Extraordinary Measures - Inspired By A True Story - In Theaters January 22, 2010
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES: John and Aileen Crowley (Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell) are the parents of three children: John, Jr. (Sam M. Hall), Megan (Meredith Droeger) and Patrick (Diego Velazquez).
But Megan, eight, and Patrick, six, have a congenital condition called Pompe disease–similar to muscular dystrophy–where the body lacks a certain enzyme that breaks down glycogen, a stored form of sugar needed for energy.
This causes the body’s organs to enlarge and shut down.
The life expectancy for children with this condition is two years.
As Megan zips around the house in her special wheelchair under the care of Aileen and around-the-clock nurses, Patrick is slowing down.
John works at a pharmaceutical company that seeks to develop a cure, but it is slow going.
When he discovers the advanced work of Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), a doctor at Nebraska University, on a treatment protocol, John goes into overdrive.
Stonehill is convinced his work in enzyme research will yield the best chance for a cure, but he is underfunded.
John promises to come up with the half million dollars needed, but falls short.
Stonehill suggests that he and John create their own lab and they go into business but struggle to find funding.
As the children become sicker, pressure mounts for a treatment.
Then John is forced into one of the most difficult decisions a parent and provider for a family with very sick children must make.
This based-on-a-true-story medical drama by The Wall Street Journal writer Geeta Anand’s 2006 book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million and Bucked the Medical Establishment in a Quest to Save His Children, depicts how decisions are made regarding the development of medicines and treatments: profitability.
Yes, the science comes into it, and it does take millions to carry out research.
But at one point John and Aileen upset the corporation when they bring Pompe families together: They put a human face on the illness. So does the film.
The real-life Crowleys are Catholic.
They obviously have medical insurance and means, but hopefully, their struggle, and the struggles of parents like them, will be a voice for those who do not have access to such breakthrough therapies.
This is a story of courage and risk.