| Length | 21:13 |
| Licensor | Eric Winick |
| Producer(s) | Eric Winick and Jay Allison |
| Formats | Documentary |
| Topics | Gay & Lesbian, Science |
| Produced | May 25, 2008 |
| Added to PRX | June 8, 2008 |
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A disinhibited love story.
This piece was produced with help from Transom.org and Jay Allison's Open Studio Project, funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
April 23: Anniversary of Doug Nadeau's death
Emotional, Inspiring, This American Life-esque
English
In 1995, Douglas A. Nadeau of Marblehead, Massachusetts underwent a pallidotomy at Mass. General Hospital, an operation designed to eradicate neurons in his brain that no longer responded to dopamine, the naturally-created chemical that facilitates movement. Nine years earlier, while on a business trip, Doug had been bitten by an insect and developed strange Parkinsonian symptoms, such as the inability to keep his eyes open while talking. These caused numerous problems for Doug, a high-powered corporate lawyer in Boston. Over time, the symptoms worsened until Doug lost his mobility at night and was reduced to a hospital bed. Following the procedure, in which Doug practically walked off the operating table, he found he was unable to inhibit certain antisocial tendencies that, prior to the surgery, he'd kept repressed. To make matters worse, his surgery turned out to be a failure, and his symptoms returned one by one. The next nine years tested the boundaries and limits of love, marriage, and tolerance, both within the family and in the Nadeaus' wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
