"The
Man Who Has Everything." Opening Graphic: "Any resemblance to persons living or dead in the
following program is entirely intentional." We open on a quiet suburban street, early
morning. George, a 40ish white male jogs past and the camera follows him. VOs
carry on under images as George describes. George
VO: " My name's George Allwell and I'm an ordinary guy. 45
years old. Average height….average build….average job. I live in a reasonable
house in an OK suburb. I do the typical things a typical American male does
with his typical friends….like Marvin for instance…." Cut to George and his friend Marvin, a
fairly cynical man, on the golf course. Marvin: "There's your problem. An unhealthy focus on exercise,
I myself have an exercise regime based on fast food and cable TV, steadily
increasing the repetitions over a period." George eyes Marvin’s girth. George: "Well it looks
like it works for you." "Thank
you." George arrives home, runs up his path and
stands on his porch George
V/O: “Unfortunately, untypical things happen to typical
guys like me and as I was telling Marvin my life had just changed …and
exercise was at the heart of it.” The door opens and Lysander stands in the
doorway in rather a flimsy nightie. With a sexy smile. Lysander: “Hi handsome, enjoy your run?” George: Ya, I felt pretty
good. First one for a while…” Lysander: “Hot and sweaty …suits you”. Lysander hooks an index finger in the
waistband of George’s shorts and pulls him inside. The door closes. We cut back to the course. George: "ANYWAY, I was
performing with my usual distinction… Bedroom floor covered in George’s running gear. Tilts
up to George and Lysander in Bed…George sits up suddenly. George
V/O: when suddenly I
felt this…..indescribable pain." Marvin: “Oh yeah, did
Lysander notice?” CU Lysander’s face reacting to George in bed. George
V/O: “She noticed. George: she sent me off to
the Doctor.” Marvin: “Jon
Kaplan?” George: "You got
it." Cut to an ECU of a hand pumping up the
cuff on a BP meter. We widen shot to show George in the surgery of his GP and
old friend Dr Jonathan Kaplan. Marvin
V/O: "Remember at
school when he was voted 'guy least likely to see the funny side?" George
V/O: "Yeah. They
sure got that right…." Dr
Kaplan: "So you felt
the pain while you were being amorous…?” George looks slightly sheepish. George: "Yes.” “Was it
particularly…..vigorous?” “What?” “The amorous
moment.” “Oh well no,
I’d call it spontaneous” Dr
Kaplan: " Could you
take off your tie and shirt George please. And then what happened?" George: "Well, we had a shower and…." Dr
Kaplan: "No…to
the pain." George: "It went
away." Dr
Kaplan: "Describe the
pain to me. What did it feel like?" George: "Guest it was
like someone had a belt or something that’s squeezing around my chest and
was tightening it. You know getting tighter" Dr
Kaplan: "You said the
pain was right in the middle of your chest. At any point did it move at
all…into your jaw or arms maybe?" George: "No." Dr
Kaplan: "Have you had
it since?" George: "No." Dr
Kaplan: "OK. Well,
you're blood pressure is 145 over 95 George, that's a little high." George: "It is?" Dr
Kaplan: "Uh huh. Let's
have a listen to your heart. " George looks around the room to distract
himself. There is a full-length mirror on the opposing wall and he regards his
own reflection. His reflection stares back and then speaks to him. George's
reflection: "Oh my God,
we've had a heart attack…" Kaplan: “Don’t
worry Pal, you haven’t had a heart attack if that’s what
you’re thinking.” George: “Of course I
wasn’t…it never entered my head.” Mirror mocks George Dr
Kaplan: "It could be a
lot of things George, possibly your heart, possibly a bad tuna fish
sandwich…." George’s reflection mocks him again. George: "I don't eat
tuna….they're endangered….I think" Dr
Kaplan: "Well, we'll
do our best to see you're not. George, let me
explain a little about the human heart. Now you’ll remember from biology class that the heart
is a muscle with four chambers and the arteries that feed the muscle are known …” The sound fades as Dr Kaplan
speaks…We cut to a CU of George's face as he looks down, then back to his
POV as the doctor leans back holding a real heart dripping blood. Using it as a
model, he begins to sing about this vital organ in a jaunty style. The lighting
changes to suit this new mood. Dr
Kaplan: "Bless your
heart reassuring &
quite scary it all thing
pulmonary Bless your heart, the carotid and
aorta sometimes don't do
what they oughta If your atrium or
ventricle's behaving quite
eccentrical It’s
important that you pursue it Bless your heart!!" As the doctor reaches the finale of his
song from George's POV, we discover that George's imagination has been working
overtime again, the doctor is only holding a plastic scale model that he picked
from his desk and is finishing his explanation. Dr
Kaplan: “George,
George. So we still need to
rule out a few possibilities. So I want a friend of mine, he's a specialist,
Bob Rose…." George: “What kind of specialist?” Dr.
Kaplan: “A Cardiologist.” Cut back to Marvin and George on the
course. Marvin: "A cardiologist,
so he did think it was your heart” George: “I thought he
was trying to be gentle” Marvin: “When did you
see him” George: “Same
afternoon” Marvin: “That soon.
