read “Babar”. But he gave, and received, enormous love. If that’s not the highest quality of life, I don’t know what is. Please check out our new blog at www.nationalrighttolifenews.org and send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. |
My
wife and I see a fair amount of
films, both old and new, and we
talk about them a lot. Thus when
I happened across the headline
for Telegraph.com columnist
Cristina Odone’s lates
yesterday—“'Lorenzo's Oil' is on
telly tonight. I defy you to
watch my family's story and
support euthanasia”—I was
hooked. I had intended to write
it about it on Thursday, but
time got away from me.