- 4 months ago
Judy Woodruff profiles three Canadian children who had malformations caused by their mothers' use of thalidomide during pregnancy.
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00:01Funding for Frontline is provided by this station and other public television stations nationwide,
00:07and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
00:12The Thalidomide Babies. In the early 60s, thousands were born without arms or legs.
00:17Their mothers took the drug Thalidomide while pregnant.
00:19They were coming into a society that would not accept them.
00:24But 25 years later, theirs is a story of courage and triumph.
00:27These are not tremendous feet. These are the only thing that I've got.
00:31So when I pick up a cup and I have a drink, you know, wow, what a thrill.
00:38That's not what it is. That's how I do things.
00:41Tonight on Frontline, extraordinary people.
00:52From the network of public television stations,
00:55A presentation of KCTS Seattle,
00:58WNET New York,
01:00WPBT Miami,
01:02WTVS Detroit,
01:04and WGBH Boston.
01:06This is Frontline
01:08with Judy Woodruff.
01:14Good evening.
01:15A quarter of a century ago,
01:18thousands of babies were born around the world
01:20with severe birth defects caused by a drug called Thalidomide,
01:25which their mothers had taken while pregnant.
01:28It was the greatest prescriptive drug disaster in history.
01:33The U.S. escaped this tragedy.
01:35Thalidomide was never licensed here.
01:38However, it was sold in Canada.
01:41Tonight on Frontline,
01:43the story of what happened to those Canadian Thalidomide babies
01:47over the past 25 years.
01:50It is a universal story,
01:52a story of love,
01:54courage,
01:55and the resilience of human beings.
01:58Our program is called
01:59Extraordinary People,
02:02directed by John Zeritsky
02:03and produced by Virginia Storing
02:06and produced for Frontline
02:07by Mari Campbell.
02:15They were called the Thalidomide babies.
02:19Over 9,000 severely deformed children
02:23born in Europe,
02:25Japan,
02:26Australia,
02:27and Canada.
02:29Their births in the early 60s
02:31shocked the world,
02:32and many experts doubted
02:35they would ever survive
02:36to become adults.
02:44Although most of the world
02:46came to know
02:47the terrible story of Thalidomide,
02:50there is another,
02:52untold story
02:53of what became
02:55of the Thalidomide babies
02:56as the years passed.
02:58Good evening,
03:15I'm Norman DePoe,
03:16this is News Magazine.
03:18By now,
03:18the whole world
03:19knows the tragedy
03:20of Thalidomide.
03:21Up to 7,000 children
03:23in at least
03:23a dozen different countries
03:25have been deformed
03:26by the suspected
03:27congenital side effects
03:29of the wonder drug
03:30that went wrong.
03:31In Germany,
03:32where the pills sold
03:33at a rate of 15 million a month,
03:355,000 children
03:36have been born deformed.
03:38From Stolberg, Germany,
03:39Morley Safer reports.
03:41This is where it all began,
03:43the firm of Grunenthal
03:44in Stolberg.
03:45In 1957,
03:47they developed a sedative,
03:48a hypnotic,
03:49as the doctors call it,
03:50that was the answer
03:51to a prayer.
03:53Its generic name
03:54was Thalidomide.
03:55A sleeping pill
03:57that was safe
03:58to have around the house.
03:59Doctors found it
04:00especially good
04:01in treating pregnant women.
04:03In Europe,
04:05by the summer of 1960,
04:07there was an epidemic
04:08of abnormal births.
04:10Thousands of deformed babies.
04:12Many were born
04:13without arms or legs.
04:16Others died
04:16because they had no organs,
04:18and no one knew why.
04:20During a visit
04:23to military posts
04:24in Germany,
04:25Clifford Chatterton,
04:26a World War II amputee
04:28and then Canada's
04:29Army Welfare Director,
04:31asked to see the babies.
04:33Most people didn't want
04:34to look at the limbs,
04:36but I did.
04:36I mean,
04:37that's my business,
04:39you see.
04:40And so I asked the,
04:42through the interpreter,
04:43I asked the nurses,
04:44I mean,
04:44I would like to see the baby.
04:45I'd like to see
04:46all of the baby.
04:47So with some reluctance,
04:48they drew the clothing aside,
04:52and two things struck me.
04:56One, they may not live,
04:59and two, if they did,
05:01they were coming into a society
05:03that would not accept them.
05:06I remember waking up
05:08and asking the doctor,
05:09is the baby all right?
05:11And he said,
05:12there's something wrong
05:13with his feet.
05:14And I said,
05:14will he be able to walk?
05:15And he said,
05:17well,
05:17there's a lot of things
05:18they can do nowadays.
05:19That was it.
05:21Not knowing the danger,
05:22Ann Warren had taken
05:24thalidomide while stationed
05:25with her Army husband,
05:27Reg,
05:27in Germany.
05:28Their first baby,
05:29Randy,
05:30was born in June 1961.
05:33Nobody told me
05:34anything about it,
05:35except the midwife.
05:37She came in,
05:38and she'd say,
05:40poor child.
05:41So you asked,
05:42what about the poor child?
05:43Well, nothing.
05:45Nobody told me anything.
05:47So when I came out
05:47ten days later,
05:49I went to the
05:50children's hospital.
05:51My husband didn't want
05:51to take me,
05:52but we went.
05:54And I said,
05:55I'd like to see the baby.
05:56Well, the nurse unwrapped him,
05:58and I just started crying.
06:00Because all he had
06:02was just, you know,
06:03the stubs with feet on him.
06:04It's very hard to
06:06remember exactly
06:07what I thought.
06:08Just think,
06:09what are we going to do?
06:11After we brought him home,
06:13we'd take him out
06:13in the stroller
06:14and whatnot,
06:15and people.
06:16I never met people
06:17like that in my life
06:18ever before.
06:20They would just
06:20tear the blanket off
06:21and take a look.
06:23My problem with
06:24thalidomide
06:24is that I'm partial
06:25phocamellia.
06:26Phocamellia means
06:27seal flippers,
06:28and the feet lie
06:29more comfortably
06:30to the side.
06:31And my feet,
06:31when I was born,
06:32were wrapped
06:32right around each other.
06:33So there's scarves,
06:35like right there,
06:36and right on the back
06:36of this leg
06:37where they started
06:37to unwrap them.
06:38And bones were floating
06:39all through my body.
06:41And on my hands,
06:44I was born
06:44with a little piece
06:45of a thumb,
06:46just a piece of skin
06:47with a little bone in it
06:48that was useless.
06:49So I cut that off,
06:50and I took this finger
06:51that would have
06:52extended here like that,
06:53moved it over,
06:54and created a thumb
06:55that works fairly well.
06:57And my wrist is
06:58always permanently
06:59to the side a bit.
