Film documents Lyme disease mystery, agony

Once a major league baseball player, Ben Petrick was benched by Lyme disease. His case is among those studied in the documentary "Under Our Skin."

One of 15 finalists selected by an Academy Awards committee for the "short list" of titles eligible for this year's Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, "Under Our Skin" screens in special showings at 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Malco Paradiso, 584 S. Mendenhall.

Directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson, the documentary examines the medical-community controversy and devastating human toll associated with Lyme disease, a dangerous tick-borne illness that, untreated, can attack the central nervous system.

Once a major league baseball player, Ben Petrick was benched by Lyme disease. His case is among those studied in the documentary "Under Our Skin."

The subject matter may sound daunting, but the movie has been praised by most reviewers for its suspense and drama as well for its educational aspect and reformist agenda. Salon, the online magazine, included it in a recent roundup of "movies not to miss."

"Under Our Skin" was brought to Memphis by Lee and Kelly Nanney, whose children, Wilson, 19, and Shelby, 16, are being treated for Lyme disease that the Nanneys believe was contracted many years ago during one of the family's frequent Arkansas camping trips.

Like the Lyme sufferers in the movie, Wilson and Shelby were misdiagnosed initially, according to Kelly Nanney: Wilson was said to have multiple sclerosis, while Shelby was treated for chronic fatigue syndrome. "Our kids continued to get worse and worse, and they were getting symptoms outside the boxes for those diagnoses," Nanney said.

Through Internet searches and other resources, the Nanneys became intrigued by the possibility that a form of Borrelia -- the spirochette bacteria that causes Lyme -- was the culprit. They discovered the debate over Lyme had become politicized, with doctors who say the illness is hard to contract and easy to treat pitted against those who say the disease is underreported and misunderstood. (Among those who say they have Lyme disease in the film are a U2 concert event organizer, a park ranger and former major league ballplayer Ben Petrick.)

Like "Food Inc." and "Sicko," among other recent message documentaries, "Under Our Skin" argues that part of the problem is that the profit motive now trumps the public welfare, with insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers wielding undue influence over such entities as the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

The movie makes a convincing case that the medical community needs to take a new look at Lyme, even as it leaves open the possibility that at least some people who say they have the disease may be mistaken. The film illustrates how relatively well-known the Lyme controversy has become with a clip from an episode of "The Simpsons" titled "Lisa's Substitute," in which a teacher tells her class that "my Lyme disease turned out to be psychosomatic." Responds a kid: "Does that mean you're crazy?"

For more information, visit underourskin.com.

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