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Langston, you open your eyes for me, baby.

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Your dad's here, your mom's on her way.

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You can talk to him if you'd like.

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Hi Langston.

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We've come from London, England.

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We're making a TV program here in the hospital.

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And so we've been filming your family a little bit

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and filming with you a little bit too.

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So we're hoping you're going to wake up

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and we can tell you a little bit more about what we're doing.

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How are you feeling?

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Good, I feel really good.

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I know some people don't think it's a lot of progress,

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but something's better than nothing, you know.

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There's been miracles in many hospitals and they can't say why.

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So this is going to be a miracle right here.

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I was in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles,

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meeting patients looking for a last chance at life.

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If I do this, I'm buying maybe months, right?

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It could be more than that.

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All right, then let's do it.

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In America, doctors will go further to treat extreme cases

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than almost anywhere else in the world.

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He's young, he's a fighter.

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We decided to keep going.

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I'd fight for life, I certainly would.

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I mean, you got to sit there and just die.

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But the financial costs are enormous,

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the side effects sometimes severe,

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and the odds of success often very small.

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Patients and their families face the harrowing choice

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of accepting death or carrying on

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in the hope that one last procedure will pay off.

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On the seventh floor of Saperstein Critical Care Tower,

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Langston Jackson, a 22-year-old college athlete,

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was non-responsive in the intensive care unit.

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His family had been by his bedside since his arrival

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five days earlier, among them his mother Lyle.

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Can you tell me a little bit about what's going on?

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Well, Langston was in rehab for the past 19 days,

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and on Saturday morning he had...

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he and his roommate had gotten in contact,

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connected with drugs,

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and he had an overdose, from what I understand,

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from the facility at about 3 a.m.

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What do you understand about his condition at the moment?

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I understand he's in very critical condition.

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He has compromised liver and kidney function

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and a traumatic brain injury,

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and they are waiting for him to be able to breathe on his own,

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to diagnose his brain injury further.

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How optimistic are you for Langston?

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I understand that this is going to take quite a while,

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but that he's hopefully able to walk, talk,

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do everything that he wants to do and continue to live his life.

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Even with limited, marketed limitations, that's fine.

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In charge of Langston's care was the ICU medical director,

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Dr. Heather Jones.

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She had called a family meeting to discuss his prognosis.

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All right.

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OK.

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So, what Langston has is not a blood clot

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that blocked a certain artery going to a certain part of the brain.

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He has basically certain areas of his brain were very, very sensitive

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to the fact that his oxygen level was very low.

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And so, that's the part where it gets really heartbreaking,

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is that, you know, when I asked Dr. Mohit,

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who was the neuro-intensivist who took care of him when he was first sick,

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and Dr. Palestran as well,

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felt that his chances of waking up and being normal, again, are very small.

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And they just said that?

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Did they just say that?

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Well, you know, I think that I've been concerned about that from the beginning.

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Mm-hm.

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And I think that we've all been concerned about that,

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but, you know, time will tell,

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and so in the first 24, 48, 72 hours,

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you kind of hope for the best,

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and you hope that what you're seeing on the scan is not real.

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I think that we're all sad,

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because I was really hoping he would wake up,

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and I know that the first night we were...

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What do you mean, hoping he would wake up?

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He's still planning on waking up though, right?

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Probably not.

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He's probably had such severe brain damage

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that he's not going to wake up,

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that he's going to be in kind of a comatose state,

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and that even if he does wake up,

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he would probably have pretty severe brain damage.

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How was that for you?

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Oh, it's so hard.

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It's a really hard one.

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Because I, you know, and also I'm talking at them,

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and I know they're not hearing me.

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If you'd allowed them to continue maybe in a state of slightly unrealistic hope,

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what would have been the downside of that?

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Well, I think they're still in that slightly unrealistic hope.

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I don't think I could really penetrate that.

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You know, it's going to take time.

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But you did your best to do that, I think.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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And why was that?

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Well, because it's time to start talking about that.

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You know, it's not 24 hours later.

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It's, what is it, it's four days later now, five days later.

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You know, so we need to start talking about those things.

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So, because they don't hear a lot.

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So, we have to keep coming back to it.

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I was in Cedars-Sinai South Tower,

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home to another group of patients fighting for their lives against cancer.

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I had an appointment with Dr. Yulia Linares.

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She was visiting a leukemia patient, 29-year-old Javier Galvan.

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She had news about his cell count.

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How are you?

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Hello.

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How are you feeling today?

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I'm good, right?

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Yeah?

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Yeah, much better.

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Yeah.

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I just wanted to tell you the counts,

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it looks like the absolute neutrophil count

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is showing up.

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Okay.

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So, it's not certain whether they're bad

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or whether they're good.

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Okay.

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You know, sometimes there are good ones

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that are just means that there's a young cell

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that your bone marrow is spitting out.

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And if they are the bad cells,

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I will really have to kind of pick my brain

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on what to do next.

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I mean, we can't go back to anything he's already had.

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I think that's still, if he's in a good enough shape,

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I think that's still a choice.

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Okay.

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So, what are you up against right now,

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as you understand it?

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As far as I understand, it's my blood.

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I'm fighting myself.

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My blood is killing me.

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It can't hold any nutrients.

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It can't do anything.

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It can't produce itself.

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And it's dying.

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How would you characterize it, Dr. Linares?

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What's the scenario we're in right now?

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So...

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Yeah, basically, right now,

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we're battling acute myeloid, looking at,

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and we've been trying to kill it

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with a series of different treatments.

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The treatments themselves are life-threatening.

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If Havia had died from that,

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what would have been the actual medical cause?

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It kills all the, like, dividing cells,

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so it kills the lining of the gut,

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the lining of the mouth,

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so you can get, like,

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you can get terrible mouth source.

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Pretty much the whole inside of the mouth

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can pretty much fall off.

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Just, like, fall off.

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It's very painful.

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Are you okay with hearing?

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This is getting kind of gruesome.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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Because you've already been through it.

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No, he already, he went through that.

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He survived that.

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No, but even so,

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it's making me feel a little bit ill.

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You can hear them screaming.

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I've heard people screaming in the night.

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In the night from what?

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Pain just...

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It's your whole body turning against you.

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It becomes like fire to move.

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Without, like, anything to calm it,

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it consumes you.

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It's really terrible.

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It's pretty much...

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And you can't do anything about it.

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How was the decision taken to continue

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with all these chemotherapies in the case of heavy age?

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He's young.

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He's a fighter.

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His body organs overall are functioning well.

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We decided to keep going.

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What would be the reasons not to offer further treatments,

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further chemo?

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He's had a lot of treatment already,

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and his body is weak.

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It's weakened by so many chemotherapy treatments.

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They're very toxic.

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So, at one point, the risk of treatment is so high.

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The risk of treatment taking the patient's life is so high

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that physician just don't offer it anymore.

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And last time, I actually told him that he may live longer,

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just choosing comfort type of care,

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rather than chemotherapy,

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because in the short run,

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chemotherapy could take his life fast.

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But they still chose to go on with the treatment.

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That was New Year's 2010,

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so the year before he got sick.

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Before his health setbacks,

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Javier had been financing his dream

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of becoming an x-ray technician

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by working in a photocopy shop.

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It was there that he'd met Adriana in 2006.

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What was your plan before any of this happened?

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We were going to get part-time jobs

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because we quit our full-time jobs.

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Then we were going to start school,

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and then we were going to get married.

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Yeah, that was the plan.

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Pretty simple.

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As far as the care goes

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and the different stages on the journey,

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have you always been in sync, the two of you?

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He's made it very clear what he wants,

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and, you know, you kind of have to...

