Educational Media Reviews Online

Sarah Neiders is 89 and dying. When she reaches the point where it is impossible for her to get the care she needs in her home, her daughter Kaye Green takes over the caregiving role. Kaye brings her mother Sarah to live with her and her husband and young adult daughters.

From the opening scene, Sarah’s fight to remain a viable, loving, useful woman for as long as she can in the face of her illness is quite palpable. When hospice enters the scene, and, as their publicity states, is presented to both women as a choice for living, it is clearly evident what a valuable service it is. As Sarah’s health declines and Kay’s stress increases the tough decisions that anyone in this position needs to make are brought to the forefront. Through everyday events like getting through holidays and hearing her granddaughter play the violin, Sarah clearly struggles to enjoy every last moment.

Concluding with her passing, Barash has created a chronicle of Sarah’s last 203 days, and presented them as a natural part of life filled with its intrinsic joys, sorrows, and love. The film is skillfully edited with first-rate production values, resulting in a professional look with a home video feel. This makes for a quick emotional connection to both Sarah and Kaye.

The boomer generation taking over as parental caregivers is much in the news of late. If you want to get a first-hand glimpse of what it can be like to take care of a dying parent, watch 203 Days. While every patient is different and every family experience is different, Bailey Barash has deftly abstracted the most important universal issues faced (on many levels) by those in this situation and condensed them into a 27 minute film. In doing so, 203 Days makes a fine addition to academic library collections supporting coursework in medicine, nursing, social work, and any of the allied health fields supporting the dying patient.