“9,000 Needles” could have been a lot of things. It could have been an indictment of the American health and insurance industries. It also could have been a behind the scenes look into the “mysteries” of traditional Chinese medicine, told from the viewpoint of a cautious family struggling with the recovery of a loved one. 

But in the end, filmmaker Doug Dearth decided to focus on the one, most important aspect of his documentary. That was the recovery of his brother, Devin, who suffered a devastating stroke caused by a bleed in his brain stem which left him paralyzed on his right side, unable to walk, and with difficulty speaking. 

The day that Devin Dearth suffered his stroke started out like most others. The forty year old father of three, a successful businessman and former champion bodybuilder, started out his day with an early morning workout. After complaining to his friends that he didn’t feel well it was apparent that something was terribly wrong. 

The stroke left Devin in intensive care for weeks, and the prognosis was grim. A devout Christian and devoted family man, he eventually recovered enough to be put into an in-patient rehabilitation program, and finally, into in-home care.  

But while Devin showed some significant improvement, there was another looming battle. The American medical system may be top notch, but it has an insatiable need for money. Devin, his wife Stacey, and their children faced the very real possibility that any progress he made would be lost due to a lack of financial resources. The family struggled, trying to navigate through the myriad roadblocks thrown in their way by their insurance company. 

Time was running out, and his only hope for recovery may lay thousands of miles away in Tianjin, China. Devin’s brother Doug suggested that the family check out an experimental, affordable stroke rehabilitation program that combined conventional medical treatment with traditional Chinese methods such as acupuncture. The alternative was clear; while it was almost unthinkable that Devin would have to leave his Central City, Ky. home to seek treatment, the family, after an agonizing debate, came to the decision that they would do anything for him. 

For Doug Dearth, the initial thought of making a documentary, of turning the camera on his brother and family, proved to be the correct instinct, albeit a tough choice. There were logistics to consider; would he even be allowed to film in the Chinese hospital?  But he felt that as a filmmaker, it would be his way of showing how one family could navigate their way through the murky waters of the American medical and insurance industries, but more importantly, documenting his brother’s recovery through any means possible.  

“In the beginning it was tough because, then all of a sudden you're reliving the same two years,” he said. “Just the idea of doing it, if it wasn't such a desperate situation, I would never ask my family or subject them to any documentary…because it's just so private.” 

For Doug, “9,000 Needles” was a completely different kind of project than he was used to working on, and not just from the personal standpoint of filming his brother throughout his recovery. This would be his first documentary, and made under the banner of his production company, One In A Row Films. His filmmaking background includes an associate producer’s credit on the HBO film “The Jack Bull,” starring John Cusack, producer’s credit on the feature “Grace is Gone,” and most recently, he served as co-producer and second unit director on “War, Inc.” 

The situation called for a spare, cinema verite style, shot on DVCam, not film. With the faraway shooting location, minimal budget and tight quarters, Doug had to make some decisions about how the documentary would look. He was a little hesitant at first, because equipment is visible in several scenes, as are Doug and the other (and only) member of his crew, co-producer Doug Busby.  

“I was worried about it (the visible equipment and filmmakers),” he said with a wry laugh. “I was hoping the audience wouldn't know that I was a seasoned filmmaker and they would just give me some leeway, that I was his brother just trying to shoot this film.”  

To Dearth, Busby became more than a filmmaking partner. For “the two Dougs,” one would often take the camera while the other was helping Devin. They documented his struggles; he had good days and bad days, but the two provided an unflinching look into one man’s battle with his own body. 

“I couldn't say enough great things about him. He would help my brother with exercises; he would do whatever he had to do. He was right in there with us, so I also knew that because I was Devin's brother I was going to have to participate in his care while I was filming this documentary. I knew I needed one other person there to man the camera.” 

Ultimately, the choices that Dearth made paid off. “9,000 Needles” has a way of pulling the viewer into the world of the Dearth family, and the up close feel makes these people very real. The visible equipment actually underscores the importance of the film, as sometimes Doug just had to point the camera at what was happening because Devin’s recovery took precedence.  

