My character needs an illness

J

Jay Laville

Well-known member
Hi writing a script and need a convincing terminal illness for my lead character been looking on google and struggling to find the right one, was tempting to call my local gp. Needs to be one where he can function normally and from looking at him fits into society, looks normal, needs injections and plethora of pills everyday and told that he has like a year or two to live. Important to have off days where he is bed ridden perhaps due to the injections taking an effect to combat illness or illness leaves him on some days feeling imobile. Then days where he is fine. Sorry if I come across a bit inconsiderate on the topic of terminal illnesses really dont mean to :embarasse

Perhaps illness is from birth or when he hit certain age. He is currently 19 years old, any ideas will be helpful thanks
 
A malignant (terminal) brain tumor (cancer) would work. And could present some interesting changes as the story progresses, as the char would have her/his personality change, suffer physical changes in mobility, etc. An extreme example was the film with John Travolta, Phenomenon.

Terminal diseases that are moreso purely physical could be tumors of the heart, or a transplant with rejection. Watch Untamed Heart with Christian Slater, Marisa Tomei, great movie along this vein. Even lack of sunlight and chronic cold temperatures can get you sick-- terminally, if constant; used in Nicolas Nickelby.

If you need help researching physical changes, etc. for your story drop me a note, I have had quite a bit of training in diseases and medical illness.
 
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Jay, I don't know how you intend to frame the "terminal" nature of the disease, but outside of cancer, where death rates can be predicted much more precisely, doctors don't really give timelines anymore.

Also, most terminal diseases are marked by extreme sickness toward the end. Generally, the only diseases or syndromes where the character would appear normal, would be the timebomb diseases like an a structural aortic tear, or another type of aneurysm. But they would not have many symptoms so it would not really be an "illness."

Off the top of my head you could give him idiopathic ventricular techycardia, which could lead to sudden cardiac death. But he could go anywhere anytime. There's no timeline to it. Also, there would only be three prescriptions max for that outside of a structural problem with the myocardium.

Actually, restrictive paricarditis might work. But again, it's structural, and there would be surgery.

If you want to show injections many cancer drugs are IV/IM only. But another one would be primary pulmonary hypertension. The thing is, people get very sick from it, they usually go on Flolan for progressive cases, or remodulin, which is a little subcutaneous pouch for infusion. But even with this disease, which is a classic, "you have blank to live..." the doctors don't give estimates because almost every disease is in a constant state of flux in terms of treatment.

So two years to live means nothing, if a new drug/treatment comes out in 16 months, it doesn't mean death for the person.

In real life disease, especially terminal disease, is far more complicated than people think. I suggest you contact a pathologist at a major research hospital. A pathologist would be the person to let you know what the most realistic choice for the characteristics of a disease you require for your character.

I beg you, as a person who has dealt with a lot of disease in my family. Please do not dumb it down like so many films have. It's not the way it works in real life, and you owe it to your audience and those with diseases to learn about the subject as much as possible. I have yet to see a film that portrays any common disease the way it actually happens for most families, and patents.
 
Terminal Hiccups - what Buster Keaton was slowly dying of in his unmake parody of GRAND HOTEL.

The obvious answer is AIDS, but as arrest says - new drugs and new combos are keeping people alive.

One thing to think about - make sure the illness is part of the story, fits the story, grows from the story. You don't want to force something on the story that results in the story seeming contrived.

Are you remaking LOVE STORY?

- Bill
 
arrestthisman said:
Jay, I don't know how you intend to frame the "terminal" nature of the disease, but outside of cancer, where death rates can be predicted much more precisely, doctors don't really give timelines anymore.

Also, most terminal diseases are marked by extreme sickness toward the end. Generally, the only diseases or syndromes where the character would appear normal, would be the timebomb diseases like an a structural aortic tear, or another type of aneurysm. But they would not have many symptoms so it would not really be an "illness."

Off the top of my head you could give him idiopathic ventricular techycardia, which could lead to sudden cardiac death. But he could go anywhere anytime. There's no timeline to it. Also, there would only be three prescriptions max for that outside of a structural problem with the myocardium.

Actually, restrictive paricarditis might work. But again, it's structural, and there would be surgery.

If you want to show injections many cancer drugs are IV/IM only. But another one would be primary pulmonary hypertension. The thing is, people get very sick from it, they usually go on Flolan for progressive cases, or remodulin, which is a little subcutaneous pouch for infusion. But even with this disease, which is a classic, "you have blank to live..." the doctors don't give estimates because almost every disease is in a constant state of flux in terms of treatment.

So two years to live means nothing, if a new drug/treatment comes out in 16 months, it doesn't mean death for the person.

In real life disease, especially terminal disease, is far more complicated than people think. I suggest you contact a pathologist at a major research hospital. A pathologist would be the person to let you know what the most realistic choice for the characteristics of a disease you require for your character.

I beg you, as a person who has dealt with a lot of disease in my family. Please do not dumb it down like so many films have. It's not the way it works in real life, and you owe it to your audience and those with diseases to learn about the subject as much as possible. I have yet to see a film that portrays any common disease the way it actually happens for most families, and patents.
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Hi mate I take on board everything you say and appreciate what you have said, I will look into this alot more and research carefully and not treat it as a shallow illness just for the sake of passing phrase through the short film. As soon as its written and filmed ill post here and you can judge for yourself whether I have done it justice or not.

Thanks

Jason
 
If you want it to be genuine, I'd say something like advanced heart disease.

Or, if you want to explore other ideas it doesn't really have to be a real disease as long as you make people think it's real on film. Like panarotitis. Make something up.
 
You can always buy the various seasons of House, MD if you need odd, bizarre diseases. There should be enough in there to keep anyone busy for a lifetime.
 
The common cold, but he thinks he is dying - like all of us men normally are when we are diagnosed with the cold!!!

No, ok I will get my coat... :-)
 
Hi guys finally found an illness, spending time over the holidays with my mums friend who is a doctor and has experience with this particular condition so I can better understand it. Just want to say thanks to everyone, will be my first ever short film, perhaps biting off more than I can chew, as just learnt how to use the basics of a camera, and looked into this as a hobby about 3 months ago, but then we have to start somewhere. Hopefully this will be done by the end of the summer, looking around 15-20 mins max. :dankk2:
 
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