That must have got your pulse racing" George: "I thought he
was playing it safe…at first. Things kinda went downhill after
that…" We cut back to George in the Dr Rose's
waiting room. A tall, efficient looking man in his 50s approaches and shakes
George's hand. Dr
Rose: "Hello Mr
Allwell, I'm Dr Rose." Voiceover from Marvin and George still on
the course. Marvin
V/O: "Did you tell
him when and how it happened or did you fake it?" George
V/O: "He got the
idea…” MarvinV/O: "Guess he must
be used to affairs of the heart." GeorgeV/O: "Oh…fun-nee…." Cut back to George and Dr Rose. George
: You know it lasted
a couple of minutes and so I thought oh my god I’m having a heart attach.
I went and saw Dr Kaplan Dr
Rose: “Here you are” George
: “Here I am
yeah. “ Dr
Rose: "Is this the
first time this has happened? “ George
: Yes it is Dr
Rose: “How long did
it take for you to get back to normal? “ George
: “It’s
hard to know when normal kind of came back. In a way five minutes after it
happened I was wondering wow did that happen you know.” Dr
Rose: “Was your
wife aware that there was a discomfort or a problem?” George
: “Oh yeah,
yeah. She was.” (Revisit bedroom
scene in pain) Dr
Rose: “Has it
occurred subsequently?” George
: “No, no it
has not, no.” Dr
Rose: “Has it
occurred, was it associated with anything? When you felt this terrible
discomfort in your chest, would you call it stabbing, sticking, crashing,
piercing, squeezing...?” George
: “Squeezing.
Definitely. It was like….” (Revisit animated
bands around chest sequence) Dr
Rose: “Let’s
find at first, we have, like to ask more questions. Then we will need to find
out if this is your heart is causing the problem. We are not sure yet“ George
: “Oh,
ok.” Dr
Rose: “Let’s
ask a few things. Anyone in your family, your father, your mother, brothers,
sisters have any problems with their heart?” George
: “Yeah my dad.
He had a heart attack at 47. And he died at 53 and he died of a heart
attack” Dr
Rose: “Ok. Was he a
smoker?” George
: “Yeah. Not a
heavy smoker I don’t remember Dr
Rose: “How about
your Mom?” George
: “She’s
fine, She’s still there…” Dr
Rose: “Any brothers
or sisters…?” George
: “…going
on and on and on” Dr
Rose: “Have any
brothers or sister with heart problems?” George
: “Not with
heart problems no, no” Dr
Rose: “Not with
heart problems, everybody else is health?” George
: “Everybody
else is health yes” Dr
Rose: “Anyone a
diabetic in your family?” George
: “No” Dr
Rose: “Are you a
smoker?” George
: “No” Dr
Rose: “Ok. What
kind of foods you eat?” George
: “I knew you
would ask me that” Dr
Rose: “Absolutely,
absolutely” George
: “Yeah. I
don’t partially watch my diet I guess. I don’t go out of my way to
eat fat free foods or anything like that. But you know I will eat a salad or
whatever. So I never really thought about it truthfully” Dr
Rose: “Let me ask a
couple other questions. That generally we like to ask our patients. Have you
had many problems with headaches?” George
: “No” Dr
Rose: “Any problem
with your eyesight?” George
: “No” Dr
Rose: “How’s
your hearing?” George
: “I’m
sorry? Ha, ha. Sorry no my hearing is fine ” Dr
Rose: “Any nose
bleeds?” George
: “No” Dr
Rose: “Sores in
your mouth or tongue or gums, trouble swallowing, any wheezing, or
breathlessness? Blood in your stool? Cough up any blood in any time? Any
stomach trouble? Any ulcers? Any problems urinating? Any skin problems? Any
sexual function otherwise generally ok? Are you allergic to anything? Any pains
in muscles or joints? Psychological everything ok? George
: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Yeah?
Alright. Well I’m not sure what this is but you are in a cardiologist
office” George
: “Thank
heavens for that” Dr
Rose: “So my job is
to try and work with you to try and determine what this may be. And I would
like to make a couple of recommendations. First of all we would like to do a
electrocardiogram, to make sure again that the basic electrocardiogram is
normal… Zoom in on George, thoughtful after just
being told he is to undergo a battery of tests. Cut to the elderly but still very vital
gray-haired woman, sitting on a couch. She directs her monologue to camera. George's
Mother: "You're just
like your father, God rest his soul. Always working too hard, never eating
properly. Exercise, the only exercise he ever got was social climbing. Never
took my advice always knew better. Right up until the time he had his first
heart attack, at 47, listened to me then, but it was too late, the damage had
been done. It's all in the genes you know George” (1st
commercial break) We open on George and Marvin on the golf
course. George watches as the other man lines up a relatively simple two-foot
putt. George
SOC: "Marvin is
pretty much the perfect golfing partner. He's a good listener. He always has an
opinion. But best of all….." Marvin: "Damn!! " Marvin has missed the putt. George
SOC: "He's never
going to make you feel inadequate." Marvin: "So what
happened then?' Cut back to check up. Dr
Rose: “Put your
left arm behind your head and roll over to your left side. Left that hand right
on your hip. That’s great. Alright” Dr
Rose: “Deep breath
in, out. Alright come back and lie on your back for me. The way we started.