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It's his journey,

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and he's the one that's sick,

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and he's the one that kind of is in charge of his own care.

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And I asked him, I said,

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well, if you don't think that you can...

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if you can do it, if you can keep going,

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like, will you tell me?

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I would never deny that for him if that's what he chooses,

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but, you know, he's always been kind of like the...

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we can kind of do this, like, I can fight this, like, it's OK.

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Javier and Langston were facing life-threatening conditions

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in a country that leads the world in spending on end-of-life care.

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I'm so proud of you.

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The US has turned its famous sense of can-do

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onto the problem of extreme illness.

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Most Americans either have health insurance

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or their care is paid for by the state.

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For them, there is a smorgasbord of expensive treatment options.

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But also the question of when to stop.

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Back with Dr. Jones,

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and she had an appointment to discuss Langston's brain scan results

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with her colleague, Dr. Yu, a neurologist.

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The best-case scenario is that he might wake up,

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but he'll never be able to walk, he'll never be able to feed himself.

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Will he know who he is?

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Will he be able to follow commands?

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Best-case scenario.

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So, best-case scenario,

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the patient will end up in persistent vegetative state.

256
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That's the best-case scenario.

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He will open eyes, yawning, you know,

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vegetative states with minimal conscious level.

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Okay.

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All right.

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And that's the best-case scenario?

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Yeah, that's, yeah.

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Okay.

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All right.

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00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,000
This is a pretty severe injury.

266
00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:16,000
Okay.

267
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,000
What are the choices going forward then?

268
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000
It's, uh, I've been thinking a lot about this.

269
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:25,000
Um, you know, if it was me,

270
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,000
and I've told my family in no uncertain terms,

271
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,000
that I would not want to be kept alive,

272
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000
they're not going to be ready to do that with him.

273
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000
I don't think anybody really wants that,

274
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,000
but I think sometimes families really have a hard time letting go,

275
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:40,000
and, um, my experience is that, you know,

276
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:41,000
it's going to take some time.

277
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:48,000
So, I wanted to talk to you guys about what's going on.

278
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:55,000
I don't want to dash your hopes, but I need to tell you that,

279
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:59,000
that from a scientific medical standpoint,

280
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,000
he's not going to wake up,

281
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,000
and that he's had very severe brain damage,

282
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:10,000
and that the best case scenario is that he will be in a persistent vegetative state,

283
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,000
meaning he will be in a nursing home on two feet.

284
00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:15,000
He will have a diaper.

285
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,000
He won't be able to interact.

286
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000
He won't ever be able to talk again.

287
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000
He won't know who he is.

288
00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,000
I want you guys to think about Langston,

289
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000
about whether he, if he could be part of this conversation,

290
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:33,000
and let's say not now, let's say a month from now,

291
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,000
if he hasn't woken up,

292
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,000
would he want to be kept alive in that state?

293
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000
I mean, you know, I understand what you're saying,

294
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,000
and I hear what you're saying,

295
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:43,000
and I respect,

296
00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,000
because I know doctors have to be ultra-conservative,

297
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,000
because if you say that he's going to be all right in this,

298
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:48,000
and he's not,

299
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,000
then we'll be leaving out here feeling disappointed.

300
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,000
So, I understand how that goes.

301
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,000
No, you didn't know him before coming in here,

302
00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,000
but he is a fighter, and he is very stubborn,

303
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,000
and he comes around at his own time.

304
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,000
And last night, I said,

305
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:03,000
hey, it's Uncle Stanley.

306
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000
I'm getting ready to leave.

307
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000
And then I said,

308
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000
if you hear me, open your eyes.

309
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:09,000
And he opened his eyes.

310
00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,000
And he opened his eyes.

311
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,000
And he opened his eyes.

312
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000
And I was not touching.

313
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000
I was away.

314
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,000
And he opened his eyes,

315
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:15,000
and he looked at me.

316
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,000
That was my experience.

317
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:17,000
It wasn't yours.

318
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,000
You weren't there.

319
00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,000
Most doctors don't have time to come and sit and watch

320
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000
like the family can sit and watch.

321
00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,000
And then when the nurse comes,

322
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,000
we're like, look.

323
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,000
And he won't do it.

324
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,000
And I'm like, Langston,

325
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:26,000
I'm going to hurt you.

326
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,000
Do you want to go try right now?

327
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,000
Yes.

328
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:29,000
Let's go take a look.

329
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,000
Let's see what we can do right now.

330
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,000
Hey, sweetie pie.

331
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,000
Langston,

332
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000
if you hear Ashley,

333
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,000
look over to Ashley.

334
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,000
Langston,

335
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,000
squeeze my hand.

336
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,000
Langston,

337
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,000
squeeze my hand.

338
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,000
Come on.

339
00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,000
He's getting more alert when he's not drugged.

340
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:46,000
That's why I didn't want him to be drugged.

341
00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:47,000
Right.

342
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:48,000
Right.

343
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:49,000
Right.

344
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:50,000
Let's see.

345
00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:51,000
So he has this doll's eye reflex.

346
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000
So I think he's probably, you know,

347
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,000
not conscious right now.

348
00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,000
So see how they go back to the middle?

349
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000
Right.

350
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000
That's a doll's eye reflex.

351
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:01,000
That's a doll's eye reflex.

352
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,000
So I think he's probably out.

353
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,000
Yeah.

354
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,000
Yeah.

355
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000
That's not how he was.

356
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,000
Okay.

357
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,000
Okay, guys.

358
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000
Any other questions right now?

359
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,000
Well, thank you for coming in.

360
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,000
Thank you.

361
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:12,000
I really appreciate it.

362
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:18,000
It seemed as though the doctor had one message and you kind of respectfully disagreed.

363
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:19,000
For sure.

364
00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,000
Yeah.

365
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,000
And you made that quite clear.

366
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:23,000
Mm-hmm.

367
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000
So what point were you putting across?

368
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:33,000
That I don't think we're going to necessarily have to worry about my brother being a vegetable.

369
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:42,000
And even if he has a slight disability of some sort, that he will be able to cope and

370
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000
will be a little bit better than the prognosis that they are assuming.

371
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:53,000
And you don't resent them for trying to let you know what their clinical impression is

372
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,000
of the situation?

373
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,000
Definitely not.

374
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,000
We get that that's a reality.

375
00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,000
We're not delusional.

376
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:00,000
We're not in the fantasy world.

377
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:05,000
You know, I know it might seem that way, but we have to be super positive when such great

378
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,000
odds are against him towards everybody else.

379
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:13,000
When the doctor had said something about what would Langston want if you were in the room

380
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,000
right now, did you give any thought to that?

381
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,000
I did.

382
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:24,000
I mean, my brother, although he suffered from depression at times or whatnot, he was always

383
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:30,000
full of life and full of hope and full of optimism in regards to things could get better,

384
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,000
which is why he checked himself and stayed in rehab.

385
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:38,000
Clearly, he didn't perceive what happened happening, but he was still, like, trying.

386
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:53,000
So I know that he wouldn't want to give up on him because he never gave up on himself.

387
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,000
For patients who have stabilised in ICU but are still not responsive, there are other

388
00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000
facilities that offer what is called long-term sub-acute care.

389
00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:05,000
One is Fountainview.

390
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000
Here, many of the residents are in states of minimal consciousness that can last years.

391
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:12,000
Hi.

392
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,000
Are you Rosalie?

393
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,000
Yes, I am.

394
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,000
Hi, Louis.

395
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,000
Hi, Louis.

396
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,000
Nice to meet you.

397
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000
And this is Francisco?

398
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:19,000
Yes.

399
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,000
Hi, Francisco.

