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MOVIES, MUSIC & BOOK REVIEWS
Kudos to John Wells and E.R.!
In the final episode, “And in the End, Part 1&2,” which aired April 2, 2009, a doctor treats a young teenager
admitted for alcohol poisoning after playing drinking games with friends.
It has been reported that John Wells,
the executive producer of the long-running television drama “E.R.”, incorporated the alcohol-poisoning death of
his 17-year-old niece Shelby into the series finale to help other families.
It has been reported that Wells’
niece died after drinking with two other teenagers at a friend’s home. Though her friends propped Shelby up in
a bathroom to keep her from choking, they apparently found Shelby dead the next morning.
I am sorry that
it took a tragedy to get the topic on the air, but please utilize this episode to educate your kids. Watch the episode
together as a family (in reruns, download it, or buy the DVD) to start a discussion with your kids. I also suggest that
you visit the website that Shelby’s parents have started. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising
awareness about alcohol poisoning.
Visit http://www.shelbysrules.com/
Here are two excerpts from the site:
“We're just trying to make young people,
teenagers -- really, anyone -- understand that they may be used to seeing someone throwing up at a party, but they need to
be aware that if you can't rouse them, they may have crossed that line into a medical emergency,” said Shelby's father,
Steve Allen. (from the web site)
Most of us have been with a friend who has had a few too many and gets sick and
we either clean them up and "allow them to sleep it off" or we let them have their privacy while they vomit. This
is a mistake, when a person vomits from drinking their gag reflex has been slowed from the alcohol making it much easier for
them to choke and die. Never leave a vomiting friend alone! If a friend falls asleep or passes out or is unresponsive after
vomiting while drinking it is possible that they are in the first stages of alcohol poisoning and the only way to determine
this is to get them is to get them to a hospital quickly, every minute counts because of possible brain damage.
Remember….
IT IS NOT OK FOR ADULTS TO PERMIT KIDS TO DRINK ALCOHOL!
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