I’m going to examine the circulation of your feet now George. You have
two pulses on each foot” George: “I
didn’t know that. We cut to George and Marvin on the golf
course. Marvin is about to tee off. Marvin: "No." George: "Yeah!" Marvin: "Pulses in
your feet?" George: "Yeah!" Marvin: "I always said
my feet had rhythm. Did you see where that went?" Cut to leads being attached to George's
feet. Mike recording pulse in feet documentary
sequence- George: “So Mike what
is this measuring again?” Mike: “We are
looking at the electrical pulses of the heart?” George: “Like my
heartbeat kinda thing?” Mike: “Yeah. It
gives the doctor a good reference of how the heart is functioning at
rest” George: “Ok” Mike: “And just
hold still for a second” George: “Sure” George
SOC: "My heart's at
rest……..it's just my mind that going crazy….." George: “Is that
it?” Mike: “That’s
it” George: “I
didn’t feel anything” Then Dr Rose
explaining that it could be heart prob. Dr
Rose: “Hello
George” George
: “How was
it?” Dr
Rose: “Well the
electrocardiogram is normal. However…” George
: “Ok,
that’s good right?” Dr
Rose: “That’s
good. However the symptoms you has are highly suggestive this maybe a heart
symptom” George
: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “And it maybe
a manifestation of a narrowing or closure in one of the arteries that supplies
blood to your heart. This is the problem in men that causes the biggest
problem. So what I would like to recommend is as follows. First of all we would
like you to start taking an aspirin. The Aspirin will act like a blood
thinner” George
: “Right, so if
there is a narrowing it will…” Dr
Rose: “It should
help. Secondly we would like you to come back tomorrow and do two examinations.
One will be a ultrasound of the heart. To see how the heart muscle is working
and to see… Cut to George in
his car driving home. Dr Rose/George VO, overlapping into: Dr
Rose VO: “50% of
people, who have coronary disease, comes out of the blue. And they have no risk
factors” George
VO: “Risk
factors?” Dr
Rose VO: “There are
five risk factors” George
VO: “Alright.
What are they?” Dr
Rose VO: “Cholesterol” George
VO: “Yeah” Dr
Rose VO “High blood
pressure” George
VO: “Right” Dr
Rose VO “We know you
have high blood pressure” George
VO: “Right” Dr
Rose VO: “We know you
have high blood pressure” George
VO: “High blood
pressure right” Dr
Rose VO “Diabetes” George
VO: “Don’t
have that” Dr
Rose VO: “Smoking” George
VO: “Don’t
smoke” Dr
Rose VO: “And family
history of premature coronary disease” George
VO: “Oh well I
have that so...” Dr
Rose VO: “So we have
two risk factors” George
VO: “Am I in a
like a common area..? Dr
Rose VO: “Sure” George
VO: “Should I be
worries?” Woman's
voice: "Self, self,
self, that's all you ever thing about. What about us? What about your wife and
kids?" George looks wearily into the rear view
mirror. We find an over dressed, over made up woman of about George's age in
the mirror. George
V/O: "Ex-wife." Woman: "They're still
your kids George. What about them? Harrison's
got high school this year…the divorce was bad enough but how am I going
to get him into Stanford if you drop dead on us. It's just pure
selfishness!" Cut to CU of George's face, with a weary
look. Harrison: "Save your
money Dad…." Harrison, George's son by the previous
marriage, sitting next to his Mother. He is a surly, pale Gothic boy dressed
completely in black, with all the attendant nihilistic tendencies. Harrison: "Nothing
matters anyway….we're all going to die…." His Mother butts back in. Woman: "And what
about Tiffany? You know she's been having a lot of self-esteem problems lately.
George, we should seriously think about having her breasts
augmented…." Cut to George for a look of sheer
exasperation. We cut to the wider shot to show his ex-wife has been joined on
the other side by Tiffany, an attractive and perfectly normal looking girl, if
slightly spoilt. Tiffany: "All the boys
laugh at me Daddy!! Three thousand dollars is not a lot of money, not if you
really loved me…..!" George's eyes roll heavenward. Cut Marvin and George on the golf course. Marvin
(mimicking Dr Rose): "Consistent of
a heart problem….' Welcome to
Paranoiaville……population….. George: "It gets
better. Remember Bobby Dallas? Played linebacker for the Rams….." Marvin: "Oh
yeah….Bobby No Neck…didn't he die?" George: "Yeah. After
he retired he let himself go some, one day he's at the supermarket, drops dead
in the Deli section. Turns out he had a Widowmaker." Marvin: “A
what?” George: “A
widowmaker. Marvin: “What’s that?” George: “It’s a
blockage on one of your heart’s main arteries. You just drop dead." Marvin: "But you
haven’t let yourself go." George: "It can happen
to anyone…Bobby was 43." Marvin: "You're not
making my day here George. So what happened next?" George: "I had an
ultrasound scan the next day." Marvin
V/O: “Ultrasound George
V/O: "Uh huh. It
works like x-rays only they do it with sound waves" Marvin
V/O: "Like when
women are pregnant" George
V/O: "Yeah, except
in my case it's not 'is it a boy or a girl'….it's 'should I make any long
term plans….or not'." George
: “Ok so
that’s the heart” Mike: “Right
that’s your heart. That’s your left ventricle. That’s thing
that flapping up and close is your mitral valve. This is the left atrium and
the aortic valve” George
: “Half
expected to see a little baby in there” Mike: “Now I will
look at your mitral valve” George
: “Amazing.