“We first started editing it, and the original editor that worked with me, we were trying to edit around all that,” Doug said. “I said, ‘we've got to stick to the story first. Let's keep people really engaged.’ I finally made the choice, ‘let's show this early on to become the world the people are used to seeing.’ I think in this particular case, with the filmmakers really being an active part of his recovery in helping somebody across the world go through something like this, I thought, ‘you know what let's just embrace it just embrace all the imperfections.’”  

He also decided to use very little narration, in another attempt at keeping the viewer’s attention unbroken. What little voice over comes from Doug himself, and is usually in the context to explain the immediate action on screen.  

“I read that when you're making a film or documentary, the key is to try and make the visual film tell a story before you need to say anything the best you can. If you rely on voiceover, you tend to visually cut a film to voiceover rather than the other way around.” 

The lack of voiceover also keeps the viewer in the moment. They watch the recovery unfold, and the lack of artificial filmmaking devices, such as subtitling, once again makes the audience feel as if they’re in the room. 

“I purposely didn't subtitle any of the Chinese doctors because we didn't know what they were saying, and somehow I didn't know if that would work either, and it did. When I watched the audience (in a screening) they just become a part of that family.” 

The film occasionally ventures outside of Devin’s hospital room, such as when he takes his first steps down a flight of stairs, or when Doug Busby and Doug Dearth take him out on a riding tour of the city. There are several touching moments, as when various members of the Dearth family, including Devin’s wife and children come for a visit. 

The Chinese medical staff is shown performing acupuncture on Devin; this becomes a major part of his therapy, and something that the Chinese view as integral to the healing process. While promoting the film, Doug has been involved with several panels of medical professionals discussing the methods shown in the film. And while he certainly is aware of the issues and questions raised on the periphery of his film, they take a back seat to the thing that would concern anybody with a loved one going through what Devin did. 

“I had this doctor ask in a question-and-answer session a week ago, she asked, ‘How do you know it was the acupuncture and the traditional Chinese medicine and not just the amount of care he was getting over there?’ I'll be really honest with you. I don't care.” 

“9,000 Needles” is not a comprehensive look into America’s broken insurance system, nor is it an expose of traditional Chinese medicine. It was not meant to be. For Doug Dearth, his goal was to film his Devin’s recovery, and while all these issues come into play, the real focus is the brother, husband, father and son who flew all the way to China just to be able to walk and talk again.  

“If people get motivated to find out more about traditional Chinese medicine, they can do that. They can learn more about why their insurance sucks. My brother’s and my politics are polar opposite and I purposely didn't want to spout my views. I thought, ‘I can get the audience to really fall in love with this like this was their brother or sister.’” 

The film was shown at the Louisvill International Festival of Films, the Other Venice Film Festival and the Mammoth Film Festival in 2009, the Cleveland International Film Festival in March of this year, and then most recently Dearth took it to the Phoenix International Film Festival. Doug’s tireless promotion of the film has garnered interest from neurologists and colleges such as USC and their stroke rehabilitation department. He has had requests by acupuncture schools to screen the film, and has been in contact with a company that screens potential programming for Oprah Winfrey’s television network, OWN.  

“It lends itself to be a story of hope, and it also lends itself to thinking outside of the box a bit.” 

Devin Dearth’s recovery continues. He recently flew back to China for another round of treatment, which this time includes stem cell therapy (which raises a whole new set of issues). The family has founded the Devin Dearth Foundation, whose mission is assisting and supporting patients suffering from debilitating diseases and injuries. 

“9,000 Needles” may be different things to different people. It may be an introduction to Chinese acupuncture as more than just a stress reliever. It may force some people to ask some hard questions about how insurance companies are run in this country or how hospitals decide who gets medical care and who doesn’t. Doug Dearth hopes that the film does all these things, and that his brother Devin is seen as an inspirational figure. 

“In hindsight, I looked at Christopher Reeve and I looked at Michael J. Fox, in the way that these people make some sense or some purpose of their lives after such a devastating event. Their purpose of helping others is the kind of approach that I took to Devin. I looked at it like down the road this is going to give you the opportunity to travel and talk to people and help other families through what you're going through.”

For more information, visit www.9000needles.com