TV NEWS
Chicago Med: The Reunion Episode Was More Concerning Than You Probably Thought
By CHRISTIAN SCHOON
The Season 1 episode “Reunion” of “Chicago Med” is problematic because of its on-screen dismissal of mitochondrial disease, or mito, as more or less a fictional disease.
In the episode, Dr. Will Halstead agrees with Dr. Natalie Manning that her patient Michelle doesn’t have mito and that it isn’t a “real” disease at all.
Later, Chief of Psychiatry Dr. Daniel Charles opines that Michelle is presenting psychosomatic symptoms and actually has Conversion Disorder.
As noted in a Forbes article written by Infectious Disease specialist Judy Stone, the on-screen dismissal of mito disrespects patients suffering from the rare but very real malady.
NBC’s Facebook page received complaints from the mito community, and Stone asked the network to apologize or present an accurate picture of the disease in another episode.
It appears NBC and “Chicago Med” are, however, electing to stick with their concerning decision to label it as being all in a patient's mind.