Under the Eight Ball: A New Film by Timothy Grey Hall
by PJ Langhoff
My father was a professional mechanical engineer, and one of his earlier jobs when he was alive was at the Chicago Bridge and Iron Works in Chicago, Illinois in the early 1960s. When we were young I remember my family driving to visit his mother (my grandmother) who lived on the south side of Chicago. In our endeavor to get to Grandma’s, somewhere along the journey from the suburbs to the inner city we would invariably pass by refineries with their large storage tanks full of petroleum and other chemicals. “See those? That is what I used to design,” my father would say proudly, pointing to the enormous spherical-shaped tanks as we passed by. As a child, although I would catch a glimpse and regard them with childish curiosity, I could barely appreciate his work let alone the outcome of his designs.
My father would speak just as proudly of his military experience (during the Korean conflict), just as his father and grandfather had served before him; and son and grandson who would follow in service according to family tradition. I always got the feeling when I was younger that Dad knew more than he was willing to talk about, regardless of whether the topic was work or the military. We heard a few references over the years to the “Eight Ball”, but I never really bothered to find out what it actually was. I guess I never really thought about the kind of work that my father did when I was growing up, including his work at a division of Rockwell International (a major contractor to the military), at CB&I, or his work on replacement O-rings for the space shuttle program after the January 28, 1986 Challenger disaster where seven astronauts lost their lives. The anniversary of that event looms as I write this so I mention it since engineering (and warfare of a biological kind) are the topics of discussion.
In the 1940s, ex-DuPont scientist and chief of the munitions division of Camp Detrick, (later Fort Detrick) and colleague Harold Batchelor drew up engineering plans for a large metal spherical tank to be constructed. Its intended use was for biological warfare testing of bombs containing microbial agents which were to be exploded in relative safety on site at Camp Detrick instead of elsewhere such as Dugway Proving grounds. The Chicago Bridge and Iron Works received the contract to fabricate and deliver in 1949, a one-million liter test sphere which would be used for this purpose, called The Eight Ball. The sphere was completed in 1950 and cost three quarters of a million dollars, and weighed about 131 tons according to a source.[1]
When I heard about a new film that was recently released called Under the Eight Ball, the name and its subject matter of Lyme disease spiked my interest. Being somewhat familiar with the design of the sphere thanks to my father and knowing that he passed away but not before exhibiting some very Lyme-like symptoms, I was curious about the film and contacted producers for a preview so that I might write an article about it. Not knowing what to expect perhaps except for the “biowarfare” angle and the topic of Lyme disease, I entered my preview with a curious, open mind.
Directed by Timothy Grey Hall and Breanne Russell, with Justin Blake as producer, this unmistakably relevant film grabs your attention immediately with its edgy music and no-nonsense film work. The story opens with the chronologic story of Tim’s sister, award-winning investigative journalist Lori Hall-Steele, who is visibly sick and dealing with an illness of “unknown origin.”
While Lori remembers having been bitten in 2006 by a spider when visiting downstate near Detroit, by the time she returned home to Traverse City, she had a hallmark Lyme “bull’s-eye” rash and symptoms including a “dropped foot”.
Following this, Lori experienced cold and flu-like symptoms, and although she suspected Lyme disease, she was repeatedly told an incredulous phrase that many people hear, which is that “there is no Lyme in Michigan.” A menu of diagnoses followed, including Guillain-Barré syndrome, MS, Lupus, Lyme and ALS. Some of Lori’s laboratory tests later returned positive for Lyme disease as well as Ehrlichia and Chlamydia; the former which can be fatal by itself.
After a fairly rapid progression of only nine months, Lori was put on a merry-go-round of antibiotics, steroids and immunosuppressive agents that appear to have made her condition far worse and led to complete incapacitation and requiring a ventilator. All along, the words “Lyme disease” seem to fall on deaf ears while a neurologist told her (incredibly coldly) that, “Everyone dies.”
Although I am not a violent person, hearing those words made me wish I could reach into the film and grab the medical staff by the shoulders and shake some sense into them. I wanted to shout, “What don’t you get? Can’t you see how ill this woman is?” The anger that I felt at those provocative words “everyone dies” echoed my own experiences dealing with Lyme disease. It had also been my experience that physicians know very little about the fastest growing vector-borne disease epidemic in the world, and I live in Wisconsin, which is endemic for
Lyme.
Lori’s neurologist’s words made me recall a statement my own doctor had made which was “I’m not going to hold your hand every time you think there is something wrong with you.” My nearly 100 doctors over a 13-year period in three states all refused to discuss the words “Lyme disease” as well. So I know exactly what Lori and her family were up against although her progression in the illness was far more severe and rapid than many people’s I had seen or heard about.
To that end, the film is an incredibly honest, personal portrayal of the last months of this precious woman’s life and a desperate search for answers. The film shows that Lori’s life was no less meaningful than that of the physicians who contributed to her deteriorating condition. And yet only Lori’s friends and family seemed to lend her any credence whatsoever beyond the band aid therapies and medical red tape they were enduring just to make her comfortable in her last days – days which should not have had the outcome they did, had she been properly diagnosed and treated.