400
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:29,000
Francisco Fajardo is a physician, originally from the Philippines.

401
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:34,000
He's been a full-time resident of Fountainview since a stroke in 2010.

402
00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,000
His sister, Rosalie, is a daily visitor.

403
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,000
The interesting thing is Francisco's face is showing all kinds of expressions.

404
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000
Do you think he's registering that there's an unusual voice here?

405
00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:51,000
Maybe he hears, he's looking quite stimulated.

406
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:52,000
Is that okay?

407
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:53,000
Yeah.

408
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,000
Are you okay, Francisco?

409
00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:56,000
Here.

410
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Here.

411
00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Here.

412
00:18:58,000 --> 00:18:59,000
Here.

413
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:00,000
Here.

414
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:01,000
Here.

415
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,000
Here.

416
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000
Here.

417
00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,000
We're from the BBC.

418
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:10,000
We're making a documentary about people with serious conditions.

419
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:15,000
And we just wanted to get to know you a little bit.

420
00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:19,000
And how long has he been in this state?

421
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,000
Three years in December.

422
00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:27,000
We've always hoped that, you know, one day he would wake up.

423
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:31,000
But he's made progress, at least for us.

424
00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:38,000
I mean, maybe the doctors might not say that that's progress, but for us, family, you know,

425
00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,000
there's little things that we see different every day.

426
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:46,000
From the time he got sick, that's improvement for us, no matter what it is.

427
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:52,000
Have the doctors said what they feel is a realistic prognosis?

428
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,000
From the start, they said that he was not going to recover.

429
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,000
You know, like I said, you know, we believe differently.

430
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:04,000
You know, we understand, you know, I work in healthcare.

431
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,000
I understand.

432
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:10,000
But, you know, as a family, you know, that's...

433
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000
We believe differently.

434
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:16,000
In the nearly three years that Francisco has been in this state,

435
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
have you had any words from him?

436
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:20,000
No.

437
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,000
Not words.

438
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000
Mostly facial expression.

439
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:34,000
Dr. Michael Soffer is the director for Francisco's unit.

440
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:39,000
Once a week, he makes rounds on the patients under his care.

441
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:43,000
What is the prognosis like for Francisco at this point?

442
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,000
No recovery.

443
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:50,000
A few years until some event happens that results in his passing,

444
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000
whether it's an overwhelming pneumonia or another stroke or a heart attack

445
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,000
or any number of possibilities.

446
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,000
Could you give an idea of what you think his quality of life is like?

447
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:07,000
Well, when I ask patients who are able to understand and respond appropriately,

448
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,000
if they were in a vegetative state such as this,

449
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,000
would they want to be kept alive like this?

450
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,000
Pretty much universally, they tell me no.

451
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:25,000
So I don't believe that there is much quality in his unfortunate existence.

452
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000
Has something gone wrong with the system here in some way?

453
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:33,000
That these types of cases are being cared for for years and years?

454
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Years ago, 20, 30 years ago, we didn't do this.

455
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000
We didn't have these facilities available.

456
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:46,000
And if people got to this point where they could not function at this level,

457
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,000
then they died.

458
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,000
You know, there are always trade-offs.

459
00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:01,000
And when we as a society choose to spend our money on keeping the end stage of life patients alive longer,

460
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:07,000
we choose not to spend money on services for other people that perhaps could benefit more.

461
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:13,000
Have you ever thought about if something like this were ever to befall you,

462
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,000
what you would do, what you would want done to you?

463
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:20,000
I've already made that decision because, you know, when this happened,

464
00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:25,000
you know, I would do the same thing.

465
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,000
Do you feel you still have a good relationship with him?

466
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,000
Yes.

467
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:38,000
Even though he's just lying there and to some extent he's unresponsive,

468
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,000
you feel that there's still a...

469
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:41,000
Yes.

470
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:49,000
I can't explain it, but I just know that he knows that we're here.

471
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,000
You know, we're looking after him.

472
00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,000
Yes.

473
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:54,000
Yes.

474
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,000
Yes.

475
00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:56,000
Yes.

476
00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:57,000
Yes.

477
00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,000
Yes.

478
00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,000
Yes.

479
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,000
Yes.

480
00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:01,000
Yes.

481
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,000
Yes.

482
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:03,000
Yes.

483
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Yes.

484
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,000
Yes.

485
00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,000
Yes.

486
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:07,000
Yes.

487
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,000
Yes.

488
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,000
Yes.

489
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,000
Yes.

490
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:11,000
Yes.

491
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:12,000
Yes.

492
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,000
Yes.

493
00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:19,000
At Cedars-Sinai South Tower on the cancer ward, I was with Dr. Richard Gould

494
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,000
with an appointment to meet his patient, Dante Rogers.

495
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:25,000
Hi, Dante.

496
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,000
How are you?

497
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,000
Good. How are you doing?

498
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,000
Good, good.

499
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,000
Nice to meet you.

500
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,000
Nice to meet you, too.

501
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000
You know, we're from the BBC, right?

502
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,000
Yes.

503
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,000
From London, England.

504
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,000
Yes.

505
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:36,000
Viva London.

506
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,000
Dante had come to L.A. with dreams of making it as an entertainer,

507
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:49,000
but aged 31 he'd been diagnosed with cancer. With no health insurance,

508
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:53,000
he qualified for public assistance for his medical care.

509
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,000
So how long have you two been, had this relationship with a doctor-patient relationship?

510
00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:00,000
Probably a little over nine months now.

511
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:05,000
Yeah, almost five months, you know, five months I've been here.

512
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:09,000
Yeah, Dante was initially diagnosed with a locally advanced anal cancer

513
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:14,000
that we treated with chemotherapy and radiation with the hopes of curing,

514
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:19,000
but unfortunately the treatment was difficult for Dante to get through,

515
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:22,000
and once we got through it, there was still active cancer there.

516
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:27,000
So there was chemo and radiation, but basically it did not eradicate cancer?

517
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,000
Exactly.

518
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:29,000
So then?

519
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:34,000
Really the best chance that we had at that point to try to get rid of the cancer

520
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:39,000
was to do a large surgery to remove the anal rectal cancer

521
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,000
and to remove the spots from the liver.

522
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000
It saved my life.

523
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
It saved my life.

524
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,000
They got rid of the cancer so far.

525
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,000
You've basically been residing in the hospital for about 150 days, is that right?

526
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:59,000
Close to, it's more like 120-something days, survive about 125 years now.

527
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:04,000
So that is a lot of medical attention and a lot of expense.

528
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:10,000
I could buy two houses and maybe have something, move to London and have a chateau.

529
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:18,000
So if it's not an indelicate question, do you have a figure of how much it would have cost?

530
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Well, my last bill I looked at, we're probably at about $2 million, somewhere close to there.

531
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:35,000
Is it helpful to talk about, you know, a timeframe or how likely it is, how long he'll live, you know, things like that?

532
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:42,000
I give people a general sense of how much longer I think they're going to live based upon days, weeks, months or years.

533
00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,000
But I have no idea how long anybody has, you know, cancer or no cancer.

534
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:49,000
And so it's a very difficult question. It's one of the hardest questions to answer.

535
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,000
Have you had a conversation like that with Dante?

536
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,000
I have. I have.

537
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,000
You know, Dante is a silver lining guy.

538
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:03,000
You know, he focuses on the hope, he focuses on the good things and trying to keep a positive attitude.

539
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:11,000
So for him, thinking about, wow, you know, the cancer has such a high likelihood of coming back, that is hard for him.

540
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:23,000
And so he focuses on that small percentage that maybe the cancer won't come back, maybe we'll be able to give him further treatment and to get him through this.

