There is an uproar within the 22Q community all around the world right now. In a recent episode of the US medical drama Grey's Anatomy, they portray 22Q incorrectly. Understandably, it has caused a great deal of upset for parents of 22Q children.
This is the excerpt from the show that is making news.
Two doctors are reviewing patient charts.
First doctor says "This Mom's been pregnant 3 times, the first two were stillborn."
Second doctor replies "Well, this one will be too. 22q11 deletion.... She should just adopt.
My son Sam has 22Q 11.2, but his symptoms are largely developmental. We do need regular scans for a particular type of tumour, but we are fortunate that he does not, at this stage, have any of the complicated medical issues other 22Q'ers have. There are also people who have 22Q and you would never realise... they may not even know themselves. That's the thing with 22Q - the symptoms are so incredibly diverse. Within the 22Q community, we are united by our diagnosis (or our child's diagnosis), but our individual life journey's are, just like 22Q itself, incredibly diverse.
The issue I personally have with what Grey's did, is depicting only one aspect and outcome of 22Q. Yes, a sad and real outcome for many, but not for everyone. A person on one of the Facebook threads that I've read this morning said, "It is just a TV show." Yes, you're right, it is just a TV show, but a lot of people believe what highly respected long running TV dramas like Grey's Anatomy portray.
As a 22Q parent, I know all too well that few people outside of our community have even heard of 22Q, let alone understand it. Goodness, even a lot of the medical professionals we deal with don't understand it, so it is not surprising that the Grey's Medical Advisor got it wrong too.
The storyline in Grey's is not a true representation of the whole 22Q picture, but we as a 22Q community can use it to highlight the lack of awareness and understanding of 22Q. So, to the Grey's Anatomy script writers, Medical Advisor and all of you who would like to know more...Google 22Q 11.2.
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