07:01They couldn't straighten
07:02that out very well.
07:03And my elbows too.
07:04So that would mean
07:05that another pill probably,
07:07and my mom would have
07:08had a person with no arms too.
07:10So I'm luckier than most
07:11because I have more
07:11of a leg,
07:12and I can actually
07:12stand on it.
07:13They don't suggest it,
07:14but I do.
07:16It's a good thing
07:17I didn't take more
07:18because I've seen pictures
07:20of some of the children
07:21over there.
07:23Randy's lucky.
07:25Randy Warren was lucky.
07:27Other Canadian
07:28thalidomide babies
07:29born in Germany
07:30were abandoned,
07:32left in institutions
07:33run by the German government.
07:34He was my child.
07:37Nobody else's.
07:39That never crossed
07:39my mind at all.
07:41People suggest it.
07:42They meant it well.
07:44Put him in an institution.
07:46Not that no.
07:47No way.
07:48I mean, you're smiling.
07:49I mean,
07:49you don't leave a baby
07:50behind that smiles.
07:54In Saskatchewan
07:55in July 1960,
07:57a baby boy
07:58was born without arms
08:00and immediately
08:01abandoned by his parents.
08:02Soon after,
08:07Jack and Hilda Law,
08:08a couple in their 50s
08:10saw the armless orphan.
08:13And I took one look
08:15and I thought,
08:15no wonder nobody
08:16wanted him.
08:18And the next time
08:19I went to see him,
08:19of course,
08:20they had him bathed
08:20and dressed
08:21and he didn't look
08:22too bad at all.
08:24Well, I wasn't in favor
08:25of taking him at all.
08:27No way.
08:28We'd raised our family
08:29and that was it.
08:29But
08:30it was a baby
08:35but nobody wanted him
08:36so what are you going to do?
08:38Turned out okay.
08:41A few months
08:42after Alvin Law
08:43was adopted,
08:44the William S. Merrill
08:45Company in Cincinnati
08:46ended their safety tests
08:48and applied to sell
08:49thalidomide in Canada
08:51and the United States.
08:52But in the U.S.,
08:53it ran into trouble.
08:54Dr. Francis Kelsey
08:56at the FDA
08:57refused a license
08:59saying more research
09:00was needed.
09:02Well, I know
09:03that we're all
09:03most indebted
09:04to Dr. Kelsey,
09:05the relationship,
09:06the hopes that all of us
09:08have for our children.
09:10For over a year,
09:11Dr. Kelsey
09:12stood by her decision
09:13despite enormous pressure
09:15from the drug company.
09:17For her conviction
09:18and courage,
09:19President Kennedy
09:20publicly honored her.
09:22Thanks mainly
09:23to Dr. Kelsey,
09:24the U.S.
09:25was spared
09:26the thalidomide tragedy.
09:30In Canada,
09:31on the other hand,
09:32where Dr. Kelsey
09:33was born,
09:34thalidomide
09:35was quickly approved.
09:37But soon after,
09:38a German doctor
09:39presented evidence
09:40linking thalidomide
09:41to the thousands
09:42of deformed babies
09:43in Europe.
09:45Germany ordered it
09:46off the market.
09:47England banned it.
09:49But Canada
09:50allowed thalidomide
09:51to remain on the shelves
09:52another three months.
09:57In Winnipeg,
09:58Dr. Claude Murphy
09:59was worried.
10:00His wife, Peggy,
10:01awaited the birth
10:02of their fourth child.
10:04She had been prescribed
10:05thalidomide
10:06by another doctor.
10:07I'd warned the nurses
10:08at the hospital
10:09we could be in for trouble.
10:10And we wheeled
10:11into the delivery room
10:12and I took off.
10:14You know,
10:14I didn't think
10:15it was an appropriate place
10:16for the dad to be
10:18and I went into
10:18the doctor's dressing room.
10:21I turned and looked
10:21through the window
10:22and I saw the nurse
10:23looking with horror
10:24at the stretcher,
10:26you know,
10:26and realized
10:26there was something wrong.
10:28So I burst into the room
10:29and he'd kill a breach,
10:32you see,
10:32because of his lack of legs
10:34of a small bum
10:34and his large head.
10:36There he was stuck
10:37on the stretcher
10:38with just his bottom.
10:41And then, of course,
10:42I saw his little flippers,
10:45his little limbs
10:46and so forth.
10:47And I got a pair
10:48of forceps
10:48and put them on
10:49over his head
10:49and delivered him.
10:51And if I hadn't been there,
10:54he never would have made it.
10:55They all wanted
10:56to see my reaction.
10:58And I remember
11:01very vividly
11:02because it just seemed
11:06as though
11:06they're all ready
11:09to pounce,
11:10you know.
11:11Was I going
11:12to reject them
11:13or was I going
11:14to, you know,
11:15cry?
11:16Was I going
11:17to do?
11:19But when the time
11:20came to take them
11:24and see them,
11:25I forgot they were there,
11:26you know.
11:28I know that it was
11:29love at first sight,
11:31if you like.
11:32I'd have to say
11:35I was pretty
11:36devastated
11:37by the whole thing.
11:38I'd never dealt
11:39with anybody
11:39who had, like,
11:41physical deficiencies
11:41before.
11:42And then I had
11:43to break the news
11:46to the other kids
11:48and did that
11:49the next day or so.
11:51How was that?
11:54It was surprising.
12:02Well, they said,
12:08Dad, you've got
12:10to bring that baby
12:10home.
12:12My parents took
12:13me out a lot,
12:14took me traveling
12:15a lot,
12:16took me to friends,
12:18places,
12:19everywhere they
12:20possibly could.
12:20I went with them.
12:21There was no intent
12:23on hiding
12:23or keeping me
12:24separate from things.
12:27In the spring
12:28of 1962,
12:30not long after
12:31Paul Murphy
12:31was born.
12:33Canada finally
12:34banned thalidomide.
12:35We don't know
12:36exactly how many
12:37mothers took the drug
12:38before it was banned
12:40by the original
12:41manufacturer
12:42and how many
12:42who took it
12:43afterwards.
12:44But I would have
12:45to say that those
12:46who took it
12:46afterwards have an
12:47even more serious
12:49reason for condemning
12:50the failure of the
12:52Canadian government.
12:54Firstly, to keep it
12:55off the market
12:55and secondly,
12:56to keep it on the
12:57market after it was
12:58banned elsewhere.
12:59Over a hundred
13:01thalidomide babies
13:02were born in Canada.
13:04As awareness of the
13:05tragedy grew,
13:07the Canadian government
13:08held a conference
13:09to determine what
13:10could be done
13:10for the babies.
13:12There was general
13:12agreement that families
13:14should be compensated.
13:16But it was an empty
13:17promise.
13:18Nothing was ever done.
