...First Do No Harm
| ...First Do No Harm | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Written by | Ann Beckett |
| Directed by | Jim Abrahams |
| Starring |
Meryl Streep Fred Ward Seth Adkins Allison Janney Margo Martindale Leo Burmester Tom Butler |
| Music by | Hummie Mann |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Howard Braunstein Michael Jaffe Meryl Streep |
| Producer(s) | Jim Abrahams |
| Cinematography | Pierre Letarte |
| Editor(s) | Terry Stokes |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Pebblehut Productions Jaffe/Braunstein Films |
| Distributor | Walt Disney Video |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | February 16, 1997 |
...First Do No Harm is a 1997 American made-for-television drama film directed by Jim Abrahams about a boy whose severe epilepsy, unresponsive to medications with terrible side effects, is controlled by the ketogenic diet. Aspects of the story mirror Abrahams' own experience with his son Charlie.
The film tells a story in the life of a Midwestern family, the Reimullers. Lori (played by Meryl Streep) is the mother of three children and the wife of Dave (Fred Ward), a truck driver. The family are presented as happy, normal and comfortable financially: they have just bought a horse and are planning a holiday to Hawaii. Then the youngest son, Robbie (Seth Adkins), has a sudden unexplained fall at school. A short while later, he has another unprovoked fall while playing with his brother, and is seen having a convulsive seizure. Robbie is taken to the hospital where a number of procedures are performed: a CT scan, a lumbar puncture, an electroencephalogram (EEG) and blood tests. No cause is found but the two falls are regarded as epileptic seizures and the child is diagnosed with epilepsy.
Robbie is started on phenobarbital, an old anticonvulsant drug with well-known side effects including cognitive impairment and behavior problems. The latter cause the child to run berserk through the house, leading to injury. Lori urgently phones the physician to request a change of medication. It is changed to phenytoin (Dilantin) but the dose of phenobarbital must be tapered slowly, causing frustration. Later, the drug carbamazepine (Tegretol) is added.
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