It’s been a while. Where to start? How about with “24?”

It’s hard to be incredulous about Fox’s “24″ when the show is 11 episodes in.  But what were the Fox writers thinking?  Better yet  –  get them working for the U.S. government because they obviously know how to cure prion diseases!  How on Earth does Jack Bauer come back from the weaponized strain of CJD that was killing him last season?  There’s no explanation of how he got well.  He shows no signs of ever being sick!  I guess that’s Hollywood for you.  Damn.

I would have written this season’s “24″ by staying true to CJD and what it does to the human body. Even Jack Bauer is susceptible to that.  Sure, my “24″ screenplay would have been more of an under-budget psychological thriller taking place on a hospital room set.  But to the writers of “24,” I say this: as someone who has lived through watching a loved one die of the terminal terror known as CJD, I can tell you my mother’s final days were more stressful and action-packed than any Hollywood writer could imagine.

I’ve been too busy to think about CJD  –  which is often a good thing.  But the good news is that I finished my college degree finally.  I’ll be graduating with a BLS from Boston University in May.  BU has sucked up a ton of time over the last three years.  It’s the main reason I’ve never gained momentum with the blog or with anything I’ve wanted to do regarding raising CJD awareness.

I’m ready to usher in a new era where I can find the people in charge, ask them my burning questions, and post what I learn here.  We’ll see how that goes.

There’s so much more I want to learn about this disease that killed my mother, her brother, and their uncle.  There is even more I want to learn about my own chances, genetic testing, and who the hell is doing what to stop this disease.

–@heatherlarson

First “24,” Now “The Simpsons” Tackle Prion Disease

Another TV show is tackling the difficult and complicated matter of prion diseases.  This time it’s another Fox show, “The Simpsons,” however, the show does nothing to help my cause of educating people about CJD.  Instead, it does everything to reinforce stereotypes about “mad cow disease.”  Lisa Simpson is the only one who speaks the truth, calling it an “abomination” to feed cows to cows.

I found the clip on Ecorazzi, which does blog about the show with class.  Thank you, Ecorazzi for understanding that prion diseases are no laughing matter.

1. Vegetarians can, and have, contracted CJD.

2. CJD does not make every one of its victims “mad” or aggressive.  Usually when BSE affects a cow, it does alter the personality of the animal. A normally calm cow can become aggressive, but a normally aggressive cow can become calm.

3.  People do not get “mad cow disease.”  BSE is “mad cow disease” and affects cows.  If a person eats tainted meat and contracts a prion disease from it, it is called “vCJD.”

To be honest, I’m intrigued as to what’s going on at Fox.

That’s two shows now working CJD into their plots, even if not calling the disease by its proper name.  I also find it ironic that this ‘Simpsons’ episode shows cannibalism–when cannibalism in Papua New Guinea a couple hundred years ago is believed to have been the beginning of prion disease with Kuru.  There is another interesting moment where a brain comes out of a skull and gets covered with glasses and dentures, in effect personifying the brain.  (Relax, it’s a cartoon).  This also jumped out at me since CJD is a brain disease.  Seeing this reinforces what I’ve believed since “24″ saw Jack Bauer get CJD, that someone at Fox lost someone to CJD.

Who are you?

I see your grief working its way out through your art.  We need to talk–you can do so much for this cause that we share.