13:20Eventually, the government
13:21advised the families
13:22to sue Merrill,
13:24the American drug maker.
13:25Meanwhile, many of the
13:27Canadian babies
13:28had already died
13:29and doctors were
13:31uncertain about what
13:32they could do
13:33for the survivors.
13:35We did what we
13:36thought had to be
13:37done.
13:40And we weren't
13:41any experienced
13:43people.
13:44We lived one day
13:45at a time and
13:46whatever task,
13:48whatever problem
13:48came up,
13:49we tried to
13:50cope with it.
13:51In Saskatchewan,
13:55the laws decided
13:56the best way
13:57to teach their
13:58adopted son
13:59to cope with life
14:00was to turn
14:00his toes
14:01into fingers.
14:03For hours,
14:03every day,
14:04Alvin was given
14:05manual tasks
14:06to perform
14:07with his feet.
14:08Now, granted,
14:19having no arms
14:20isn't exactly a
14:21rather simple
14:22disability.
14:22It's a very
14:23complicated disability.
14:25And I'd be lying
14:26if I didn't say
14:27it was a lot
14:28of work.
14:29A lot of work.
14:30A lot of time
14:31spent by myself
14:32being very lonely,
14:33being very afraid,
14:34being very frustrated.
14:36But I think it was
14:37the character that
14:37was built by my parents,
14:39especially by my parents,
14:42that allowed me
14:42to not really think
14:43that I was all
14:44that different.
14:47From an early age,
14:48the thalidomide babies
14:50surprised their families
14:51by quickly doing
14:52what their doctors
14:53thought would be
14:54impossible.
14:56He soon learned
14:57how to roll
14:58or to move
15:01from one place
15:01to another
15:02and get what he wanted.
15:03And he developed
15:04techniques like
15:05using his feet,
15:06using his fingers,
15:07using his mouth.
15:08He uses his mouth
15:10as an extra hand.
15:12And even today,
15:13one of the things
15:13he does
15:14can grasp things.
15:15He can grasp
15:16a glass
15:17and upend
15:19a full glass
15:20of whatever
15:20with just his teeth.
15:23Oh, I've been surprised
15:25and I'm still surprised
15:25if I were to sit
15:27in a chair today
15:28and you were
15:29to lop off my limbs
15:30like his are,
15:32I'd still be in the chair
15:33when you came for me
15:34a few days from now,
15:37but he is
15:37and he's gone.
15:39I don't like sitting
15:40much.
15:41I like to keep active.
15:42If I end up
15:43flat on my back
15:44for a back problem
15:45or with a cold
15:46or anything like that,
15:47after about the third day,
15:48it's approaching
15:50straitjacket time
15:50because I just can't handle,
15:52I usually have the phone
15:53right beside me
15:53so I can keep busy
15:55and keep things rolling.
15:56I'm not one
15:57that can handle sitting.
15:59If I sit,
15:59I sleep
16:00and that's basically
16:02how it works.
16:03Can you get up
16:03from there by yourself
16:04or does someone
16:04have to help you out?
16:08Uh,
16:09somebody has to
16:10help me up,
16:12but why is it big?
16:14A big thing.
16:16There had never been
16:17children like
16:18the thalidomide babies
16:19and their doctors
16:20were struggling
16:21through uncharted territory.
16:23There was no papers
16:25written on them.
16:26There was no literature
16:27and we had to,
16:29uh,
16:29to improvise.
16:30I'm not afraid
16:32to say so.
16:33We had to improvise
16:34because there was
16:35no way
16:36that we could find out
16:37what to do.
16:39So the first thing
16:40we did was to
16:41invent new types
16:45of artificial limbs.
16:48Now a seven days
16:49special report.
16:50Susie Mathias
16:51was born on
16:52August the 28th,
16:531962,
16:55badly deformed.
16:56For the past year,
16:58her life has
16:58resolved,
16:59revolved around
16:59a unique machine
17:00which she calls
17:01her shoes.
17:03For Susie,
17:04the shoes have come
17:05to represent
17:06the one totally
17:07important thing
17:08in her life,
17:09mobility.
17:11The doctors
17:12had decided
17:13artificial limbs
17:14were the answer
17:15to the tragedy
17:16of the thalidomide babies.
17:18At a Montreal hospital,
17:20Randy Warren
17:21was outfitted
17:22with limbs
17:23just like Susie's.
17:25I still remember
17:25the sweat,
17:26misery.
17:28I call it
17:29real misery
17:30because lugging
17:31these weights
17:33on the end,
17:34they were full legs
17:34made of some kind
17:35of a plastic
17:36and they were heavy.
17:41I had to wear them.
17:44That was the one thing.
17:45When I was little,
17:46to get out of the hospital,
17:46you had to know
17:47how to walk,
17:48up and down stairs,
17:49you had certain goals,
17:50and then they would
17:50let you out,
17:51and they'd tell you that,
17:52to kind of blackmail you
17:52into doing things.
17:54So,
17:54a strong little kid,
17:56a lot thinner,
17:56and I guess I just
17:58did it without
17:58questioning it.
18:00In Winnipeg,
18:01Paul Murphy
18:02was trying to cope
18:03with artificial arms.
18:05Seems to me
18:06a lot of these devices
18:08were primarily
18:10to make them
18:10look like anybody else,
18:11and that's about
18:12all it did, too.
18:13It inhibited
18:14all his abilities.
18:17You know,
18:17you can do more
18:17with two fingers,
18:19two normal fingers,
18:20than anybody
18:21could ever do
18:22with any kind
18:22of mechanical,
18:23electronic,
18:24or whatever device
18:25that's been devised
18:26up to date.
18:28Across Canada,
18:29thalidomide children
18:31were discovering
18:31the doctors were wrong,
18:33that artificial limbs
18:35were not the answer.
18:37I lost my sense
18:38of who I was.
18:39I stick these arms on me.
18:41I'm not Alvin Law anymore.
18:43Alvin Law doesn't have
18:44any arms,
18:45artificial or not.
18:47And why would I need them?
18:49I mean,
18:50there was no good reason,
18:52not one good reason.
18:54to use them.
18:56For years,
18:56I told them,
18:57hey,
18:57these aren't doing
18:58me any good.
19:00And it was like,
19:01shut up.
19:02That was how blunt it was.
19:04You know,
19:05we know what we're doing.
19:06You don't.
19:09In time,
19:10Susie will have
19:10artificial arms,
19:11possibly controlled
19:12by electrical switches
19:13worked by her own fingers.
19:15At the moment,
19:16she has a table
19:17with a mechanical arm
19:18fixed to it.
19:19Open it.
19:20Then you can have it.
19:22Come on.
19:23Open it.
19:23No.
19:26Open it,
19:27honey.
19:28Open it,
19:28Susie.
