David Reimer show on NOW on TLC

[Nathan1097]

TLC is playing the show on David Reimer.

[Zamber]

Thanks for the heads up! Watching now....

[nd_deadhead]

His story always makes me so sad. I don't know if it was the same show or not, but it had interviews with his parents, and the guilt they still exhibit was palpable.

I keep thinking about them caring for David's identical twin brother, who was NOT circumcised after David's tragedy. Every single day they changed his diapers and bathed him, with his normal, healthy foreskin staring them in the face - clear evidence that what happened to David was not just an unfortunate accident, but resulted from a completely unnecessary operation.

[pdx.mothernurture]

Born a Boy, Raised a Girl was on last night here and I watched all but the first minute or two of it. Only one of the twins was circumcised? Was David a newborn when it was done? Was there a medical indication, or was it RIC? What method could they have been using that would have required an electro-cautery tool? Did they just use that because he was having abnormal bleeding, or was this some bizarre experimental method?

It was a very sad story...I've never seen David before or heard his voice although I've been familiar with his story for some time. My heart ached for his parents who struggled with what to do during a time when much less was known about genetics, gender, nature, and nurture.

That poor family. Those poor boys.

Jen

[nd_deadhead]

I believe the boys were about 8 months old, and "had" to be circumcised - probably with a diagnosis of phimosis.

Read "As Nature Made Him" for the complete story (minus the suicides of both David and his brother, which happened after the book was published).

[pdx.mothernurture]

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead

I believe the boys were about 8 months old, and "had" to be circumcised - probably with a diagnosis of phimosis.

That's so interesting, particularly if David's brother wasn't circumcised after all...couldn't have been that 'necessary' then, could it?

Jen

[rowansmomma]

This is the story the SVU episode "Identity" was based on.....

[New Mexico Beach]

I am not familiar with this story at all. I'll have to look into it.

[pdx.mothernurture]

Originally Posted by New Mexico Beach

I am not familiar with this story at all. I'll have to look into it.

A few resources:

http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/905

http://www.healthyplace.com/Communit...ohn_joan_2.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/reimer/

http://www.slate.com/id/2101678/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=1894187

I also sort of came across the answer to my question about why John was circumcised in the second (healthyplace.com) link:

But when the twins were 7 months old, Linda noticed that their foreskins were closing, making it hard for them to urinate. Their pediatrician explained that the condition, called phimosis, was not rare and was easily remedied by circumcision. He referred them to a surgeon. The operations were scheduled for April 27, 1966, in the morning. Because Frank needed the family car to get to his job on the late shift, they brought the kids in the night before. “We weren’t worried,” Linda says. “We didn’t know we had anything to worry about.”

But early the next morning, they were jarred from sleep by a ringing phone. It was the hospital. “There’s been a slight accident,” a nurse told Linda. “The doctor needs to see you right away.”

In the children’s ward, they were met by the surgeon. Grim-faced, businesslike, he told them that John had suffered a burn to his penis...the injury had been caused by an electro-cautery needle, a device sometimes used in circumcisions to seal blood vessels as it cuts. Through mechanical malfunction or doctor error, or both, a surge of intense heat had engulfed John’s penis. “It was blackened,” Linda says, recalling her first glimpse of his injury. “It was like a little string. And it went right up to the base, up to his body.” Over the next few days, the burnt tissue dried and broke away in pieces.

:

Jen

[rowansmomma]

A "slight" accident???????????????????????

[nd_deadhead]

Jen, I think the article you quoted is probably fairly accurate, except for one thing - David's birth name was Bruce.

Before David came out publicly with his story, it was referred to as the "John/Joan" case, which is where the John probably came from.

IIRC, the David's first interview appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.

[Lovenest]

I watched the show last night.. I have never heard of him prior.
It was so sad.:
I hope someone saw it that was going to circ and decided not to.

[baybee]

I met a woman recently who had her son circumcisied (not so easy to do in this province). She told me that she really wanted it done and the only thing that gave her pause what that she had studied the David Reimer story as part of her university psych program. It still didn't stop her.!&%$#%&&*??
I Wonder what it would take?
Baybee

[Lula's Mom]

Through mechanical malfunction or doctor error, or both, a surge of intense heat had engulfed John’s penis. “It was blackened,” Linda says, recalling her first glimpse of his injury. “It was like a little string. And it went right up to the base, up to his body.” Over the next few days, the burnt tissue dried and broke away in pieces.

Oh my God. Can you imagine. Bless his heart.

[mntnmom]

Just thinking about that makes me nauseous. Can you imagine being his mom and watching that!!
The saddest part is that BOTH boys commited suicide over the "solution" the phsychiatrist came up with.

[TigerTail]

I had no idea his brother suicided too. OMG. Awful, what an unnecessary tragedy. And still people WILL do this.

[HeatherB]

I'm new to this forum, but have to chime in. As a child, I picked up the book with this story in a bookstore (and by child I probably mean teenager). I read just enough of the intro to find out what happened before I had to put it down. That single experience dramatically shaped my views of circumcision, and led me to seriously question RIC when pregnant with my first child (who did, indeed, turn out to be a son). Obviously there were other issues, too, but my DH and I made an unwavering decision to NOT circumcise any of our children, and we now have 2 beautiful, intact boys.

I would like to see this story if it airs again, but I imagine it is as disturbing as it is intriguing.

[hakunangovi]

This has to be one of the most tragic stories that I have ever read. I just can't fathom the mental anguish that David's parents had to endure. Never mind David himself. And all for absolutely nothing. From what I understand the twins were "balooning" when they peed. All perfectly normal as the foreskin starts to separate from the glans. but this is where the phony "phimosis" diagnosis came in. What is really galling is that some Drs still believe this to be a reason to circumcise.