541
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:37,000
Back with Javier. And Dr. Linares had the results from his biopsy and his cell count.

542
00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:40,000
Hi, Javier. How are you feeling?

543
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,000
Cancer-y.

544
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:47,000
Just hanging in there. Just trying to get through the day.

545
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:50,000
All right, so are you ready to talk?

546
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:51,000
Sure.

547
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:56,000
All right, so we did the bone marrow biopsy yesterday.

548
00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,000
And unfortunately, it's full of leukemia.

549
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,000
So it's not in remission.

550
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000
Actually, it looks like it just grew.

551
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000
All the good cells, again, are down.

552
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:12,000
So it went from 24% to?

553
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,000
95.

554
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,000
Okay.

555
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,000
95% less.

556
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,000
And there are no good cells.

557
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,000
Yeah.

558
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:31,000
The options remain the same, which is, one is, of course, if you feel like enough chemotherapy is enough as to just not do anything.

559
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:40,000
The other one is a real, you know, brain twister, because I knew that that wouldn't be what you would want.

560
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,000
I kind of guessed that.

561
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:51,000
So we were trying to think of the treatments that could still benefit you.

562
00:27:51,000 --> 00:28:01,000
And the only one I could think of with being the most sure bet is the very first we gave you, because that one was the one that killed the leukemia.

563
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:06,000
You did have the complications, but they were due to influenza.

564
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:13,000
So I think that if we could stay on track, then you could have maintained the remission.

565
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,000
Well, I mean, we've come this far, I mean.

566
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:16,000
Yeah.

567
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,000
Really.

568
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:20,000
You ready?

569
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,000
I'm ready.

570
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:22,000
It's up to you.

571
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,000
Yeah.

572
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,000
Why do you have to be so efficient?

573
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,000
It would be a reason not to do it.

574
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:40,000
Well, just because, honestly, the chances of chemotherapy working after somebody already had four different chemotherapy treatments, which didn't work, are less than 50%.

575
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000
For many people, this would just be enough.

576
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,000
Is that a factor for you, have you?

577
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,000
Yeah.

578
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:53,000
I mean, really, they're offering me nothing or something, so I might as well just take something.

579
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:59,000
I don't see a point in not pursuing a chance.

580
00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:04,000
So, I've got to go for it, I mean, really.

581
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000
If Javier decided not to do it, he wouldn't be able to go home?

582
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,000
He would.

583
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:14,000
He would just go home with basically, yeah, just a death sentence.

584
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:18,000
It would be like a week or two weeks, if that.

585
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,000
And what are you thinking, Javier?

586
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:24,000
I'm thinking I let everybody down.

587
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:27,000
How could you feel you've let anyone down?

588
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:33,000
After I beat the first remission, it was kind of like, yay, you know.

589
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:39,000
I beat the first remission, so it was just kind of uplifting.

590
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:49,000
And then I got a different kind of AML, and now it's like all these promises that I've made are like completely haberdash.

591
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,000
It's just garbage.

592
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:57,000
It's a garbage outcome for kind of an epic struggle.

593
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,000
It's just, it's a big let down.

594
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,000
It really is.

595
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:10,000
I mean, Adriana, like, I'm so sorry.

596
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,000
So sorry, baby.

597
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,000
Why would you feel your, Adriana, you don't feel heavy as letting you down, do you?

598
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,000
No.

599
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,000
It's just, you know, I guess another bump in the road.

600
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,000
You feel let down by the disease, but not by, have you?

601
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,000
It's just so aggressive, you know.

602
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,000
How much time could I buy?

603
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:38,000
It may not be that much of a difference.

604
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:43,000
That's why I'm even offering this, because I think that where things are already is...

605
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,000
Already pretty dire.

606
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,000
It's already not good.

607
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:51,000
Yeah, therefore it's hard to make it, it's hard to make it worse, basically.

608
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,000
All right.

609
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,000
If I do this, I'm buying maybe months, right?

610
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,000
Well, it depends.

611
00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,000
If it works, it could be more than that.

612
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,000
All right, then let's do it.

613
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:08,000
Adriana, do you have a view on what you would like the decision to be?

614
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,000
We kind of have to go for it.

615
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:12,000
You know, it's going to be...

616
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,000
Either it's going to be chemo, or...

617
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:16,000
It's going to be weeks or it's going to be months.

618
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,000
I mean, we kind of have to...

619
00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:22,000
I think we'll always kind of wonder, I guess.

620
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,000
Or at least, like, well, you know, if you tried it, would it have worked?

621
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000
And, you know, I kind of like him a little bit.

622
00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,000
Want him around as much as possible.

623
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000
So we've got to try.

624
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,000
Okay.

625
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000
All right.

626
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,000
Oh, I know.

627
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,000
Don't worry, you'll be okay.

628
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:43,000
See you later.

629
00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:52,000
Now, Javier's chances of surviving this are very close to zero.

630
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:57,000
Realistically, it's zero.

631
00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,000
I mean, I was in the room when we were talking about this,

632
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:06,000
and I didn't get the impression that his odds were quite so slim.

633
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,000
Do you think they understand that?

634
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,000
Yes, I'm sure they understand,

635
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:15,000
because I told him that his first choice, as I verbalized it,

636
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,000
was to go home and just pursue comfort measures.

637
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,000
And usually when we say that,

638
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,000
that means that the odds are very, very slim.

639
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,000
So the textbook analysis of this situation would be,

640
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:34,000
you should let him go home and be with his family

641
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000
and not go through any more interventions.

642
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,000
Yeah.

643
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,000
But you know that, and, you know, I respect your instincts

644
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,000
for what you feel he needs.

645
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:49,000
There can be so many ethics discussions about this,

646
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,000
and there can be so many people who would say,

647
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:54,000
what are you guys doing?

648
00:32:54,000 --> 00:32:55,000
You're crazy.

649
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,000
Send him home.

650
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,000
This is not going to work.

651
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000
Why is he going to die in the hospital?

652
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,000
But on the other hand, like I said,

653
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:05,000
I hate pushing people in some direction,

654
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,000
because with him I would be pushing him.

655
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,000
This is not what he wants.

656
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:11,000
He wants to keep fighting, and I just...

657
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,000
I can't.

658
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000
I can't be breaking him.

659
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,000
It's very tough.

660
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:18,000
And it seems like it doesn't make sense,

661
00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,000
but...

662
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000
I don't know.

663
00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,000
If I'm wearing his shoes, I might prefer the same.

664
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:35,000
He's going to feel a lot better after this.

665
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:37,000
You've got great teeth.

666
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,000
Yeah, you do have to.

667
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Did you have to go through orthodontia,

668
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,000
or were you born lucky?

669
00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:45,000
Langston had now been in the hospital more than a month.

670
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,000
His family were convinced that he was getting better,

671
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:52,000
and now even some of the nurses were starting to see progress.

672
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,000
Have you noticed him make my contact with you yet?

673
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,000
No, I've seen him look at me.

674
00:33:57,000 --> 00:33:58,000
Really?

675
00:33:58,000 --> 00:33:59,000
No, but I don't see him track me,

676
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,000
but I've seen him look at me,

677
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:03,000
and when he hears a sound, he reacts.

678
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,000
Oh, okay.

679
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,000
That I do notice.

680
00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,000
That's a start in the right direction.

681
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,000
Yeah.

682
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,000
Langston?

683
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:11,000
Can you hear me?

684
00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,000
Langston, can you hear me?

685
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:23,000
I'd arranged a visit with his sister, Ashley,

686
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,000
to try to get to know him

687
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:27,000
and learn a little about his football career

688
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,000
and his brush with drugs.