Look at it flapping away” Mike: “You can look
at the chamber sizes, the wall thicknesses. Give the doctor a good idea of how
you are doing here” George
: “Can you ever
hear. You know hear the heartbeat?” Mike: “Yeah we will be hearing that in just
a second here” George
: “Oh
ok.” George
: “Is that
normal?” Mike: “That’s
normal” George
: “What are
those there? What are those colors there?” Mike: “The colors
let me know which direction the blood is flowing” George
: “So red is
one way and blue is the other way?” Mike: “Yes. And we
can tell if there is a leak” George
: “Ok, a
leak” Mike: “that’s
just a cross section of the ventricle Viennese waltz to end. (2nd commercial
break) Opens in Hospital with Charles the Nuclear
Medicine Technician Charles: “Mr. Allwell,
my name is Charles” George
: “Nice to meet
you” Charles: “And we are
going to do two test actually on you today. And to do that we have to inject
you with radioisotope” Cut to golf course. Marvin is about to tee
off. Marvin
(incredulous): "What?" George: "It’s
this radioactive stuff. They inject you with it & when it settles down,
they can photograph where it’s been or where it hasn’t been." Charles: “In order to
do that, we have to start a little IV on you” George
: “OK” Charles: “And then
inject the radioisotope. Then we let you have a seat for approximately 45
minutes to an hour to circulate through your system. Then we put you underneath
the camera and take some picture” George
: “Great” Charles: “That’s
all” George
: “Ok” Charles: “You ok with
needles” George
: “Sure George,
V/O song: "Isotopes and
Dositopes and little lambs glow brightly I'm going to grow
brightly too how about you…." Marvin winds up and has a huge swing at
the ball. With a beautific smile on his face he looks out at the horizon.
George clears his throat. Marvin looks down and sees the ball still sitting on
the tee. He carries on, slightly peeved. George: "You know when
you've hit it well, you barely feel it." Marvin: "So you let
them nuke you?" George: “Yeah” Marvin: "So what
about….your …you had plutonium running around down
there…?" George: "It wasn't
plutonium." Marvin: " I bet
Lysander wasn't too happy with that." George: “Yeah well,
Lysander didn't know about it did she….anyway this Charles was very
reassuring.” Cut nuclear documentary sequence. Charles: “Now this is
the time when we inject you with isotopes” George
: “Ok.
It’s in a lead box!” Charles: “Yeah
actually it’s really for our own protection because we use it day in and
day out” George
: “Like x-rays
right” Charles: “Actually
it’s safer than x-rays George: “Oh ok” Charles: “As I
mentioned that ere no side effects for you” George: “Ok” Charles: “This
material dissipates within the next six hours” George: “Ok” Charles: “It has a
half life of six hours. So you’ll be fine” George: “There you
go. If I am going to be radiated, that’s it” Charles: “Ok. Now what
I would like you to do is have a seat in the waiting room and then we will be
with you in the next 45 minutes to an hour” George in waiting room begins to glow as
the radioisotope takes effect. Charles: “Mr. Allwell.
Why don’t you come over please” Back to nuclear machine. George: “My shirt
off?” Charles: “Please have
your shirt off. Just lay it right over there will be fine. And I would like you
to lay flat on your back. Head this way, feet down there. We are just going to
put some EKG leads on you in order for us to trace your heart and take the
picture. Ok? George: “Yeah” Charles: “Meanwhile
it’s very important that you stay still and breathe normally. Ok I would
like you to put both arms up. It’s vey important not to move those
arms” George: “Alright” Charles: “You might feel a little pain in both
shoulders but please hang in there, by this time it will be almost done. I will
be all the time around you. Nothing is gong to touch you. The camera is just
going to go around your heart. That’s it” Charles: “It has a
half life of six hours” George
(on table) SOC: "Half life.
My Dad only had half a life." Dr
Rose: “How are you
feeling George?” George: “Ok,
ok” Dr
Rose: “Any of the
symptoms that brought you into see me ye/” George: “No” Dr
Rose: “No chest
tightness” George: “No” Dr
Rose: “No
dizziness?” George: “No” Dr
Rose: “How is your
breathing?” George: “It’s
ok. It’s getting up there. But it’s ok. I don’t feel too
bad” Dr
Rose: ‘How are your
legs?” George: “good” Dr
Rose: “Ok let me
know if you begin to feel that sensation” George: “Ok,
ok” Dr
Rose: “How are you
doing?” George: “Well, yeah I
think I can feel a little of that, yeah” Dr
Rose: “How bad is
it? Out of a scale of 1 to 4. 1, 2, 3 or 4?” George: “No
it’s a little of…oh! ok” Dr
Rose: “What is it
now?” George: “3” Dr
Rose: “3” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright hang
on. I’m going to get your blood pressure. Go ahead and inject. Let me
have your arm” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “Go to get a
blood pressure. Do your best” Dr
Rose: “It’s
200 over 105. Are you injected?” Mike: “Injected” Dr
Rose: “You have one
more minute. Can you do a minute?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright if
you can’t, let us know George: “ok” Dr
Rose: “Alright, heart rate is 130. Blood
pressure is 200 over 105. Dr
Rose: “45 seconds.