19:28No.
19:30Please.
19:30Practice a few minutes.
19:31Please,
19:32Susie.
19:33Please.
19:33Please,
19:34open it.
19:35No.
19:36Please.
19:36The little hand,
19:41the little flippers
19:42have sensation.
19:45They can feel
19:47heat,
19:49cold.
19:50They feel the food.
19:52They can bring them
19:53to their mouth.
19:54They can write.
19:56Whereas,
19:57with an artificial limb,
19:59the limb has no sensation.
20:01Very often,
20:02I can ask
20:03a war amputation
20:05or an accident,
20:07can you move
20:08your fingers?
20:09Though they're not there,
20:10yes,
20:11he can move them.
20:12So he can use
20:13a prosthetic appliance
20:14with no difficulty
20:15whatsoever.
20:16But in the case
20:18of the thalidomide
20:19children,
20:20they were born
20:21without
20:22the limb.
20:23So the image
20:24of the limb
20:26is not in their brain.
20:27so they could not
20:29get used
20:29to prosthetic appliances.
20:34Consequently,
20:35nature
20:36helped them
20:37to use
20:38their little arms
20:39or their feet
20:40and then
20:41we encouraged that.
20:44But in the medical world,
20:46Dr. Jean Gras' views
20:47were in the minority.
20:49For the first
20:4915 years
20:50of their lives,
20:52most thalidomide
20:53children waged
20:54a painful struggle
20:55with artificial limbs
20:57their doctors
20:57insisted they wear.
21:00Alvin Law
21:01reached the breaking point
21:03with his artificial arms
21:04when he was 13
21:06and attending
21:07a football game
21:08with his therapist.
21:09I asked for a pop,
21:11so she passed me
21:11down a pop.
21:12And let's just say
21:13this was the pop,
21:14okay,
21:14and I grab it like this
21:15and I push the gland
21:16and it's going
21:16the guy beside me
21:20is still trying to figure
21:20out what's going on.
21:22I get it to about here
21:23and all of a sudden
21:24it goes
21:24and just stops
21:27right there
21:27six inches away
21:28from my face
21:29just far enough
21:30that I can't reach it.
21:32And the guy beside me
21:33and now is starting
21:33to think something's
21:34a little odd here
21:35and really notices it
21:36when I'm stopped
21:36like this
21:37and I'm going like
21:38like this
21:39and trying to reach
21:40the glass
21:41and I just can't.
21:42Now,
21:42I turned to my therapist
21:43and I said,
21:44you know,
21:44something's wrong.
21:45She said,
21:46what?
21:46I said,
21:47well,
21:47it stopped.
21:48She was a brilliant person.
21:49What stopped?
21:51Well,
21:51the arm stopped.
21:52Now,
21:52what am I going to do?
21:52And she says,
21:53well,
21:53this is all a part
21:54of your therapeutic process.
21:57I said,
21:57what is?
21:57And she says,
21:58well,
21:58this is where you use
21:58problem solving,
21:59creativity and imagination
22:00to solve your little difficulties.
22:03Isn't that great?
22:04You know?
22:05So finally,
22:05I got so frustrated,
22:0613 years old,
22:07typical.
22:07I just took off my shoe.
22:08I reached up.
22:09I grabbed the glass
22:10right out of the hand,
22:11tore it out with my foot,
22:12right?
22:13The arm's still stuck here
22:14in front of my face.
22:15I reach underneath
22:15the arm with my foot,
22:17take a drink.
22:17Then you should have
22:19seen the guy look.
22:22And I mean,
22:22I'm sitting there thinking,
22:23isn't this bizarre,
22:24right?
22:25I'm going to deal
22:26with mechanical difficulties
22:27so I can have a drink
22:28of bloody pop.
22:30I mean,
22:30that's how stupid it was,
22:31you know?
22:31I mean,
22:32I made a decision that day.
22:33I said,
22:33enough of these things.
22:35Everybody always assumed
22:37that I wanted to walk.
22:38Nobody really asked.
22:40Nobody really gave a damn
22:41enough to ask.
22:42That's blunt,
22:44you know?
22:44Everybody just figured
22:45you got no legs
22:46to speak of
22:47so we'll fit you
22:48with longer legs
22:49and you'll be happy.
22:51One of the biggest traumas
22:52of my life
22:53was when the doctors
22:53decided that the last
22:55operation that really
22:56needed to be done
22:57was to cut off my feet
22:58off of the stubs
23:00and create a round surface
23:02so that they could fit
23:03suction artificial limbs
23:04to me because they decided
23:05that I was always
23:06getting sores
23:07in the crack of my leg
23:08between the foot
23:09and the leg itself
23:10and I was complaining
23:11a lot about it and stuff.
23:12So to keep me walking,
23:13that would have been
23:14the best alternative,
23:15get rid of the feet.
23:16But Randy's parents
23:18intervened with doctors
23:19and at 15,
23:21he was finally permitted
23:22to use a wheelchair
23:24full time
23:25and to keep his feet.
23:27Why do I have to
23:28miss my legs?
23:29That's my big question
23:30in life.
23:30Don't you miss walking?
23:31No, I never walked.
23:33But don't you wish
23:33you could walk?
23:34Why?
23:34I never walked.
23:35I don't know what
23:36I would be wishing for.
23:37People these days
23:38don't know that I walked,
23:40a lot of them,
23:41or have never seen me walk.
23:42I find that amusing.
23:44I'm glad that people forgot
23:46because I forgot.
23:48I don't have fully
23:49developed hip sockets.
23:51There's no true socket.
23:52So the weight caused
23:54a lot of back problems
23:55and at that point
23:56it became very cosmetic.
23:59It was for everybody else's benefit
24:01and not my own.
24:02I think the thing
24:03that hurt me most about it
24:04at the end of the whole thing
24:06when I finally decided
24:07I didn't want them anymore,
24:08finally really decided
24:10and thought about it.
24:12They turned around
24:13and said to me,
24:14well, we didn't think
24:14they'd work out anyway.
24:16And that was after
24:17ten years of
24:19trying different methods
24:21and going taller
24:22and shorter
24:22and up and down
24:23and all over
24:24and getting,
24:25oh, it's going to work
24:26and you're going to be great
24:27and this and that
24:28and then they casually
24:29come out and say,
24:29well, we didn't think
24:30it would work anyway.
24:31That sort of
24:32got to me.
24:35By the mid-1960s,
24:37several years
24:37after the first
24:38thalidomide babies
24:39were born,
24:40public attention
24:41in Canada
24:42had waned
24:42but many of the
24:44thalidomide families
24:45were struggling.
24:46Some of the parents
24:47became alcoholics.
24:49Some were having
24:50severe psychiatric problems.
24:52A few had committed suicide.
