The strange case of Dr. Paolo Macchiarini could have been Europe’s answer to that of Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes. Both of them believed in a world of science fiction that they wanted to make a reality. And they were going to do what they did no matter who it hurt along the way, even if people died. Surgeons always have a little more leeway in patient deaths because they can always blame it on the patient. That is unless they really, really mess up.
In a just world, Dr. Macchiarini’s plan would resulted in charges of negligent homicide at least. The State of Arizona wants to put Alec Baldwin behind bars because someone handed him a loaded gun he thought had blanks in it. Yet, Macchiarini (Edgar Ramirez) was putting artificial tracheas in people’s throats synthesized from their own stem cells. It seemed like a good idea that might have worked. Only it didn’t. And many people found themselves gasping for air unable to breathe as Macchiarini was being showered with praises from all over the world for his advancements in medicine and science.
So what if the people died? There is some errors when it comes to surgical procedures. The body can always reject an organ transplant. Someone codes and they can’t be revive. But the survival rates outweighs the fatality rate. And if a wrongful death is filed, the insurance takes care of everything. The surgeon is eventually moved to another hospital or city where they practice.
Yes, some surgeons may be inconsiderate with their thinking. But they didn’t spend eight years of college and three years of residency just to have someone who didn’t take better care of themselves ruin their livelihoods. Macchiarini is a very vain and unlikeable person who is wanted the world to think he was Mr. Rogers with a scalpel, which is a disturbing thought when you think of it. And Ramirez plays him with a lot of charisma so it was easy to see how so many people including his one-time fiancee Benita Alexander (Mandy Moore) could have been so easily fooled.
About the only thing Macchiarini was ever honest about was his medical degree. Yes, he was a surgeon recognized by medical boards. Be he lived multiple double lives. He actually had a wife and kids in Europe while he was trying to woo Benita, a reporter and producer for NBC and Dateline. He said there were going to have Pope Francis marry them. There were going to have an extravagant wedding and reception with a luxurious honeymoon. It was all a sham. And Benita, a journalist should’ve seen the red flags but sometimes we don’t want to admit the obvious – we’re being conned. It’s a derivative of confidence. If we can’t have confidence in any relationship, what good is there.
And most in the medical community knew they wanted to be a part of what Macchiarini was doing. My biology teacher in high school said if there wasn’t competition between Americans and French scientists and doctors to discover the HIV/AIDS virus, it could’ve taken longer. He’s right. People want to be on the right side of the medical world in the 21st Century. Some, such as Dr. Nathan Gamelli (Luke Kirby) and Dr. Anders Svensson (Gustaf Hammerstan) didn’t buy Macchiarini’s science and “innovations” at first. And Dr. Ana Lasbrey (Ashley Madewke) was a strong ally until she realized just how dangerous he was.
Unfortunately, they’d learn the hard way on what it’s like to make waves. A series like this, like the first season which focuses on Christopher Duntsch, will make you so angry that the medical community not just in America but in the world has an ugly code of silence. Svensson, Gamelli and Lasbrey eventually find themselves being more punished than Macchiarini at first. And maybe the nugget that kept Macchiarini cleared of any charges with the concept that people had sought him out for medical help. It was a life or death situation but they could’ve always chosen to spend the rest of their lives with severe breathing issues, hooked up to machines and unable to perform basic tasks for the strain it had on their bodies.
Even in Europe which is supposed to have a better healthcare system than here in America, the ideology was “No one’s putting a gun to your head.” This might make you a little upset even as you can tell Macchiarini knows he’s going to get away with it mostly. If a man who lied to a woman he loves and her daughter, as they are still grieving the lost of her first husband, what makes anyone think he cared of a few patients here and there? He could fake it until he made it. And then, he could weasel his way out if he didn’t make it. Ramirez is great at playing a totally unlikeable person.
I will give credit to Moore who has proven she is a good actress despite the early pop star persona with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson she found herself associated with. Her story is the meat and potatoes of the series as someone who knew the warning signs and should’ve dug a little deeper from day one. Yet, we’d rather admit that we believed a lie than the cold hard truth that things seemed so outrageous at first, it had to be true.
The structure of the series as it switches from Benita’s story to the three European doctors is a little problematic and tugs as the story. Mainly because the politics of the European medical community get boring with details about health and science. It does seem strange how now many years later, people actually believed it. Stem cells can be used to improve health but the trachea is very delicate. Then, again, so many advances in medicine might have seem impossible. Organ transfers, in vitro fertilization and even using mold found on foods to cure diseases seemed unlikely at one time.
While Dunstch ended up going to prison, Macchiarini got a slap on the wrist. He got a conviction of bodily harm but a suspended sentence. Then he pleaded to gross assault on three patients and only serve two and a half years. But that was in the Swedish Courts. However, he resides in Spain and the countries are trying to have him complete the sentence in Spain.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 