689
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,000
Hi, how are you doing?

690
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:34,000
Nice to see you.

691
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:37,000
We started with some old photos of Langston

692
00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,000
with his twin brother, Lorne.

693
00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:40,000
That's a nice one.

694
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,000
That's you in the middle.

695
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:42,000
Yeah.

696
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,000
If you have someone that makes you feel like a buttercup,

697
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:46,000
then that's good.

698
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:48,000
If you don't have anyone that makes you feel like a buttercup

699
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:49,000
or doesn't love you,

700
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,000
I'm just going to say I love you and you are my buttercup.

701
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:52,000
Don't ever forget that.

702
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:53,000
You know.

703
00:34:53,000 --> 00:35:07,000
Do you have any sense of what would have induced him

704
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:10,000
to start taking serious drugs?

705
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:12,000
No, I think, you know, in Simi Valley,

706
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:13,000
like it's been an epidemic.

707
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,000
He's lost 11 friends in the past since 2011.

708
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,000
I think it's just...

709
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:17,000
To drugs?

710
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:18,000
To heroin.

711
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,000
To heroin in Simi Valley.

712
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,000
So I think it's just a drug that came that followed.

713
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,000
Some places it might be coke, some places it might be meth.

714
00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:26,000
In Simi Valley, it's just heroin.

715
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,000
Sometimes, I mean, there's so many different reasons

716
00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,000
that people do drugs.

717
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,000
Was there anything in his life that was...

718
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:35,000
Did he seem troubled in any way?

719
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:36,000
Yeah.

720
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:37,000
About what?

721
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,000
He was, like, always had high expectations for himself.

722
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000
There was always competition between him and our other brother.

723
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:43,000
His twin, Lorne.

724
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,000
Yeah.

725
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:47,000
And Lorne always seemed to get it right.

726
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,000
And, you know...

727
00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,000
And Lorne was doing better academically.

728
00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:52,000
Correct.

729
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,000
Is that right?

730
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:54,000
And in any other way?

731
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,000
No.

732
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,000
Or was he just...

733
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:57,000
Was Lorne...

734
00:35:57,000 --> 00:35:59,000
Is Lorne a bit more of a...

735
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,000
I mean, would get into trouble less?

736
00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:02,000
He would never get in trouble.

737
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:03,000
Why not?

738
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,000
He was scared.

739
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,000
He was scared of authority, scared of consequences,

740
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:09,000
scared of things like that.

741
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:10,000
We weren't...

742
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,000
Langston has never been like that.

743
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:13,000
No.

744
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,000
Do you think he's been depressed?

745
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:16,000
Yeah.

746
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:20,000
We went to a USC-Cal game in San Diego.

747
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000
And he couldn't take the game.

748
00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:24,000
Like, he was crying hysterically.

749
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000
And I left with him to go outside

750
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:30,000
because he just was feeling bad at the decisions that he made

751
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,000
and he had regrets.

752
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:32,000
And he was like, he should be on the field.

753
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000
He could do better than any of those guys there.

754
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,000
And it was just harder for him.

755
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:39,000
Let's just say he just stays exactly where he is now.

756
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:40,000
Would that be...

757
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,000
I mean, you'd still be okay with that?

758
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,000
I would, but I know he's not going to stay where he's at now.

759
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,000
I know he's going to get better.

760
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,000
I mean, and if you were in his position,

761
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,000
you would want exactly the same?

762
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,000
Mm-hmm.

763
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000
I'm only going to die when my heart stops beating

764
00:36:56,000 --> 00:37:00,000
and when I can't breathe on my own, says God,

765
00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,000
not, says, a human being.

766
00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:06,000
As long as there's life in my body, allow me to fight.

767
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:17,000
At the hospital, the 24-hour vigil at Langston's bedside

768
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,000
had been joined by a new family member.

769
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,000
How do you do? I'm Louie.

770
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:22,000
Nice to meet you.

771
00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,000
What's your name?

772
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:25,000
Miss Jackson.

773
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:26,000
Miss Jackson.

774
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000
Smile. Langston.

775
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,000
Langston?

776
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:30,000
Langston.

777
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,000
This is your grandmother.

778
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,000
Come on, turn your head over.

779
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,000
And give me a smile.

780
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:36,000
Don't, don't give me no crying now.

781
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,000
I done came too far for tears.

782
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:42,000
I've been crying for so long, I want to laugh.

783
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:46,000
Come on over here.

784
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,000
Hey, come on over here.

785
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:53,000
What do you close your eyes for when I do that for, huh?

786
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,000
You think I'm going to slap you?

787
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,000
That ain't going to hurt the baby.

788
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,000
That ain't going to hurt the baby.

789
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:01,000
How would you describe Langston before he got ill?

790
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000
How would I describe him?

791
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000
He has always been polite.

792
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:09,000
He hasn't ever talked back to him.

793
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:12,000
He's always been a manable child.

794
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,000
Like I say, God forgive you.

795
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,000
God forgive you.

796
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,000
And he told the devil you can hurt him, but you sure ain't going to kill him.

797
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:25,000
And I believe it.

798
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:36,000
I'm a child of God and all of my seeds, all of you and my seeds, you're hurting now.

799
00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:41,000
But God's going to make you laugh at the devil, because he will never succeed.

800
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,000
He's not going to kill you.

801
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,000
You're in the fog, but it's going to be clear.

802
00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,000
One day you're going to see.

803
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:56,000
The image of Langston's family praying for him was undeniably moving.

804
00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:02,000
It was hard not to get swept up in the emotion and the temptation to believe that an appeal

805
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:06,000
to the supernatural might help.

806
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:11,000
More than ever, I was reminded of the resolve of families to keep going at any cost.

807
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:18,000
It was three weeks since my first conversation with Dante.

808
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,000
Recovery from surgery was proving slower than expected.

809
00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:25,000
Dr Gould had arranged a meeting with his surgical team.

810
00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,000
Yeah, no, I've got the whole team here.

811
00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:32,000
So that we could talk with you and answer any questions that she had.

812
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000
We'd have everybody.

813
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,000
How are you doing? How are you feeling?

814
00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:39,000
I'm okay, this kind of position myself.

815
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:47,000
So we all meant to talk about where things are at with you and with your cancer and with the surgery

816
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:50,000
and with your healing and needing more pain medicine.

817
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:55,000
And we've been doing everything that we can to try to help the wound to heal.

818
00:39:55,000 --> 00:40:02,000
But we've just hit a roadblock where it's not healing any further and that the area around the wound is starting to break down.

819
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:08,000
And so we've been talking about what our options are to try to help with that.

820
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,000
We wanted to get both of your surgeons in the same place to talk with you about that.

821
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:20,000
I want CJ since he does the most to talk about it.

822
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:27,000
Yeah, I mean, when we look at the progression at the time of the APR, the abdominal perineal resection you had,

823
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:31,000
you know, we took viable tissue and we brought it into the perineal area.

824
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:38,000
And then when we look at the way it healed, well, unfortunately the surrounding tissue is not integrating the flap.

825
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000
And so that's what we were brainstorming about.

826
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:45,000
It's like what are the likelihood if we bring another tissue that the same type of situation will again arise

827
00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,000
and then place you in a worse situation than what you are at this time.

828
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:59,000
So what does that mean? I have to, am I just stuck with trying to make this heal or what?

829
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:05,000
Yeah, we're unfortunately at a place where it's not healing and it doesn't look like it's going to heal.

830
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:11,000
And so it's about what we can do to keep you comfortable and to take away the pain,

831
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:15,000
but we're not going to be able to make it better, unfortunately.