I couldn’t help but feel incredibly close to Lori and want to speak for her by saying “She has Lyme, you idiots! Lyme disease is real! Give her antibiotics, for God’s sake!” as if my efforts would help. If nothing, this film cries “foul” in an honest and justifiable anger that patients with real illness are being ignored and, for lack of better words, “dealt with” because after all, we all die.
The film continues by discussing the history of biowarfare in encapsulation, touching on the microbial pathogens and experimentation which took place inside the eight ball during the 1950s moving forward. There are references to Japan and Lt. General Shiro Ishi’s Unit 731 biowarfare facility that was the source of horrific experimentation, including on human subjects. And legitimate questions are asked about the source and purpose of the biological warfare experiments which took place in the United States, where we all live in a sense, under the Eight Ball.
Another segment of the film discusses the chemical companies in Michigan which include Dow and DuPont and their connections with industrial pollutants. It also shows Tim’s failed attempts to have the tap water from Lori’s home and local sources tested for contaminates. The red tape surrounding water testing in his area is arguable from both sides of the front desk however the response by the public water department appears somewhat skewed. If a concerned citizen brought a water sample forward to be tested, one might expect genuine concern about the possibility of impurities in local supplies. That did not appear to be the case here, as the water board seemed more concerned over proper etiquette than the possibility there might be a legitimate problem.
Tim's approach to filming is admittedly a bit reminiscent of Michael Moore’s film “Sicko”, (which I liked by the way), but his honesty and aggressiveness are tempered with a legitimate desire to get to the truth of why his sister had to die and what are the origins of Lyme disease. The latter is a question that millions of people the world over are asking but, to date, we have not received any answers.
The worst part about Lori’s death is perhaps that the questions remain unanswered. Some of Lori’s autopsied tissues remain on ice to date because no laboratory has been found willing to receive and study them in a meaningful manner. And there are no answers either to date about the ramifications of the military’s biological warfare testing performed in the Eight Ball at Camp Detrick. In a sense, we are all living under the eight Ball and whatever effects its tests may have brought to the United States.
There are key interviews in the movie, and a metaphorical snow scene that Tim and Breanne said means “something different to each viewer.” Since I am an equestrian and I remember a time when I was too sick to ride, I easily related to the physical strength required to do so, and what little I had when I was at my worst neurologically with this illness.
I also felt like the stark contrast between being able to ride horseback when well, and being reduced to life on a ventilator followed by death were statement enough about the seriousness of this illness. The metaphor, to me, felt like all patients are left to wander aimlessly in the blinding snow of white papers and unrevealed medical knowledge due to politics and secret agendas. Perhaps if we could just see what lies beneath, we could uncover the truths surrounding this disease. Perhaps with films as real as Eight Ball, some of the coldness and secrecy will finally begin to melt away.
Certainly the film asks the hard questions, and Lori and her family deserve to know the answers. While “why” is the loudest question from this film, the best comment for what this film meant to me is simply a “desire for truth”.
Naturally the film moved me to tears as I could easily put myself and others I know in Lori’s place on the bed. My thoughts were easily “this could have been me”. Like Lori, I was also falling down the slippery slope of disability and death until I was fortunate enough to find a physician who believed I had Lyme and agreed to treat me. Many like Lori tragically are not that fortunate, and this leaves their families and friends grasping for answers before it’s too late.
And having survived that part of the illness, I feel a kinship with Tim and Breanne and their sense of responsibility to communicate the reality of this illness and also to become spokespersons for those who are suffering because not enough is being done to provide answers. Certainly there are not enough doctors who are able to recognize, diagnose, or treat these patients and there is a serious lack of validation for these patients.
Lori, who gave her willing consent to be filmed throughout this process, is a hero simply because she allowed herself to live and to die on camera, and her story to be told honestly and continued by Tim and Breanne and the rest of the crew involved in the film. I believe their efforts to bring forth this story are well worth the time watching the
film. And I believe that the film’s impact upon viewers will provide an angle, though difficult to watch at times, that some have not yet had the honor of knowing or understanding. Unless you have personally been touched by Lyme disease, it is difficult to grasp on many levels.
If nothing else, we must continue to talk about Lyme disease so that others might not have to endure the hell that Lori and her family suffered. While Lyme disease is difficult enough on its own, the other diseases that accompany the infection, the diseases of ignorance, denial, and political agendas, are what viewers of this film will find most perplexing.
Yes, “everyone dies”, but medicine is supposed to prevent deaths that can be prevented; and Lori’s most likely could have been had she been diagnosed properly and treated earlier.
Tim and Breanne and family’s grief and desire for answers are palpable, justified, and pull sharply on the viewer’s heart strings. It is difficult to watch someone we love pass on; more so when their death is publicly viewed, and worse, might have been prevented. I believe that these brave individuals are champions for their honesty and vulnerability which is made so very public so others may learn this illness is not “all in our heads”. They are to be applauded and their film watched with appreciation to the attention, openness, and honesty that they bring forth.
The movie premiered December 16, 2009 at the IFC Center in New York. To find out about screenings in your area, visit: www.undertheeightball.com
Reference
1. Ed Regis. The Biology of Doom. Henry Holt & Company, LLC. 1999 NY.