Can you do it?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Are you sure?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Has the pain
gone to your arm yet?” George: “no” Dr
Rose: “No. Is it in
your neck yet?” George: “no” Dr
Rose: “No. Still
just in the chest?” George: “yeah” Dr
Rose: “Is it
getting stronger?” George: “Ah...no...it’s
kinda… just you know there” Dr
Rose: “Alright” George: “Same” Dr
Rose: “30 seconds,
can you do it?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Are you
sure?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “I
don’t want you to hurt yourself” George: “no, I feel
…” Dr
Rose: “Alright. You
can make it?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright. Doing great. Heart rate is
140. Alright 15 seconds. Keep going. We get it to circulate, we get a real good
study here” Dr
Rose: “You
alright?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright, we
are almost done. 5, 4, 3 … don’t get off till it comes to a
complete stop..1 and …Alright we are slowing down. George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “Alright when
you are done, we want to go right over to the … table and just take you
time, take your time. Just lie down on the table. Just lie quietly. Mike will
you grab his blood pressure for me” Dr
Rose: “How do you
feel? Still hurting?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright let me know when it begins to ease up” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “EKG is abnormal
still but …you breathing a little easier now?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright let
me know what we get for a blood pressure” George: “Ok
it’s coming” Mike: “190 over
92” Dr
Rose: “EKG still
abnormal. Alright fine the heart rate is starting to come down” George: “Yeah I can
feel it” Dr
Rose: “Still
hurting a little I can see?” George: “Yeah just a
little” Dr
Rose: “Ok.” George: “But
it’s going away” Dr
Rose: “Mike give me
another blood pressure please” Mike: “150 over
70” Dr
Rose: “Still a
little high. Ok it’s coming down. Alright. You are doing well. Your heart
rate is coming appropriately. But I can still see you are hurting a little bit.
How is the breathing?” George: “It’s
ok. It’s getting there” Dr
Rose: “Any nausea? George: “No” Dr
Rose: “Ok” George: “No” Dr
Rose: “Are you
dizzy?” George: “No.
I’m just a little anxious” Dr
Rose: “Take a
listen here” Then, George in waiting room in CU. He
turns to his long dead Father who is sitting next to him. George
V/O: "Hey
Dad." George's
Dad: "Hello
son.” George
V/O: "Did you go
through all this?" George's
Dad: "No it’s
all changed since my day, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway.” “Why not?” Dad: “I didn't
take the doctor's advice, thought I was bulletproof.” George
V/O: “Really?” Dad: “Didn’t
exercise….lived on burgers and fries.” George
V/O: “Did you ever
give up smoking?” Dad: “Does your
mother still leave flowers?" George looks slightly uncomfortable. George
V/O: "Uh
yeah…sure she does, Dad." The older man gives a dry chuckle. Dad: "You never
were a very good liar George. “ George
V/O: “I’m
feeling a bit shaky Dad.” Dad: “You want my
advice? “ George
V/O: “Yeah” Dad: “Listen to what
they tell you. Do what they tell you. And live everyday
like you've just won the lottery. George back in CT scanner
then with Dr Rose for the results documentary sequence. Dr
Rose: “Well George you have had a busy
day” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “How are you
doing? Alright?” George: “I’m
ok. I’m a little apprehensive” Dr
Rose: “Alright. I
would like to show you what happened on your electrocardiogram” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “If you look
here. This is a picture of your EKG. The first EKG tracing is the one that
occurred when you were resting. And the second one in each frame will be when
you are exercising” George: “I see” Dr
Rose: “Now here is
where the pain started and you will notice this part of the EKG that we call
the ST segment is beginning to go down toward you” George: “Aha” Dr
Rose: “As you
walked farther, it gets further down. As you walked farther, there was more
pain. George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “It’s
further down. And this is at the peak exercise, you’ll see it’s
down almost 3 millimeters. This shows us in one form that there is definite
decrease blood supply to some of the heart muscle. Ok?” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “It confirms
it. Ok now as you’ll remember we took several nuclear pictures. This was
the resting picture when we injected you with the radioisotope prior to
exercise” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “And even
when you are resting there was a very, very tiny spot, the black spot of
decreased blood supply. Now you will notice that when you exercise and we gave
you the second dose of the isotope, you see this large black area” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “That is the
segment of the heart muscle that was not getting enough blood. And it is in the
area of one of the main arteries. The main artery in the heart called left
interior descending coronary artery “ George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “This is only the artery but a
critical artery that we think that has a significant blockage” George: “Right” Dr
Rose: “What we need
to do next is the final diagnostic test and hopefully therapeutic procedure
that will return this blockage to near normal. And that’s called a coronary
angiogram.” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “That will be
followed if we find a blockage in the interior descending coronary with
hopefully a procedure called angioplasty which is a procedure where we open the
artery with a small balloon. Followed by placing a metal stent within the
artery. George: “Alright” Dr
Rose: “Hopefully
that will resolve whatever blockage that is there. But we won’t know for
sure… until we do the angiogram. And if there are blockages of multiple
arteries we could have to consider a surgery. A coronary bypass surgery.” Dr
Rose: “This is
pretty tough news. What question may I answer for you?” George: “Um…is
this um…a widow maker? You know I’ve heard about that” Dr
Rose: “This type of
blockage has been termed that many years ago. It’s a severe blockage in
the left interior descending coronary artery. However it is known to be an immanently
treatable blockage. And we expect you are going to do wonderfully well and have
a nice normal life” Dr
Rose: “I think we
will be fine” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “Get a good
nights rest. I will get a good nights rest. And we will get this fixed in the
morning. Anything else you can think of?” George: “No
that’s um…well…” (3rd commercial break) Open on George on the golf course with
Marvin. George's ball is directly behind a tree. Marvin is standing directly
behind him, skeptically. Marvin: "So you say
Lysander didn’t know all about this?" George: "Not
much…..I didn’t tell her.” Marvin: "Why
not?” George: "She had a
high school reunion coming up. It'd been planned for months and I knew how much
she was looking forward to it so" Marvin: “What did you tell her?” Cut to George and Lysander - she's looking
worried, George reassures her." George: “Come on Lysander,
it wasn’t that bad” Lysander: “Honestly
George, I thought you were having a heart attack. Next time you go for a run,
have your breakfast after, not before. Honestly. I've never heard anything so
stupid….” Cut back to the golf course, George still
hasn't played his shot. Marvin: "Indigestion.
