Running head: FIVE FEET APART 1

Five Feet Apart: Overcoming Disability

Connor J. Hall

Virginia Wesleyan University

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Abstract

The film Five Feet Apart features a seventeen-year old girl named Stella who has cystic fibrosis.

Cystic fibrosis, also known as CF, is a genetic condition is which the lungs and digestive system

are filled with thick mucus resulting in constant coughing and wheezing. There is no known

cure for CF except for a lung transplant, and even then, it could come back, but there are

treatments to manage the dangerous and painful conditions. Stella is going through treatment

when she meets Will, a CF patient who is undergoing a medication trial to help his CF. Stella

and Will began fall for each other, but CF patients, however, are always required to remain six

feet apart to avoid cross bacterial contamination which could be fatal to the patients. As a result,

Will and Stella are not able to have the relationship they would like to despite their ever-growing

love for each other. This paper will discuss the realism of Will and Stella’s condition as well as

CF’s perception to society and how the two are affected physically, mentally, socially, and

emotionally throughout the movie.

Keywords: cystic fibrosis, romance, treatment

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Five Feet Apart: Overcoming Disability

To understand the problem and research question, it is imperative to know the plot of the

movie. The two main characters, Stella and Will, both have cystic fibrosis and fall in love

quickly after meeting in the hospital where Stella is waiting for a lung transplant while

undergoing treatment and Will is taking an experimental medication to help his condition. While

they previously had lives outside the hospital, their lives now are consumed by treatment

regiments and bed rest. Stella tries to maintain her childhood friendships via social media, but

for the most part her friends are her nurses and other patients inside the hospital. However, all

CF patients are always required to remain six feet apart to avoid cross contamination of bacteria

which could prove fatal to Stella, Will, or any of the other CF patients. This is a problem for

Stella and Will because, as discussed in class, romantic relationships rely on physical touch and

not being able to express their love through physical touch can greatly affect someone. This

along with the threat of losing each other or their new friends with the same condition at anyP

time leads to the research question: In what ways and to what extent does cystic fibrosis affect

someone either directly or by an outside force such as society?

Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited, genetic disorder which causes the lungs and digestive

system to get clogged with mucus. CF does so by directly affecting mucus producing cells

causing mucus to be “sticky and thick” rather than “thin and slippery”, so in turn the mucus

“plugs ducts and passageways” rather than acting as “a lubricant” (“Cystic fibrosis,” 2019).

Because CF is a genetic disorder, “the condition can be diagnosed within the first month of life,

before symptoms even develop” (“Cystic fibrosis,” 2019). Once symptoms do develop, they

include “a persistent cough that produces thick mucus, wheezing breathlessness, repeated lung
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infections, inflamed nasal passages, and intestinal blockage” (“Cystic fibrosis,” 2019). These

symptoms cause several complications such as “respiratory failure, coughing up blood, diabetes,

and nutritional deficiencies” (“Cystic fibrosis,” 2019). Sadly, there is no known cure for CF;

however, patients can undergo a lung transplant and there are treatments to help lessen the

severity of the symptoms. The quality of life for a person with cystic fibrosis is dramatically

lowered. The condition keeps them from being independent in almost everyway because they

are required to be on oxygen at almost all times and they are limited in their physical ability

because they are unable to breath at a higher rate because of the excessive, thick mucus in their

lungs. Patients spend most of their days in bed or undergoing treatments.

Physical, Mental, Social, and Emotional Effects and Limitations

Previously discussed were some of the symptoms and complications related to CF which causes

many physical limitations portrayed with extreme realism in the film. Patients are extremely

limited in their physical activity because physical activity requires an increased oxygen intake

which is made impossible with the thick mucus in the respiratory system of CF patients. In the

film, Stella and Will are oftentimes seen hooked up to oxygen tanks, especially when walking to

try and avoid coughing. In addition, towards the end of the film, Stella decides to leave the

hospital to go see the city lights with Will; a daunting task for a CF patient. A couple times on

the way, Stella stops to try and catch her breath because she starts coughing. Both scenes

demonstrate the realism in which CF is portrayed in the film. Being constrained to the confines

of the hospital as a result of physical limitations greatly affects CF patients socially because they

are unable to go out and make new friends and keep up with their old ones. They are forced to

see the outside world through social media much like Stella did and make new friends only in the

confines of the hospital. As a result, Stella feels isolated and is often portrayed to have a
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negative mindset because of this and the fact that there is no cure for her condition. However,

her limited relationship with Will is what affects her the most mentally and emotionally, and the

same goes for all CF patients who, as a result of their condition, are unable to engage in a sexual

relationship. She goes through many different emotions including depressed knowing her

condition and limitations, isolated from the outside world, happy when her and Will go on their

date, optimistic about her lung transplant, but ultimately angry about Will’s treatment not

working and him having to leave.

Prejudices, Discrimination, Rejection, and Feelings as a Result

In an article by Brad Dell, people with cystic fibrosis find themselves feeling the

prejudices of having cystic fibrosis and face discrimination as a result more often than not.

Patients are constantly going through treatment and pay roughly “$100 per week for prescription

medicine” causing them to feel “punished for having a genetic disorder” (Dell, 2018). Patients

are most of the time unable to work and now they are forced to pay for medication that has been

put through a 400 percent price increase. This is the epitome of big companies taking advantage

of helpless people who have no other option. In addition, many patients end up dying simply

because they are unable to afford their much-needed transplant and not popular enough to raise

money online. Patients can sometimes receive free or discounted treatment if they participate in

a new treatment which are oftentimes developed because “it would be interesting”, making

patients feel like less of a human and more of a lab rat (Dell, 2018). This is exactly what

happened to Will in the film and it in no way helped his condition and he was forced to move to

a new hospital to start a new treatment. One person who has cystic fibrosis claims they were

screamed at by a complete stranger on an airplane “to stop coughing” even after it was made

clear the cough was a “noncontagious lung disease” (Dell, 2018). Most people were, are, and
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always will be worried about themselves first and this is a perfect example of that. Lastly and

perhaps the worst example of discrimination is a teacher from the UK who was fired as a result

of his condition. He was put under “a tremendous amount of stress” despite his condition and, in

turn, “his health plummeted” (“A lesson,” n.d.). He continued to work but was wrongfully fired

one day after showing a “movie one rating too high to his class of students” (“A lesson,” n.d.).

His termination was determined unlawful and a result of discrimination against his illness, so he

was awarded compensation. However, there aren’t just negative implications and developments

surrounding cystic fibrosis.

Legislation and Acceptance.

There are several pieces of legislation that protect people with disabilities including

cystic fibrosis. The teacher previously mentioned was protected by the U.S Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission which can be found in Title I of the American Disabilities Act (ADA).

This prohibits “private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor

unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities” (“Americans,” n.d.).

Legislation facilitating legislation wasn’t included in the movie, but acceptance of people with

cystic fibrosis can be facilitated effectively and efficiently through media such as this film in

which CF patients are portrayed as normal people, just the same as everyone else by educating a

mass audience through portraying the condition realistically.

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References

A lesson in discrimination. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk/news/a-

lesson-in-discrimination.

Americans with Disabilities Act. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/

disability/ada.

Cystic fibrosis. (2019, July 9). Retrieved from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cystic-fibrosis/symptoms-causes/syc-

20353700.

Dell, B. (2018, September 24). Cystic Fibrosis Rants of Injustices, Humiliations, and Sorrows.

Retrieved from https://cysticfibrosisnewstoday.com/2018/09/25/cystic-fibrosis-rants-

injustices-humiliations-sorrows/.