24:55For all the families,
24:57a key decision loomed.
24:59The children
24:59were reaching school age.
25:01But what kind of school?
25:03Some experts
25:04recommended schools
25:05for the handicapped.
25:07Others advised
25:08a normal education.
25:10In Yorkton,
25:12Saskatchewan,
25:14Alvin Law's parents
25:15ran into opposition
25:16from the grade school
25:17across the street
25:18when they tried
25:20to enroll their son.
25:22The school says,
25:23wait, he's got no arms.
25:24He can't go to this school.
25:25We don't have such a thing
25:26as integration.
25:27Mom and Dad are going,
25:27what's integration?
25:28He's a kid.
25:29He needs to go to school.
25:30He needs to learn.
25:31He needs to be educated.
25:32He can write.
25:33He can read.
25:33What else do you need?
25:35St. Alfonso's school
25:37finally accepted Alvin.
25:39But soon,
25:40he ran into a reaction
25:41his teachers
25:42had expected
25:43and feared.
25:44I think it was
25:45the first part
25:45of grade one.
25:47That was the one time
25:48that I came home
25:49and I was very upset
25:50because somebody
25:52had called me crippled.
25:53And I'd never heard
25:54that word before.
25:55It was never used
25:56in this house
25:56and it was never used
25:59in this neighborhood
25:59because the kids didn't.
26:00I mean,
26:01the most wonderful thing
26:03about where I grew up
26:04was being here.
26:05I mean,
26:05this is great.
26:06You know,
26:06kids around the same age
26:07all around here,
26:08they didn't care.
26:09But I go to school
26:10and there was new kids
26:10and someone called me crippled
26:12so I had to run home
26:12and I was a little freaked out.
26:14You know,
26:15Mom calmed me down
26:16and that's when I first remember
26:17hearing those words
26:18that some people
26:19are born with black hair
26:20and some people
26:20are born with blonde hair
26:21and you were born
26:22without arms.
26:23Paul Murphy's parents
26:25were also running
26:26into opposition
26:27from school authorities
26:28who insisted their son
26:30should be placed
26:31in a school
26:31for the handicapped.
26:33They had large classes
26:35of kids
26:36who in many cases
26:37were almost unteachable.
26:39So Paul was coasting
26:41around on the periphery
26:42most of the time.
26:43Often he was in the role
26:45of helping the teacher.
26:47I pushed very hard
26:49to become an architect.
26:51I loved designing.
26:53Things, vehicles,
26:55buildings.
26:57One of the downfalls
26:58of my primary education
27:00didn't allow me to do that.
27:01I didn't have the mathematics
27:02to get me
27:03to where I wanted.
27:07When we're handicapped,
27:08you say,
27:09some kids will think
27:11that we're sort of different.
27:12We come from
27:13different worlds
27:14sort of thing.
27:14You know,
27:15that really gets you different,
27:16you know,
27:16feeling sort of weird.
27:18One day,
27:19I got sent
27:19into a school
27:20full of non-handicapped kids
27:22and then I knew
27:23I was different
27:24because I was told
27:24I was different.
27:25They make fun of people
27:26that were black.
27:27They make fun of people
27:28that wore glasses.
27:29But I was very different.
27:32A lot of my childhood
27:32is lost
27:33because I wasn't
27:34just a normal childhood.
27:36Nothing's ever normal
27:37when you're abnormal.
27:38Never.
27:40Ever.
27:46Eight days from now,
27:47officers of the German firm
27:48that developed thalidomide
27:49in 1957
27:50will go on trial
27:51in Aachen.
27:52They face
27:53a 927-page indictment
27:55for negligence,
27:56premeditated bodily harm,
27:58negligent manslaughter,
27:59and violations
28:00of the drug law.
28:01As lawsuits
28:02were filed
28:03around the world,
28:04the drug companies
28:05and governments
28:06where thalidomide
28:07had been marketed
28:08tried to deny responsibility.
28:11Many doctors denied
28:12they had ever
28:13dispensed the drug.
28:15The legal battle
28:15for compensation
28:16for the families
28:17would be long and hard.
28:20And as their children grew,
28:22the thalidomide families
28:23had to also confront
28:24their own feelings
28:26of guilt
28:26and recrimination.
28:29I learned about
28:30my thalidomide deformities
28:32on the end of my bed
28:34at the hospital.
28:35Then it kind of hit me
28:36that my mom
28:37actually took the pill.
28:40That was very hard.
28:42He didn't understand
28:43at first.
28:44And he says,
28:45he always thought
28:45it was my fault.
28:47And he came up
28:48with it once.
28:49So I sat him down
28:50and explained to him
28:51exactly how it was.
28:53I said,
28:53it's not my fault
28:54and I don't feel guilty
28:55about it.
28:55I said,
28:56the doctor prescribed it.
28:57It can happen to you.
28:58It can happen to anybody.
28:59That's the only time
29:01I really remember
29:01her crying about anything.
29:03And I just remember
29:05thinking,
29:06yeah,
29:06but you know,
29:06she was fooled too.
29:08And all in one night
29:09I was crying,
29:09she was crying,
29:10and all in one night
29:11it was over basically.
29:12And I never really
29:13blamed my mother.
29:14I never really blamed
29:14anybody anymore.
29:16As the thalidomide families
29:18waited for the courts
29:19to decide who was to blame,
29:21they went on
29:22with their lives.
29:24By the age of three,
29:26Paul Murphy had learned
29:27to drive a motorized
29:28kiddie car
29:29his father built.
29:30By the time he was
29:31a teenager,
29:32cars were the center
29:33of his life.
29:35You can do things
29:36the way you can.
29:36I do things
29:37the way I can.
29:38I just had to learn
29:39differently than most people
29:40and in some cases
29:41took a little bit longer.
29:42In other cases,
29:43it didn't take as long.
29:44So it just,
29:45depends on,
29:46I guess,
29:47how much you want to do it
29:48and how much you enjoy it
29:49and who you've got
29:50pushing you.
29:52But there's some
29:52very frustrating times
29:53and whoever says
29:54they've never felt
29:55almost self-destructive
29:57and not want,
29:59you know,
30:00geez,
30:00this would be
30:01a hell of a lot easier
30:02if I wasn't.
30:04And I've been
30:05to those low points.
30:06Luckily enough,
30:06I was able to
30:07pull myself back out.
30:08And I've helped others
30:10go through those times.
30:12And it's a very,
30:13very hard experience
30:14and you cannot describe
30:16the feeling
30:17when you're that low.
30:19But it makes
30:20the high times
30:21that much better
30:23when you have
30:23gone through
30:24experiences like that
30:26and then you go,
30:26well,
30:27I've done it.
30:28I may go through it again,
30:29but we're not
30:29looking forward to it
30:31and not going to
30:32watch out for it.