Was that the best you could do?" George: "She
wouldn’t have gone” George plays his shot. The ball ricochets
off the tree at lightning speed. We cut to Marvin who had to take evasive
action. He looks up with no small amount of sarcasm. Marvin: "When you tell
her….can I have your clubs?" Answering questions, getting gowned up etc George
V/O: “I had other things on my mind…I was in the
hospital the next day.” Checking in
documentary sequence. George
V/O: “Hi there,
I’m George Allwell” Nurse
V/O: “Oh hi Mr.
Allwell” George
V/O: “Hi” Nurse: “If you can
just follow me. Let me bring you to one of the rooms we have here ok” George: “Ok” Nurse: “Ok
let’s start with your consent. There are two consents. The first one is
basically catheterization. This is where they go in and take a look at the
structures of your heart” George: “Sure” Nurse: “Ok. I need
you to sign here and the date today” George: “Alright” Nurse: “Do you have
any allergies? Are you allergic to any shellfish? And you are not allergic to
any particular mediation? When was the last time you had anything to eat? When
was the last time you urinated? I need top know your plumbing is working before
I send you downstairs. How tall are we? Do you wear any dentures? Contact
lenses? Glasses? Any part of your body that has been pierced? Like a belly
button… George: “Ha, ha” Nurse: “Bathroom is
right here. You can change into this” George: “Ok” Nurse: “And the gown
is over there” George: “Great
thanks. I will do that now” Nurse: “Ok. See you
later” George
V/O: "The most common
problem with a coronary angiogram is a bruise in your groin, and that happens
less than one percent of the time…according to Sports Illustrated.." We cut to George standing against a
concrete wall pocked with bullet holes. He is wearing a torn white shirt with
ruffles at the throat and tight breeches. He looks incredibly heroic. In the
background we can here a slow drum roll. George
V/O: Face it George Guard: "Ready!!” George
V/O: “You’re
scared” Guard: "Aim!!……" Cut back to George being wheeled into cath
lab; Orderly: “How are you
today Mr. Allwell?” George: “Well
I’m a little nervous but you know good as to be expected” Orderly: “That’s
to be expected. But the doctors here at the hospital are really great. And the
staff down at the Cath lab I think you will find are really great as
well” George: “That’s
very reassuring” Orderly: “Yeah, yeah.
Hold on here. We’ll try and catch the elevator. Who is your
doctor?” George: “Dr.
Rose” Orderly: “Oh Dr. Rose.
He’s great” George: “Is
he?” Orderly: “Yeah” George: “Yeah he seemed good” Orderly: “We are
almost there. Just down the hall here” George: “Great” Orderly: “Have you
inside in just a sec. Orderly: “Don’t
worry I’m looking out for you” George: “Thanks” Sequence with Mark the nurse Mark: “Hi George,
My name is Mark and I am one of the nurses here” George: “Please to
meet you Mark” Mark: “You’re
a little sweaty. Are you feeling a little nervous” George: “Yeah I got to
admit yeah I’m a little nervous. Mark: “Alright you
have signed consents for two procedures. The first procedure is an angiogram.
The angiogram, the wording of it is a heart catheterization with an angiogram” George: “Alright” Mark: “What we do
with that is we put a little needle in your groin and we pass a catheter up
into your heart. “ George: “Ok” Mark: “Ok. Once we
past a catheter up into your heart, we take some pictures. We inject some
contrast, or some dye. I prefer the word contrast” George: “Ha, ha” Mark: “Into you,
into your coronary artery” George: “Never say
die” Mark: “That’s
exactly right, never say die. Put contrast into your coronary artery and we
take pictures. We have two cameras in the room and they will move around your
body and we will take them at different angles” George: “Ok” Mark: “Ok we are
going to take pictures of both arteries cos you have two arteries going into
your heart. We do expect to find some problem. If the problem is a discreet, in
others words if we can fix in a setting here, we will do a balloon angioplasty
for you. Ok?” George: “Ok” Mark: “And what
that involves is putting a little balloon inside your coronary artery. Blowing
the balloon up for about a minute. While that balloon is up you are going to
feel some chest pain ok” George: “Ok” Mark: “We expect
that. We want you to tell us about it. But we expect that chest pain” George: “And what is
it, what is it doing, balloon?” Mark: “The balloon
is going to push the plague that is inside your artery. Push the obstruction
out” George: “Is that like
stuff you get on your teeth? Like when you don’t clean you teeth?” Mark: “Well it is
sort of like the stuff on your teeth except it’s made out of
cholesterol” George: “Oh ok” Mark: “It sits
inside the layer of the artery and it generally comes from cholesterol and
calcium builds up” George: “Alright” Mark: “In a young
guy like you, it’s normally just cholesterol. If it’s not good
enough, if we are not happy with the result from that, then we will go ahead
and we will put a little stent in. And a stent is a little bit like a cross
between chicken wire and scaffolding” George: “Is that a
stent there? Is that what you are going to put in me?” Mark: “Yeah let me
show it to you. This is the stent before it’s opened up” George: “Alright” Mark: “Ok.