832
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,000
Okay.

833
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:23,000
Okay. So it's about looking at comfort measures and basically hospice.

834
00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:28,000
The best that we can do for you is to focus on not doing anything which is going to make you feel worse

835
00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:32,000
and only give you treatments which will help you to feel better.

836
00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:38,000
It just seems so simple and so complicated. I don't understand it.

837
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000
The tissues just aren't healing, Dante.

838
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:47,000
You know, it's the toughest decision for a surgeon not to be able not to offer surgery

839
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:51,000
and for an oncologist not to offer any treatment options.

840
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:59,000
So coming to this decision, you know, I can't imagine how hard it is on you, but it's pretty hard on us too.

841
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:07,000
Thank you for the news and maybe a miracle will come out of it. I don't know.

842
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:14,000
We'll also be here checking on you and taking care of you. That hasn't changed. It's just the direction of our treatment has changed

843
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:19,000
so that we can make sure that we're keeping you as comfortable and as pain free as possible.

844
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:20,000
Okay.

845
00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:21,000
Okay.

846
00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:22,000
Okay.

847
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:23,000
Thank you.

848
00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:24,000
Thank you.

849
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000
God is with you.

850
00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,000
I'm good to God.

851
00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:29,000
I know.

852
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:46,000
Boy, they talked it out though. They looked at everything. They talked it out. All those minds together.

853
00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:47,000
I know.

854
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:52,000
Everybody so, so cares about you and loves you.

855
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:53,000
We have to give you God.

856
00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:59,000
So what are you supposed to do? I'm supposed to stay in a bed forever?

857
00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:00,000
You must be Aunt Bonnie.

858
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:01,000
Yes.

859
00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:02,000
I'm Louie.

860
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:03,000
I'm Louie.

861
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:04,000
Nice to meet you.

862
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:05,000
Nice to meet you.

863
00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,000
How are you doing?

864
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,000
Fine.

865
00:43:07,000 --> 00:43:08,000
Fine.

866
00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,000
Trying to absorb everything that's going on with Dante.

867
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:14,000
I'm just shocked that a wound is going to take his life. I just can't believe that.

868
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:31,000
I won't believe that. I won't believe that.

869
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,000
Dante and you, what are you thinking?

870
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:39,000
It's even more devastating for me because my mind has been set that I was going to get out of here.

871
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:56,000
And, you know, to see the doctors that you've looked up to all this time and then look at you empty in the face and see I didn't want to get started again.

872
00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:08,000
We're just hoping for a miracle. He's just a special young man to us. And we just don't, we just can't believe this. We just can't believe this is the end.

873
00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:10,000
What do you think Dante's thinking?

874
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,000
I think he's devastated and I think he's in shock.

875
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:29,000
He's talking about fighting and he's done so much fighting and based on what the doctors are saying, it seems like maybe now isn't the time to fight. You know, maybe now is the time to try and be comfortable.

876
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:44,000
I fight for life. I certainly would. I mean, sit there and just die. No, I wouldn't do it. And I wouldn't encourage him to do it. But to lay there and just, you know, do nothing. I don't think that's the answer.

877
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,000
It sounds like that's what the doctors are saying.

878
00:44:47,000 --> 00:45:06,000
They can only do what they feel they've been trained to do, you know, but doctors are humans and they make errors just like everybody else. Honestly, would you do that? Would you sit up? You look like a fairly young man yourself. If someone told you, would you lay up there and just die?

879
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:13,000
It's so hard to know, to even imagine what would be going through your head in that situation.

880
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:21,000
Well, you know, I'm older. I'm in my late 50s and I wouldn't do it. I'm not ready to give up.

881
00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:27,000
Are you in a position to sort of put your foot down and say, we want to try more things?

882
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:40,000
Yeah, but according to what they told me, they've gone over and beyond what they would have done. So...

883
00:45:51,000 --> 00:46:04,000
Two days after the bad news about his cell count, Javier and Adriana held a small gathering of friends and family at the hospital.

884
00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:12,000
So today, Javier and Adriana proclaim their love to the world and everyone here, we rejoice with and for them.

885
00:46:12,000 --> 00:46:25,000
Javier, Alonzo, Galvan, do you choose Adriana Guadalupe Rodriguez to be your lawfully wedded wife and your beloved one?

886
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,000
And if so, please say I do.

887
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:28,000
I do.

888
00:46:28,000 --> 00:46:32,000
Adriana, I give you my hand and my heart.

889
00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,000
Adriana, I give you my hand and my heart.

890
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:37,000
As I join my life to yours.

891
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,000
As I join my life to yours.

892
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:41,000
With this ring.

893
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:42,000
With this ring.

894
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:43,000
I be wed.

895
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:44,000
I be wed.

896
00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:48,000
Aviar I give you my hand and my heart.

897
00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:49,000
Have I give you my and my hand and my heart.

898
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:50,000
As I join my life to yours.

899
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,000
As I join my life to yours.

900
00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:53,000
With this ring.

901
00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,000
With this ring.

902
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,000
With this ring.

903
00:46:58,000 --> 00:46:59,000
I be wed.

904
00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:00,000
I be wed.

905
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:01,000
And with all that I am.

906
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:02,000
And with all that I am.

907
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:03,000
I cherish you.

908
00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:04,000
I cherish you.

909
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:05,000
And love you.

910
00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,000
And I love you.

911
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:14,800
It is really a great honor and privilege to pronounce you husband and wife.

912
00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:16,420
Thank you.

913
00:47:16,420 --> 00:47:16,740
Thank you.

914
00:47:21,920 --> 00:47:26,340
Mr. and Mrs. Javier and Adriana Galvan.

915
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:41,480
Two days after the ceremony, Javier started a new round of chemo.

916
00:47:42,520 --> 00:47:44,300
He died the following day.

917
00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:50,580
His end was probably hastened by his treatment, but he had also died fighting.

918
00:47:54,620 --> 00:48:00,620
Though I'd been just a small part of Javier's last days on earth, I couldn't help grieving his loss.

919
00:48:00,620 --> 00:48:11,440
I realized that for young people who have hopes and dreams, to ask them not to take everything on offer to keep going is almost impossible.

920
00:48:19,300 --> 00:48:23,860
Two months after I first arrived at the hospital, I had an extraordinary call.

921
00:48:24,220 --> 00:48:27,600
In a turn of events, the doctors were having trouble explaining.

922
00:48:28,180 --> 00:48:30,260
Langston's family had got their miracle.

923
00:48:30,620 --> 00:48:33,980
Hi, Langston.

924
00:48:34,300 --> 00:48:34,980
I'm Heather.

925
00:48:36,020 --> 00:48:36,940
Do you remember me?

926
00:48:37,580 --> 00:48:38,260
Langston.

927
00:48:39,860 --> 00:48:40,580
Who's this?

928
00:48:41,780 --> 00:48:42,640
Who's that?

929
00:48:45,020 --> 00:48:45,900
My sister.

930
00:48:45,900 --> 00:48:47,460
Oh, my God.

931
00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:50,740
Oh, my God.

932
00:48:55,180 --> 00:48:56,900
Can you tell me who's that?

933
00:48:57,080 --> 00:48:58,040
Who's that, Langston?

934
00:48:58,040 --> 00:48:59,420
I'm going to be so soon.

935
00:48:59,420 --> 00:49:00,420
Oh, you're so soon.

936
00:49:00,420 --> 00:49:01,040
You're going to be fair.

937
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:06,020
Oh, I'm so happy you're okay.

938
00:49:07,520 --> 00:49:08,760
I really am.

939
00:49:08,940 --> 00:49:09,900
I'm so happy.

