See [Wife's] Stroke Rehab Featured In Reality Show.
LaVar Ball claims that he wanted to document her recovery.
As one whose spouse had "a big stroke," no way would I put my him on display.
LaVar Burton was exploiting his wife. I don't give a damn what excuse he used, he was exploiting her, likely in search of high ratings.
Inhuman! Particularly if his wife wasn't compos mentis to give her consent. She had her stroke in February. From what I can see in the photo, she had a stroke affecting her right side. Almost certainly she has aphasia and is, at this stage, non compos mentis.
In the end, humaneness won the day:
LaVar Ball just dropped the trailer for his new reality show -- which puts a spotlight on his wife's recovery from a stroke that was so severe, the family admits they didn't know if she would live or die. (dated August 30, 2017).More about LaVar Ball HERE.
Despite LaVar & son's comportment leaving much to be desired, perhaps 'high ratings' weren't his/their sole motive.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredibly difficult to accept the reality of the situation during the early months after a stroke. Unrealistic hopes for recovery probably played a role within this athletic family's viewpoint. Perhaps any resultant inability his wife sustained to communicate had them believe TV camera's would motivate LaVar's wife if she could visualize each success (as each bit of recovery surfaced).
We don't know much about her physical capabilities prior to the 'big stroke'. Was she as driven to fitness as the athletic males in her family? If she has aphasia, does prior fitness capability/drive make a difference in the long run?
Sigh. The situation will be incredibly challenging, and I pray they will remain supportive of her journey to what ever recovery she is capable of achieving.
- all the best, HRW
HRW,
ReplyDeleteCould be.
But within my circle of spouses of those who have suffered severe strokes (Mr. AOW belongs to a local stroke club, and I have attended a few events, none of them like what LaVar Ball did.
Sure, videotape and play back -- but not on the television waves. And maybe share with the immediate family.
Typically being the one taking the family/guest photos, I am rarely in any photos. Having neither desire or interest to be in front of a camera, I cannot imagine being a willing focus in such a handicapped state. But these are not folks who shy from the camera lens in similar fashion. Rather, they crave the attention and likely have some familiarity with examining images/film of their activity with a critical eye. That is why I suggested they might have thought such an effort could inspire a familiar form of 'communication' with her.
ReplyDeleteWe have lost our boundaries and sense of human dignity. Mrs. Lavar Ball has not been afforded the dignity and privacy of which she is deserving.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing Facebook posts of a family friend who had fallen off a roof, and his children took pictures of him intubated, covered in bruises, etc. I found it despicable. This is not how he would want to be remembered.
My brother suffered a devastating brain tumor. It would have never occurred to me to take a picture of him in ICU all bandaged up. After his recovery, that was the time to take a picture with him.
I think Mr. Ball is some kind of a jackass for not shielding his wife from public view. And I agree with AOW. She could not give consent. Maybe a child-like brain-damaged consent. But not as a fully cognizant and consenting adult.
TLEP,
ReplyDeleteI remember the first time that Mr. AOW saw himself in the mirror. He was in a rehab facility and 3 weeks post stroke. He didn't recognize himself: "Who is that old man?"
When the therapist and I finally convinced Mr. AOW that the image in the mirror was indeed his, he cried.
No more "mirror therapy" for him.
BTW, the point of using the mirror in the first place was that the therapist was trying to get Mr. AOW to hold his head up straight (instead of listing to one side). From the mirror point on, the therapist had Mr. AOW align his head with a door jamb.