I've discussed in the past how soap operas sometimes create a story around difficult subjects. One of those being death, but more specifically, the death of a baby or child. I know GH did it back in the early 90s, when they told the story of B.J.'s being involved in a drunk driver accident. Amidst the peak of their grief, her parents make the painful decision to donate their daughter's organs, one of which, her heart, is transplanted into her ailing cousin. From what I've seen through my years of watching GH, it's one of the stories that was played out with the most heart. I don't recall seeing it back when I was in my early teens, but I've seen several flashbacks, and just wow.
Since then, I've seen several other storylines involving the tragic death of a child. Sam's daughter Lila being stillborn. Elizabeth losing her 3 year old son Jake, after he was hit by a drunk driver, his own (adoptive) grandfather Luke Spencer. Similar to B.J.'s story, his parents donated one of his kidneys to save Carly's daughter Josslyn, who was suffering from cancer. And most recently, the death of Gabriel, Sabrina and Patrick's son who was born too early.
If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I probably would have told you that I appreciate this kind of story. Perhaps that makes me sound morbid, but the tragedy brings out exceptional acting. It makes the characters more human. And at the same time, it makes the viewers feel more human. You react to these stories and you react pretty intensely.
Almost a year and a half after losing my son, I have a different opinion. I admire the writers for trying to tell these stories. These stories that no one really wants to hear about. Most fans are outraged when a baby or child is killed off in a soap opera. But you know what? This happens in real life! Be outraged about that! Be so outraged that as a society, we do something about it. More research needs to be done; on why so many stillbirths still happen, on what causes SIDS.
Use these stories to see how you can help grieving parents. You might say, there isn't much that can be done, but support goes a long, long way. Just being there to listen, can make a huge difference.
I finally caught up by watching all my backlogged DVRed episodes of General Hospital. I must say, I was pretty excited to do so, as they brought back some fan favorites as they close out a story which will result in the departure of Luke Spencer, as his portrayer, Anthony Geary, retires. One of these fan favorites, Jonathan Jackson, who played Luke Spencer's son, Lucky, for several years. He's now a regular on Nashville, and so I knew his return would be for a very limited period of time.
The scenes between fictional father and son did not disappoint. Part of the storyline, let's just say it completely caught me off guard.
It turns out that Lucky found out that his son, Jake, was alive - held captive on Cassadine island by Helena. With Helena, everything is possible. With his legendary parents, Luke and Laura, at his side, they rescued Jake, who is now 8, and brought him home to an incredulous Elizabeth. Oh how envious I was of her. I was just as flabbergasted as she was when they first showed his face on the screen. They have one of the twins that played him 5 years ago, playing him now. Unmistakable that it's the same little boy.
All those emotions, and thoughts that crossed her mind - I felt them as I watched the story unfold. Not wanting to let him out of her sight. I feel like I'm not going to want to let my baby-to-be out of my sight, however unrealistic that sounds. Feeling like it's not real. I often still feel like this pregnancy isn't real. It's hard to wrap my head around it, even 18 weeks in.
Whatever the case may be, I tip my hat to General Hospital. Thank you for telling stories that aren't always easy to share. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not totally empty inside. I may have been so shell shocked, that my own son, Preston's death left me finding it hard to cry, but you help me rediscover that I'm not heartless. One of the most difficult realizations for me was the guilt I'd feel when I wasn't able to cry over my own loss. It felt horrible. I felt like maybe my love for my son wasn't enough. Living out someone else's story, makes me realize that I'm just too close to my own story, sometimes, to feel the intense emotions. My heart tries to spare me.
Keep on doing what you are doing for as long as you can. Maybe, one day, we'll see a SIDS story. It would be a very difficult story to watch, but I am confident, that it might help put the word out there, that this is still a serious problem and that something needs to be done about it.
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