It’s on a catheter. This has got a balloon sitting underneath this stent
here. And then have a look. The stent is planted firmly on the balloon” George: “I see it
yeah” Mark: “Ok, You want
to feel it? Just touch it” George: “Oh yeah,
yeah” Mark: “You can just feel the rough edges of
it. It’s fairly smooth. And we are going to pass it up around through the
catheter, into your coronary artery. Position it under x-ray. And then when we
see the exact place. We are going to blow up the balloon and leave the stent
that. If the angioplasty is the right thing for you today, that’s what
we are going to do” George: “OK” Mark: “And then
once it’s blown, this is an example” George: “Wow
that’s huge” Mark: “Well this is
actually an oversized stent. This is something I teach with. The sent that will
be on this will be somewhere between 2 ½ and 4 millimeters. Ok. So this
is…” George: “Wow” Mark: “This is the
example that we may actually use in another part of the body. Artery disease
isn’t just in the heart. It can be any where in the body. The problem is
if it is in your heart, then it affects you big time” George: “I got to
tell you I feel nervous. Ha. Mark: “yeah” George: “That’s
ok” Mark: “You know we,
we consider this good news. I know people get nervous and they are worried
about the result. But the good thing about it is you get a result…. George
V/O: POV wheeling into the cathlab. (4th commercial
break) Operation begins Woman: “These are
your x-ray imagining machines George. This one sits above your chest” George: “Ok” Woman: “Exactly
there. And another will come up and be on each side” George: “Ok” Woman: “Don’t
be frightened” George: “No I’m
not. Wow I’m fascinated Tom: “Here is the
other x-ray camera George. It’s coming in. It won’t hit you” George: “That’s
ok. I…” Tom: “It just
gets close” George: “Ok” Tom: “Is your
family here with you?” George: “No, they are
not. George
V/O "If I die here
on this table….Lysander's gonna kill me….." Dr
Rose: “Good morning
Tom” Tom: “Good morning
Dr. Rose” Dr
Rose: “George, good
morning” George: “Morning
“ Dr
Rose: “Are you
happy to be here?” George: “I’m
ecstatic Dr
Rose: “Alright
I’m going to talk you through this so that you understand what we are
doing and you won’t be surprised. Any time you feel any discomfort or
even if you need your nose scratched, just let us know.” George: “Thank you, I
will” Dr
Rose: “Alright, you
feel where my fingers are here in your groin?” George: “I do” Dr
Rose: “That’s where the femoral
artery is. I’m going to give you local analgesic there. You will feel a
sting and burn” George: “Alright” Dr
Rose: “And then
you’ll get numb” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “Alright here
we go. Alright you’ll feel a sting now. Say ouch” George: “Ouch” Dr
Rose: “Feel the
ouch?” George: “Ouch” Dr
Rose: “Thank you
very much. Now you should feel the a little burning. I’m going to go down
deep on both sides of artery. Both sides of artery and on top of it. There you
go. The next thing I am going to do is put a small needle through the numbed area” George: “Alright” Dr
Rose: “In through
the artery. Here we go.” Dr
Rose: “Alright?” George: “yeah I
don’t feel any thing” Dr
Rose: “Right
femoral artery first pass. Mark: “Thank you” Dr
Rose: Can we have the sheath
please? Now hold that for me Tom for a moment” George: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “There you go, excellent. Right
femoral sheath in place. That’s the worst part of it. We are flushing
sheaths. Thank you. Right left four. Mark: “Left four” Dr
Rose: “Coronary catheter. “ Mark: “Catheter in. “ Dr
Rose: “Going in. We are going to put in
through the sheath. You feel anything at all other than me touching you?” George: “I’m
just imagining” Dr
Rose: “Ok. What are you imagining?” George: “Anything but
this” Dr
Rose: “Yeah but you
can’t feel it?” George: “No,
no” Dr
Rose: “That’s
great. Let’s put it over to
see if we are in position. Dr
Rose: “Alright. Catheter
is going up and the wire is going up. Around the Arch Tom, advance it. Advance
it around the arch.” George: “Whoa” Dr
Rose: “Ok fix the
wire please. Ok, wire out please. Very good, let hook up to flush. Here we go.
Alright hooking up to flush. Alright flush get set. Alright pressures?” Mark: “Blood pressures 165 on 76” Dr
Rose: “alright we
are going to get ready to take the first set of pictures now” George: “Oh you mean
it’s in already?” Dr
Rose: “It’s
sitting right above your heart and right near the artery” George: “Wow” Dr
Rose: “I’m
going to advance the catheter now into the origin of the left coronary artery.
Feel ok?” George: “Yeah
I’m great” Dr
Rose: “Alright
I’m going to need your help George. When I tell you, take a deep breath
and hold it. Ready? George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Take a deep
breath in now. And inject. Very nice, very nice.” Dr
Rose: “Ok breath
normal. Alright let go to the next angle. I’m going to move camera
George” George: “Alright” Dr
Rose: “How do you
feel?” George: “I’m
fine” Dr
Rose: “Great,
you’re doing great” Dr
Rose: “George all
set now. Lights off please. George take a deep breath in and hold it.” Dr
Rose: “Inject.