30:33We're just going to go
30:33until you,
30:34until it happens
30:35and just enjoy
30:36what you can.
30:37I started playing drums
30:52when I was about
30:53six years old.
30:54I used to sit
30:54in the front room
30:55with ashtrays,
30:57pots and pans,
30:58a pair of pencils
30:59and play music
31:00to the test pattern
31:01on CBC
31:02and pretend
31:04I was a drummer
31:05and then I got so into it.
31:06I was so serious about it.
31:08I mean,
31:08I'd spend hours
31:09down here practicing.
31:09I'd practice my music
31:10six,
31:11eight hours a day
31:12sometimes,
31:13you know,
31:13drive my parents crazy.
31:15But emotionally,
31:16I needed it.
31:17music.
31:24music
31:28music
31:30All people need to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
31:50When you have no arms or have a handicap, I'd venture a guess that it's even more important
31:57because you want to fit so bad, and you need to find things to help you fit.
32:02And I was blessed to not only just be sort of half good,
32:07but to be able to practice enough that I got to be quite good.
32:10And I think that was what made the difference.
32:20When I was a kid, I used to always think how nice it would be to be able to travel on a spaceship like that
32:25and mingle with the crew, and I'd end up on a planet where everybody's not the same.
32:32Randy Warren had become a devoted fan of Star Trek.
32:35For hours, he lived in a fantasy world where everybody, including his hero, Mr. Spock, was different.
32:44That's a very important thing to me, to be different just because I'm Randy Warren,
32:48not because I'm Randy Warren, thalidomide victim, or Randy Warren, handicapped person, no legs, strange arms.
32:54Just to be different because I'm a man, and that would be so nice to be accepted there.
32:58Not only that, I'd like to be different in a world where, quite aptly put,
33:03would be that everybody's different, so physically different that, you know,
33:08some might be repulsive, which many people might think I am at times.
33:13Some might be totally alien in nature and do strange things,
33:17but they're different, and everybody's accepted because of their differences.
33:20The thalidomide babies were now teenagers.
33:29I didn't need a shout, cause I just fell in love
33:35With your pretty babies
33:38Baby
33:42In high school, Alvin Law was popular with his classmates,
33:47and got good grades, especially in chemistry and music.
33:56In the school band, Alvin played lead trombone.
34:06And soon, he was starring in a high school musical.
34:09I've never been, had this, this pleasure before, but this seems to be my year for being the scapegoat.
34:16Because, um, every year someone gets slapped, or hit, or kicked, or something like that.
34:22And, uh, you'll never guess who the lucky person was this year.
34:26And you beat your brother.
34:27You get out of here, you stinking old dirty dog!
34:30I'll take you!
34:31You!
34:32To win acceptance in his teenage crowd, Alvin says he tried to become the life of the party.
34:41By the time he went to college, he'd become a bit of a show off.
34:45I remember I was at a party.
34:48First week of school.
34:49And you see, I'd learned how to do nifty tricks with my feet, because that had gotten me through life, right?
34:54I'd learned how to open beer bottles with a Bic lighter.
34:56So I was sitting down, and this guy beside me, he pulled out a beer, and he was gonna open his beer.
35:00And I said, no, I'll do it!
35:01He says, well, use the opener.
35:02I said, no, no, this is more fun.
35:03He says, what are you doing?
35:04I said, what do you mean, what am I doing?
35:06He says, what are you doing?
35:07I said, well, I'm having fun.
35:09This is great.
35:10He says, you don't have to try to impress us.
35:14We invited you here because we like you.
35:17We could care less about the fact that you can open a beer bottle with a Bic lighter.
35:22That is of no significance to us at all.
35:25And if that's the way you want to act, then you can leave.
35:30I mean, I'm sitting there.
35:31No one had ever said that to me before.
35:34I mean, no one had even ever said they liked me before on that basis.
35:39Right?
35:40No one.
35:41My parents had told me they loved me.
35:43You know, sure, my relatives.
35:44But no, not in that, you know, a guy talking to another guy saying, hey, man, you're right on.
35:49Not because you're nifty because you use your feet.
35:51But you're an okay guy.
35:53That changed my life.
35:57He went to high school with other kids.
35:59And of course, he did have problems because he was rejected to some extent.
36:04Because the high school he went to was only interested in academic excellence or excellence in sports.
36:11And I think he's still a little angry about how he was managed in high school.
36:15But he did make a few friends, but not very many.
36:20And the only thing I think that he sort of felt bad about was the socials.
36:26And that it was hard for him to ask a girl to dance because how was a girl going to handle that, you know?
36:35He didn't worry about himself.
36:37He was worried about how she was gonna handle that.
36:40I think everybody's running into those kind of problems.
36:43Or just being told, no, I don't want to go with you because of your situation.
36:51Not fun.
36:53Not a nice thing to have happen.
36:55Nobody likes to have that kind of rejection thrown at them.
36:57Those are the good times, the bad times.
37:02But I prefer the good times and I always look to find them.
37:05Go out and have a good time.
37:06I like to go out into places where I don't know anybody.
37:10And meet new people and see what happens.
37:13And it usually ends up being a good time.
37:16Look at you, you pig.
37:23I knew how to talk to adults and deal with adults, but not people my own age.
37:27I knew about dying before I knew about going to a party.
37:32I knew about losing friends that were handicapped before I knew about going to the movies on a whim on a Saturday.
37:38You know, I could never take the bus to go.
37:41So every time I went somewhere it was organized.
37:43My parents all the time, you want to go here, we'll take you.
37:45But you just don't want your parents to take you when you're 15 or when you're 16.
37:48You just don't want them there.
37:50Then you get to high school.
37:52And you really realize you're different.
37:54Everybody's looking for the jock or everybody's looking for the cheerleader.
37:57And they want you to go with the cute girl in the wheelchair.
38:00And that's the way it is.
38:02Your first experiences are always with people in wheelchairs.
38:05And my security was with people in wheelchairs.
38:07Because if I fell for a girl that wasn't handicapped,
38:10Oh, that was cute, that was sweet, you know.
38:12Oh, look at Randy, he's got goo goo eyes for you and that.
38:17But never taken seriously, never.
38:20So you build your wall and you live with your wall.
38:22And you just smile it off too and you act cuter than you're supposed to be.
38:26And you're really inside.
38:27You're a man trying to get out.
38:30I guess that's the best way to put it.
38:32Just a man trying to get out.
38:35Over the years, most of the thalidomide families had successfully sued Merrill,
38:41the American drug manufacturer.
38:43The settlements the victims received ranged from $25,000 to $100,000 after lawyer's fees.
38:51Paul Murphy used his settlement for education and special transportation.
38:56Randy Warren, born in Germany, received a small settlement from the German government.
