If you are one of the countless parents who have either had this conversation or are facing it in the future, then my heart goes out to you! I remember when my partner and I had it. I wasn’t any where near as polite as Meryl Streep is in the clip from the 1998 film ‘First Do No Harm’.

I warn you before seeing it that it is upsetting because a child’s mortality is the hardest thing a parent can ever have to face period.

The 1998 film ‘First Do No Harm’ starring Meryl Streep portrays one mother’s battle against the medical system and it’s treatment of her son Robbie who has epilepsy.

One of her major problems is that the doctors insist on pumping her child full of drugs, which have no impact on his seizures and simply exacerbate the problem by making him sicker.

Experts have just met in July to review evidence that anti-seizure medications may put patients at a higher risk of suicide and suicidal ideation (persistent thoughts of suicide). The hope is that they will concur with the belief that these medications should carry the FDA’s highest ‘Black Box’ warning label.

A lawsuit has been launched against the Tutor Time learning centers following their refusal to administer rectal diazepam gel instead relying on the policy of contacting emergency services in the event of a child having a fit.

The suit was originally filed on behalf of an 8-year-old Californian boy but others have joined on the basis that it will bar any child with epilepsy from accessing the services at any of the 200 centers across the chain. A similar suit is also pending against an army operated day care center in Kentucky.

April 28th to July 16th, Glenn Fenster undertook an epic bike ride from Denver to Miami to raise funds for epilepsy research and charities. He also aimed to raise awareness of epilepsy along the way. What you may ask would drive anyone to do this? The answer is very simple. His passion is driven by the fact that like so many parents, his son Nyle was diagnosed with epilepsy.

Doctor’s have a huge amount of power over the degree of information they choose to give parents. Some may argue that they can only give what is appropriate and to overload a parent with information causes more harm than good.

For those of you who haven’t seen the film 1998 ‘First Do No Harm’ starring Meryl Streep I warn you now, get your hankie ready before you watch this.

The film tells the story of a family’s struggle with their son Robbie’s epilepsy and a mother’s refusal to accept the abuse that the medical system foists upon them before it abandons Robbie.

One of the major issues explored in the 1998 film ‘First Do No Harm.’ Are certain members of the medical establishment’s blatant refusal to work with parents for the good of the child.

Instead they ride roughshod over the parent’s wishes, give people minimal information and dictate what must be done in the most draconian of terms backed up by the threat of a ‘bad parents’ label.

There are many valuable resources a parent can call on when their child receives a diagnosis of epilepsy. Doctors, Health Care professionals in all shapes and sizes, Teachers and other parents to name just a few.

But this clip from the 1998 film ‘First Do No Harm.’ Highlights an often-overlooked source of information. Meryl Streep who plays the mother of Robbie goes to visit an adult with epilepsy to try and find out about his experiences.

In 1998 the film ‘First Do No Harm’ was released. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it was a TV movie produced for ABC. It really is an excellent movie that is well worth watching (just make sure and have the tissue box ready!).

Starring Meryl Streep as Lori Reimuller and Fred Ward as her husband Dave, it tells the story of a mother’s fight to save her child from a draconian medical establishment who seem determined to give her epileptic son the very worst treatment they can.