Great shot. Breath normal.” Dr
Rose: “George we
have found the problem. The problem is as we expected. There is a 90 to 95%
blockage in the main artery that goes down the front of the heart. There is
blood going through it but it is severely narrowed. That why you had discomfort
on the treadmill and that’s why you had the discomfort at home. Dr
Rose: “Inside the lining
of the arteries there can be localized areas on inflammation. And when the
inside of the arteries become inflamed, there are sometimes deposits of fat.
And suddenly this little lining can rupture. And like a cut on the skin, the
body tries to heal wound and you get all kinds of blood products, try to come
in and form a blood clot to seal this up” George
V/O: “Oh god, I’ve got a clot…my
arteries’ blocked…I bet it’s a widow-maker.” George’s
Dad V/O: “Didn’t take the doctor’s advice, thought
I was bulletproof.” George’s Mother V/O: “It’s all in the genes George.” Ex-wife
V/O: "Self, self, self, Harrison V/O: “We’re all going to die sometime.” George: “Oh
boy” Dr
Rose: “We are going
to advance the little balloon George” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Hang on.
Alright. Good around the arch“ Woman: “18
milligrams, yes” Dr
Rose: “What
I’m going to do now is I’m going to inflate this tiny balloon.
It’s sitting right at the blockage” George: “Right” Dr
Rose: “You may feel
some tightness in your chest” George: “ok” Dr
Rose: “Which will
come on gradually...” George: “Here we
go” Dr
Rose: “Ok here we
go guys. Mark. Alright” George: “Boy” Dr
Rose: “That’s
nice, that’s nice. Alright that’s much, much better. What we are
going to do now is place a stent over there to the area and inflate it” George: “ok” Dr
Rose: What do you think?
Looks pretty good?” Tom: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “Alright
George” George: “Yeah” Dr
Rose: “We are going
to open the stent up where the blockage is. You may feel that tightness
again” George: “Alright,
I’m prepared” Dr
Rose: “Alright here
we go guys. Mark?” Mark: “Going up. 6
atmospheres.” Dr
Rose: “7, 8, 10.
Leave it at 10. Let me know 45 seconds Mark Mark: “Ok” Dr
Rose: “How do you
feel? You feel the discomfort?” George: “A little, a
little yeah” Dr
Rose: “Ok, alright.
Blood pressure is good. About 140 over 80. Alright down. Alright now it’s
going to gradually ease off here. Tell me when it’s gone alright?” George: “ok” Dr
Rose: “Ok Tom lets
take a little test here. Alright ready?” Tom: “Ready” Dr
Rose: “Take half a
deep breath George. Inject” Tom: “Inject” Dr
Rose: “Looks great.
Alright breath out. Alright that’s it. Let’s pull out. Pull catheter.
I like it. We are out of here. We have an excellent result. And you should be
able to go home in the morning.” George: “Wow” Dr
Rose: “I hope that
wasn’t too bad. You were a great guy, very patient. Alright we
will….” As per cut to tilt down tree shot and
George on exercise machine. George: “hi” Woman: “Hi. How is
that feeling?” George: “It’s
ok thanks. It’s good” Woman: “Ok. Is it
too strenuous?” George: “No,
it’s good, it’s good” Woman: “Ok” Lysander
V/O: “Hot and sweaty suits you…suits you…suits
you.” Cut to George and Marvin on course.
Hunting in the rough for George’s ball. Marvin: "So. You're
setting off metal detectors the rest of your life. At least you're
still here pal…hitting them like you always did…" George: "Yep. Some
things never change George: "Course, I'm
on drugs from here on in…. no smoking, lots of exercise, eating
right…." Marvin: “Yeah…you playing a 3?” George: “Yeah” Marvin: "So what does
Lysander think about the spring in your heart, or doesn’t she know about
it yet?” George stares down at his ball. He sees
his heart and the stent in it. He drops the ball and hits it…back into
the rough. George
V/O: "So here I am.
George. An ordinary guy. With ordinary
feelings like fear……and doubt…… and love and
hope….." George
V/O: “Oh in the rough again. Oh well that’s
life I guess” Marvin: "So when are
you going to tell Lysander?” George
SOC: "As for my
extraordinary wife…I told her as soon as she got back. And I must
admit, she took it ……..pretty well." Cut to George outside the bedroom door,
pleading his case. George: "Honey!
I’m OK really. I just didn't want to put you through all that. Dr Rose
said I can do anything!" The bedroom door opens and Lysander stands
there with a steely glare. Lysander: "Really.
Anything?" George: "Yeah!
Anything." Lysander looks at him for a moment. Then
she gives him a sexy smile, grabs the waistband of his trousers and pulls him
inside. The door slams shut. Song Bless your heart as credits continue. NHNZ Logo The End. Back
on the golf course
Back
on the golf course
Beginning
of documentary footage-
George
in lift on his way to Ultrasound sequence
Ultrasound
documentary sequence
Charles/
radioactive isotope documentary sequence
Charles/
radioactive isotope documentary sequence
Exercise
EKG documentary sequence
"I wish
Lysander was here….if I survive this I'm going to start being more
selfish…"