39:02Alvin Law had never sued.
39:05He was 20 before he discovered he was a thalidomide baby.
39:09And the deadline for legal action had passed.
39:12By the early 1980s, the thalidomide children were young adults.
39:17And the most important challenge for them now was to find a career.
39:30In Winnipeg, Paul Murphy graduated from high school and began his search.
39:36It's very hard for a disabled individual to find employment with somebody else.
39:40I got a lot of great, fantastic to see you out.
39:45You got a lot of drive.
39:46You got a lot of ambition.
39:47You know, you're going to do well.
39:49Good luck in finding a job.
39:50I'm afraid we don't have a placement here.
39:52But you ran an ad looking for somebody.
39:55And I saw some of the people you've been interviewing and so on.
39:58And I really think, you know, give me a chance.
40:01I'll work for two weeks for nothing.
40:03I'll prove to you that I can do it.
40:05Well, I really don't think you'd be able to handle it and that sort of thing.
40:09But good luck.
40:10A lot of fellows, when we get to my age, aren't able to physically lift.
40:15So Paul Murphy decided to go into business for himself.
40:19With part of the money he received from the drug company settlement,
40:22he began to manufacture a device to lift wheelchairs in and out of vans.
40:27Paul designed the product and is the company salesman.
40:31When I'm working with somebody or meet somebody for the first time,
40:34I make a point of getting eye-to-eye contact with them.
40:37And that very, I'd say 90% of the time, breaks the barrier down very quickly.
40:42As soon as they hear me speaking and know what I'm talking about and see my eyes,
40:46very shortly thereafter they forget completely.
40:50And it's interesting to see how quickly they forget.
40:53So at this point, I do want to introduce my good buddy.
40:58He's become a good buddy.
40:59At 15, Alvin Law was selected Saskatchewan's Handicapped Child of the Year.
41:05He's just the epitome of a fine man.
41:12I'd like you to meet Alvin Law.
41:14Over the years, Alvin became a spokesman for the handicapped,
41:18appearing on telethons across Canada.
41:21Alvin wanted a career in broadcasting, which he studied in college.
41:26One summer, he got his first break as a local radio sports reporter.
41:31But Alvin wanted to go on television, too,
41:34and approach the station executive for an on-air job.
41:38Well, you know, he says, I admire your interest and I admire your courage,
41:45you know, that you want to do something like that.
41:47But he said, I'm sorry, you know.
41:48He says, the industry, if you want to know the blunt truth,
41:51is not ready for handicapped people on TV.
41:54And I kind of went, what?
41:56And he said, well, no.
41:57He says, you know, as much as it's a sad commentary,
42:00the fact of the matter is that people that do TV news coverage and TV anchoring
42:05have to look good.
42:06They have to look the part.
42:08They have to be attractive.
42:10And there can't be anything wrong with them that can be distracting.
42:13You know, what do you mean distracting?
42:15He says, well, why do you think, you know,
42:16a lot of them have the perfect complexions?
42:18And, you know, anything that's distracting can be a bother.
42:21Now, with you or no arms, that's a major distraction.
42:23You know, you're not right for TV.
42:26He says, you could be great in radio, but not TV.
42:29I love it when people tell me that.
42:33Because it makes me think about how someday I'm going to go back
42:36and throw a tape in the guy's face and say, there you go.
42:39Well, I can be what I think I am, at least I think I can, if you let me.
42:51I can be what I think I am, at least I think I can.
42:58I think I can.
43:01The game of life is hard to play, no matter who you are.
43:12Your dreams become realities by reaching for a star.
43:23I'm not better than other handicapped people.
43:34Because I'm not a handicapped person.
43:37That's where people get it wrong, right?
43:40They look at Alvin Law and they think, God, it's tremendous how he can do things with his feet.
43:45Well, I suppose if you look at your feet, it's tremendous.
43:48But these are my feet.
43:49These are my hands, too.
43:51And I have been doing it forever.
43:53These are not tremendous feet.
43:54These are the only thing that I've got.
43:56So when I pick up a cup and I have a drink, you know, wow, what a thrill.
44:03That's not what it is.
44:04That's how I do things, you know.
44:13People are going to look at it and then reflect on their own life and say,
44:18boy, I feel sorry for myself.
44:21He doesn't. Maybe I should get it together.
44:23Then you become an example.
44:34For years, Randy Warren, too, had spoken out on behalf of the handicapped
44:39and he started to research the history of thalidomide
44:42to include in an autobiography he was writing.
44:45Randy also went back to Germany, his birthplace.
44:49Unlike Canada, the German government set up a $35 million trust fund for its thalidomide children.
44:55Randy learned what his life might have been like as a German thalidomide victim.
45:00If I wasn't able to work, I would have had a house rent free.
45:05I would have had food money.
45:06I would have had living maintenance costs.
45:09I would have had a free health plan.
45:12I would have had a small pension from the government that was strictly for thalidomide victims as their conscientious acknowledgement of the problem and that they were partly responsible.
45:24Here, you just don't know it.
45:25Here, you just don't know it.
45:26A whole generation just doesn't know it because we were quiet.
45:28I lived here from when I was a year old.
45:31And I'm a Canadian thalidomide victim, born in Germany to a Canadian serviceman.
45:40But my life has been in Canada.
45:44And I'm ashamed of a lot of things Canadian.
45:50All right.
45:51I got some slime.
45:54Maybe it's a defense mechanism.
45:56I don't know.
45:58Maybe I just try not to think about the bad things like we all do.
46:02But why blame it on anything?
46:04I mean, why waste your time feeling sorry for yourself because something happened 25 years ago?
46:08It's pointless.
46:09It doesn't accomplish anything.
46:10You know, I could sit and mope around and cry and whine and snivel.
46:15It doesn't do anything, does it?
46:17So, forget about it and get on with your life.
46:24At 24, Paul Murphy took the final step towards complete independence when he moved out of his parents' house and into his own home.
46:34It was a big thing.
46:36It was an exciting move for me.
46:37I knew I could do it.
46:38There were going to be some things I'd have to solve and do.
46:41But, for the most part, it was a lot easier on me than it was for the family.
46:48My mother still phones me every day.
46:50I always had a fear of him leaving home.
46:52What's he going to do, you know?
46:54And, of course, I guess he sensed that.
46:59And I think he probably felt then I was too protective.
47:02They questioned it a lot.
47:04Do you really think?
47:05But I proved it.
47:07I've been out two years.
47:08I've been in my house.
47:09I'm surviving.
47:11For years, Randy Warren has lived alone in his London, Ontario apartment.
47:16But he says someday he would like to see that change.
47:20I want to raise a family, a large family.
47:23I like children.
47:24I'm scared that I won't be able to have children.
47:27I'm scared to go get that final test that'll say, no, you can't have children.