940
00:49:10,380 --> 00:49:10,800
Yay.

941
00:49:11,020 --> 00:49:12,000
Okay, I won't cry.

942
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:13,000
Oh, wow.

943
00:49:13,000 --> 00:49:22,980
Who is that?

944
00:49:23,060 --> 00:49:23,800
His name is Louie.

945
00:49:24,340 --> 00:49:26,100
We're from the BBC, from Britain.

946
00:49:27,440 --> 00:49:28,920
We've been filming you while you've been ill.

947
00:49:31,420 --> 00:49:32,560
This is amazing.

948
00:49:32,560 --> 00:49:35,060
Watch, like, I love you, Langston.

949
00:49:37,460 --> 00:49:38,420
I love you, Langston.

950
00:49:39,820 --> 00:49:40,180
See?

951
00:49:40,340 --> 00:49:41,000
I love you, too.

952
00:49:41,400 --> 00:49:42,840
You don't seem that surprised.

953
00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:45,040
I already told you what was going to happen.

954
00:49:45,500 --> 00:49:50,100
I'm grateful, and I'm thankful to God, and I'm just, I knew he was going to be okay, and

955
00:49:50,100 --> 00:49:50,980
I know he's going to get better.

956
00:49:51,620 --> 00:49:52,740
You believe this was a miracle?

957
00:49:52,740 --> 00:49:52,920
Cool.

958
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:53,560
Yes.

959
00:49:53,980 --> 00:49:56,120
He said you guys, too.

960
00:50:01,780 --> 00:50:06,340
So, that was unexpected, would you say?

961
00:50:06,780 --> 00:50:07,100
Yeah.

962
00:50:07,700 --> 00:50:09,240
That was really unexpected.

963
00:50:10,340 --> 00:50:15,880
So, I just called one of the neurologists, too, that I was working with in the ICU, and

964
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,060
he said, you know, it's like a one in a million.

965
00:50:19,060 --> 00:50:24,500
To recap, what had originally been said, and this is some while ago, a couple of weeks

966
00:50:24,500 --> 00:50:30,620
ago now, was that the best-case scenario was a vegetative state.

967
00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:31,000
Yes.

968
00:50:31,220 --> 00:50:33,840
With minimal, higher brain function.

969
00:50:34,760 --> 00:50:39,800
So, in a sense that he would basically not follow instructions, not really be a person.

970
00:50:39,960 --> 00:50:40,160
Right.

971
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:40,800
Exactly.

972
00:50:41,260 --> 00:50:42,480
And that was the best-case scenario.

973
00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:43,800
That was the best-case scenario.

974
00:50:43,820 --> 00:50:44,740
Based on the scans.

975
00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:46,180
Based on the scans.

976
00:50:46,180 --> 00:50:50,940
And what I was told by the neurologists and my experience with this.

977
00:50:51,140 --> 00:50:56,140
So, usually if people don't wake up right away, like in a week or so, then they don't

978
00:50:56,140 --> 00:50:56,580
wake up.

979
00:50:56,840 --> 00:50:57,320
So...

980
00:50:57,320 --> 00:51:03,480
Looking back on it, does that mean you and your colleagues made a mistake, in a sense?

981
00:51:03,620 --> 00:51:11,900
Or were you right to manage expectations and base your assessment on the likeliest outcome?

982
00:51:11,900 --> 00:51:22,780
I guess, you know, I think that most people, I think it's appropriate to say this is the

983
00:51:22,780 --> 00:51:27,660
best-case scenario based on all the evidence that we have and based on most patients in

984
00:51:27,660 --> 00:51:28,340
this situation.

985
00:51:28,340 --> 00:51:37,340
So, I think it would, it would be inappropriate to give anybody hope when the experts, the

986
00:51:37,340 --> 00:51:41,400
neuro-intensivists and the neurologists are saying there's no chance for a meaningful recovery.

987
00:51:41,800 --> 00:51:44,060
As we say, they didn't read the textbook.

988
00:51:44,220 --> 00:51:45,120
He didn't read the textbook.

989
00:51:45,300 --> 00:51:47,960
He's supposed to be brain, you know, a vegetable, but he's not.

990
00:51:48,140 --> 00:51:49,260
He's, he's waking up.

991
00:51:49,380 --> 00:51:51,300
So, that's a miracle, I guess.

992
00:51:51,540 --> 00:51:53,720
Is it possible he'll make a full recovery?

993
00:51:53,720 --> 00:52:00,180
I don't know, I really don't know, you know, I, uh, God, wouldn't that be great?

994
00:52:00,860 --> 00:52:06,140
You make it really hard to have these conversations with other families, but, um, but I think that

995
00:52:06,140 --> 00:52:06,920
would be amazing.

996
00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:09,600
Yeah, yeah, that would be so exciting.

997
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:36,560
I was on my way to see Dantain.

998
00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:42,020
After five months and ten days in the hospital, he'd taken the step of accepting that the

999
00:52:42,020 --> 00:52:45,120
Cedars-Sinai doctors could do nothing further for him.

1000
00:52:45,620 --> 00:52:46,240
How are you feeling?

1001
00:52:46,880 --> 00:52:47,780
I feel good.

1002
00:52:49,220 --> 00:52:52,180
I decided to put on my, this is a jacket and a hat.

1003
00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:56,820
I said I was going to wear it when I leave out of here, that's why I came here in.

1004
00:52:56,820 --> 00:53:07,200
So, whatever experience can, you know, I can embody and, you know, be engulfed in it and

1005
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:08,520
onto the new legacy.

1006
00:53:09,340 --> 00:53:10,380
How is your outlook?

1007
00:53:11,180 --> 00:53:12,140
As far as?

1008
00:53:12,180 --> 00:53:13,620
General outlook.

1009
00:53:13,680 --> 00:53:14,560
Are you feeling positive?

1010
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:17,400
Um, I've always been optimistic.

1011
00:53:18,220 --> 00:53:24,060
Um, I'm definitely, I think this is a better move for me, because now I can look for other

1012
00:53:24,060 --> 00:53:26,360
measures of medications.

1013
00:53:27,280 --> 00:53:30,840
I have, you know, too much life to live.

1014
00:53:31,420 --> 00:53:36,780
I think I can really either beat this or extend the time at least.

1015
00:53:36,780 --> 00:53:39,400
Hi, Dr. Poo.

1016
00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:41,420
How are you?

1017
00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:42,720
Good.

1018
00:53:43,240 --> 00:53:43,600
Yeah?

1019
00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:44,260
Mm-hmm.

1020
00:53:44,920 --> 00:53:45,500
Are you comfortable?

1021
00:53:46,000 --> 00:53:46,520
Yes.

1022
00:53:46,840 --> 00:53:47,100
Good.

1023
00:53:48,180 --> 00:53:49,160
Any pain?

1024
00:53:49,740 --> 00:53:51,000
No, not so far.

1025
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:51,760
No?

1026
00:53:52,020 --> 00:53:52,360
Okay.

1027
00:53:52,580 --> 00:53:53,140
I'm pain.

1028
00:53:53,780 --> 00:53:57,180
Once you get home, the hospice team is going to be there to help take care of you.

1029
00:53:57,580 --> 00:53:57,880
Mm-hmm.

1030
00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:02,620
And like we talked about before, I won't be seeing you at home, but I'll be talking with

1031
00:54:02,620 --> 00:54:06,100
the hospice team and helping to take care of you with them.

1032
00:54:06,100 --> 00:54:11,480
It's been a pleasure working with you for a hundred and how many days?

1033
00:54:11,660 --> 00:54:12,520
Lord have mercy.

