This was different from most TV movies about "disease" in a couple of ways. In most movies like this the victim and the family are so brave and uncomplaining and all get along so perfectly all the time that it is rarely believable, even if it is a "true story". And secondly, these movies usually focus mainly on the victim.
Possible spoilers, but I don't give away the ending!!
In "Solomon's Choice" the focus is more on the parents of Cassie, the teenager suffering from leukemia. And circumstances are such that they are not a perfect, wonderful and always upbeat family. When Cassie is diagnosed the doctors feel her only chance at survival is a bone marrow transplant and want to test her younger brother, Willy, as a possible match. Willy, however, had been involved in a serious auto accident a year or so before, and among other things, had a problem with the anesthesia during surgery. Mom is totally unwilling to allow him to undergo the procedure that could save his sister's life unless the doctors can guarantee he'll be OK, which of course, they can't. She wants to look for another suitable donor. Dad is willing to accept the doctors opinion that he would probably be fine, and wants to have the procedure done to save Cassie before it is too late. The situation gets even more ugly because although Mom has raised Cassie for many years and is very close to her, she is the girl's stepmom, and Dad comes to see her refusal as choosing Willy over Cassie because he is her "real" child.
One thing I liked about the movie is that it managed to present the feelings of both parents well enough that you had a hard time just leaping to the defense of either one--you could sort of see both sides.
Possible spoilers, but I don't give away the ending!!
In "Solomon's Choice" the focus is more on the parents of Cassie, the teenager suffering from leukemia. And circumstances are such that they are not a perfect, wonderful and always upbeat family. When Cassie is diagnosed the doctors feel her only chance at survival is a bone marrow transplant and want to test her younger brother, Willy, as a possible match. Willy, however, had been involved in a serious auto accident a year or so before, and among other things, had a problem with the anesthesia during surgery. Mom is totally unwilling to allow him to undergo the procedure that could save his sister's life unless the doctors can guarantee he'll be OK, which of course, they can't. She wants to look for another suitable donor. Dad is willing to accept the doctors opinion that he would probably be fine, and wants to have the procedure done to save Cassie before it is too late. The situation gets even more ugly because although Mom has raised Cassie for many years and is very close to her, she is the girl's stepmom, and Dad comes to see her refusal as choosing Willy over Cassie because he is her "real" child.
One thing I liked about the movie is that it managed to present the feelings of both parents well enough that you had a hard time just leaping to the defense of either one--you could sort of see both sides.