47:30And it's because that part of your body didn't work because of thalidomide.
47:33No matter what they say, if it could just be a normal case of sterility, I'll never believe them.
47:38I'll always think it was because of thalidomide.
47:41Because when I was born, I was born with raised testicles, which took a long time to descend.
47:46That's really blunt, but that's the facts.
47:48So I'll always think that's the reason.
47:51You know, I'll always blame it on that.
47:54And that's a bad thing because that would be the final blow to me.
47:58In Saskatchewan, Alvin Law's wife, Sandy, was pregnant.
48:02And he secretly worried that his baby might be like him.
48:06I just felt very, very afraid.
48:10And it's almost hypocritical in a sense because here I've had a wonderful life,
48:15but I didn't want my child to have to have the kind of life that I'd had.
48:19Because as much as I can paint roses and make it sound like it's a very wonderful thing to have no arms,
48:25there was times it was terrible having no arms.
48:29There was times when I was miserable having no arms.
48:32There was many nights I cried myself to sleep in hospitals and waited on toilets for 45 minutes for nurses to come to wipe my rear end.
48:39There was times when I got beat up by other kids because they got a charge out of beating up on a kid without arms.
48:45There was all the problems that would be associated with that.
48:49And as much as my life's turned out okay, who's to say that his would turn out the same?
48:53In August 1986, Alvin Law named his firstborn son, Vance, after a Montreal Expo third baseman.
49:06When I saw him come out of there with two arms and two hands and five little fingers on each hand,
49:14I didn't care what brand he was at all.
49:17I didn't care if it was a she or a he or an he, it didn't matter.
49:21It was just the most tremendous feeling. It was my son.
49:25You want to do it again? Okay, here we go.
49:34Can you throw it back?
49:35I worried a lot about how I was going to play ball with them and I was going to maybe,
49:39how could I teach them to know how to golf and teach them to play frisbee and teach them to throw.
49:43You know, I mean all those things that you want to have a kid of yours do.
49:46But see, Sandy said something to me a long time ago which made a lot of sense.
49:51She said, you know, you don't have to have arms to be a father.
49:55You don't need arms to love him.
49:58You don't need arms to be there.
50:00You don't need arms to listen.
50:02You don't need arms to be a father at all.
50:05Unfortunately, too many fathers that have arms don't realize that.
50:09Never forget that, and that's true.
50:12You just have to be there for him.
50:14You don't need arms to fly across the bank.
50:17What's he doing?
50:18I don't need arms.
50:21No, I don't need arms.
50:26During the first 25 years of their lives,
50:29Alvin Law, Randy Warren and Paul Murphy had never met.
50:33Unlike thalidomide children in other countries,
50:36the Canadian victims grew up apart, isolated from each other.
50:41However, about a year ago, that changed.
50:44Clifford Chatterton, the man who had been one of the first to see the thalidomide babies,
50:50never stopped hoping the government would one day give them compensation.
50:54So he enlisted the support of those who were already activists for the handicapped.
51:00Like Alvin Law, who had raised thousands of dollars in telethons.
51:04Paul Murphy, who had spent years designing better products for the disabled.
51:09And Randy Warren, who had become an expert on thalidomide.
51:13They met for the first time.
51:16Finally, after 25 years, to sit down with a group of people you're kind of related to
51:20and start to find out exactly what everybody else is doing.
51:24They set up a task force to investigate the tragedy.
51:27A few months later, they held an historic meeting in Ottawa.
51:31Forty-eight thalidomide victims from across Canada met for the first time.
51:37I mean, it's been such an eye-opener just to see everybody, you know.
51:41And, like, I've never met a thalidomide person before.
51:43So, it's just been, like, a total shock.
51:46You haven't done that yet.
51:47This is the original soul shake.
51:49All right, there you go.
51:51This is like cross-referencing.
51:53He's right-footed.
51:54They decided to form an organization of thalidomide victims
51:59and to stay in touch through a newsletter.
52:02And it's a simple matter of two fingers putting the pack together,
52:05two fingers to grab the match, and it doesn't work.
52:09No.
52:10You called a fireman.
52:12Let's try again. Let's try again.
52:14But, my goodness, I admired them.
52:16And it was so wonderful to meet some of them
52:21who have a tremendous sense of humor,
52:24laugh about their disability,
52:27make jokes about it.
52:29This is a great thing.
52:32Did you hear that? Were you in the bar last night?
52:35You were.
52:36When Alvin said, we're gonna go out and stare at normal people.
52:38We're gonna make a big trip.
52:40We're gonna go out and stare at normal people.
52:42You have to realize that this isn't a gang like Rotary Club.
52:48I mean, these are people who have lived one devil of a life
52:52with tremendous problems behind them, maybe survivors.
52:56And that was very, very important for them to come together as a group
53:00and realize, firstly, that they're not alone.
53:03And secondly, to realize that there was a function
53:09being laid out in front of them that they could run with.
53:13And that function was to have some control over what happens to them
53:17from now on in regard to their lives.
53:20The group formed a foundation to administer any compensation
53:24the government might provide.
53:26And they elected an executive board.
53:30Alvin Law, secretary.
53:32Paul Murphy, vice president.
53:34And Randy Warren, president of the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada.
53:40There's no longer a shame attached to being a thalidomide victim.
53:45Whether quietly or vocally, which many of us are,
53:49be proud together and alone as a thalidomide person.
53:53Stand tall or sit tall.
53:56Consider each one of yourselves as a thalidomide survivor.
54:01Have no shame in the way you dealt with things in your life when you stood alone.
54:08And this isn't a preaching that I'm giving you right now.
54:11What I'm saying is be proud of your own accomplishments.
54:14As . . . .
54:39Several weeks ago, the Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada
54:51submitted a report to the Canadian government.
54:54It outlined the help that is needed for many of the victims.
54:58The majority of them cannot find work.
55:02Many are dependent on the help of family members,
55:05and with age, their physical problems are increasing.
55:09The report urges the government to set up a trust fund
55:13to finally live up to its unfulfilled promise
55:17to compensate the victims of Thalidomide.
55:20The group now awaits the government's response.
55:25Thank you for joining us.
55:27I'm Judy Woodruff. Good night.
55:31Last summer's devastating forest fires focused national attention on Yellowstone Park
55:36when environmentalists believed the greatest damage had already been done
55:40by the Reagan administration.
55:42Five million out of these ten million acres have already been leased
55:44for oil and gas exploration.
55:46Don't give us a bunch of stuff that we're out there playing games with it
55:50and trying to see it defiled and defoliated.
55:53That's not true.
55:54Next time on Frontline, Yellowstone under fire.
55:57The
57:47For a transcript of this program, please send $5 to Frontline, Box 322, Boston, Massachusetts, 02134.
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