1034
00:54:12,900 --> 00:54:16,840
Well, putting it all together, it's probably been around nine months, maybe a little longer

1035
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:17,340
than that.

1036
00:54:17,620 --> 00:54:19,680
All right, Dr. See you soon.

1037
00:54:19,920 --> 00:54:20,220
Okay.

1038
00:54:20,600 --> 00:54:21,420
Bye, Dante.

1039
00:54:21,820 --> 00:54:22,280
Bye.

1040
00:54:27,460 --> 00:54:35,160
Dante's been on a journey of acceptance to do with him not really wanting to face what's

1041
00:54:35,160 --> 00:54:36,680
going on to some extent.

1042
00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:40,140
Do you know where he is on that journey now?

1043
00:54:40,320 --> 00:54:42,540
He's still on that journey towards acceptance.

1044
00:54:42,680 --> 00:54:43,640
He's not quite there yet.

1045
00:54:45,320 --> 00:54:48,660
Today, he was able to talk with me about hospice a little bit.

1046
00:54:48,660 --> 00:54:55,540
It's been difficult for him to look at going home, that he's going home on hospice.

1047
00:54:55,620 --> 00:54:59,260
He's been looking at it a lot as, well, he's just, he's going home, he's leaving the hospital,

1048
00:54:59,260 --> 00:55:04,840
but not really what that means, that it's about taking care of him as he's going through

1049
00:55:04,840 --> 00:55:07,140
the dying process and accepting that he is dying.

1050
00:55:07,140 --> 00:55:11,940
And even now, he's still, you know, praying and hoping for a miracle.

1051
00:55:12,560 --> 00:55:19,840
Has there ever been a time when you felt if he had not been so keen on beating the cancer,

1052
00:55:20,440 --> 00:55:23,880
that he would have not put himself through so much suffering?

1053
00:55:24,420 --> 00:55:31,140
By his strong willpower of wanting to live and needing to live and being willing to go

1054
00:55:31,140 --> 00:55:38,060
through painful procedures and interventions that he knew would make him feel worse in the short term,

1055
00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:42,280
that he knew would bring on more pain in the short term for the chance of doing better,

1056
00:55:42,340 --> 00:55:44,300
for the chance of being better afterwards.

1057
00:55:45,960 --> 00:55:48,960
Because of that, yes, he did go through more pain and more suffering.

1058
00:55:50,380 --> 00:55:55,140
But, you know, there's not a right or wrong way to do that.

1059
00:55:55,140 --> 00:56:02,080
And it's a very individual decision on whether somebody is willing to go through that.

1060
00:56:02,140 --> 00:56:04,020
And for Dante, it was worth it.

1061
00:56:05,440 --> 00:56:08,780
All right, Mr. Rogers, before we go, if I could just get a quick signature.

1062
00:56:09,620 --> 00:56:12,300
It's just for consent for us to take you back to your hands, right?

1063
00:56:13,080 --> 00:56:13,920
All right.

1064
00:56:14,500 --> 00:56:15,040
Here you go.

1065
00:56:15,340 --> 00:56:16,460
Let's get a signature here.

1066
00:56:16,460 --> 00:56:25,320
Let the bins out.

1067
00:56:25,320 --> 00:56:50,740
Six weeks after he was discharged, Dante died at his Aunt Bonnie's house,

1068
00:56:51,020 --> 00:56:52,540
surrounded by friends and family.

1069
00:56:52,540 --> 00:57:10,220
Seven weeks after he woke up, after intensive rehabilitation at another facility,

1070
00:57:10,900 --> 00:57:12,960
Langston paid a visit to the ICU.

1071
00:57:13,540 --> 00:57:14,900
Oh, my gosh.

1072
00:57:14,900 --> 00:57:15,100
How are you doing?

1073
00:57:15,100 --> 00:57:16,720
Louie, nice to meet you properly.

1074
00:57:17,240 --> 00:57:17,580
Wow.

1075
00:57:18,320 --> 00:57:19,220
You're good?

1076
00:57:19,460 --> 00:57:19,620
Yeah.

1077
00:57:19,620 --> 00:57:23,820
These people, everybody is just so excited that you're here.

1078
00:57:24,200 --> 00:57:25,220
We're just, you're a miracle.

1079
00:57:25,420 --> 00:57:26,160
You know that, right?

1080
00:57:26,400 --> 00:57:26,680
Yeah.

1081
00:57:26,680 --> 00:57:26,740
Yeah.

1082
00:57:27,740 --> 00:57:29,380
What's the first thing you remember?

1083
00:57:30,340 --> 00:57:31,140
Nothing early.

1084
00:57:31,360 --> 00:57:32,060
You don't remember.

1085
00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:33,860
Where do you remember waking up?

1086
00:57:34,420 --> 00:57:35,280
At the other hospital.

1087
00:57:35,380 --> 00:57:36,220
At the other hospital.

1088
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:38,780
So you don't remember because when you woke up here,

1089
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:40,320
it was right before you were about to go.

1090
00:57:40,620 --> 00:57:42,320
And that was amazing.

1091
00:57:42,600 --> 00:57:42,860
Yeah.

1092
00:57:43,180 --> 00:57:44,240
Just to see that.

1093
00:57:44,460 --> 00:57:44,760
Yeah.

1094
00:57:45,160 --> 00:57:45,420
Yeah.

1095
00:57:45,900 --> 00:57:46,420
Congratulations.

1096
00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:47,440
Thank you.

1097
00:57:47,440 --> 00:57:49,020
Wow.

1098
00:57:49,520 --> 00:57:50,960
Do you want to see the room where you were?

1099
00:57:51,240 --> 00:57:51,440
Yeah.

1100
00:57:51,660 --> 00:57:51,960
Yeah?

1101
00:57:52,100 --> 00:57:52,700
Come on down.

1102
00:57:53,880 --> 00:57:55,220
There's nobody in there, right?

1103
00:57:56,220 --> 00:57:59,200
These are all the people that took care of you.

1104
00:57:59,200 --> 00:57:59,220
Thank you.

1105
00:57:59,220 --> 00:57:59,300
Thank you.

1106
00:57:59,300 --> 00:57:59,960
Thank you.

1107
00:57:59,960 --> 00:58:01,400
Thank you.

1108
00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:01,640
Thank you.

1109
00:58:01,640 --> 00:58:02,120
Thank you.

1110
00:58:02,120 --> 00:58:02,440
Thank you.

1111
00:58:02,440 --> 00:58:03,260
Thank you.

1112
00:58:03,260 --> 00:58:03,520
Thank you.

1113
00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:38,360
And later, Louis Theroux takes us on a musical tour of LA,

1114
00:58:38,520 --> 00:58:42,160
The Doors, NWA and The Beach Boys on Six Music at Midnight.

1115
00:58:42,160 --> 00:58:44,920
And don't miss his last LA story of the series

1116
00:58:44,920 --> 00:58:49,460
as he spends time with the city's sex offenders next Sunday night at nine.

1117
00:58:49,460 --> 00:58:50,820
Thanks Genie Krause.

1118
00:58:50,820 --> 00:58:53,980
Thank you.

1119
00:58:54,220 --> 00:58:56,780
Bye-bye.

1120
00:58:56,780 --> 00:58:59,200
Bye-bye.

1121
00:58:59,340 --> 00:58:59,780
Bye-bye.

1122
00:59:12,180 --> 00:59:13,120
Bye-bye.

1123
00:59:13,520 --> 00:59:14,080
Bye-bye.

1124
00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:15,760
Bye-bye.

1125
00:59:15,760 --> 00:59:17,620
Bye-bye.

1126
00:59:17,620 --> 00:59:18,200
Bye-bye.