Loma Linda University Health’s (LLUH) first national TV show will soon reach 72 million American households. “Life on the Line,” which features courageous individuals and turns their journeys into a moving documentary series, premieres on April 4, 2014, on PBS’s WORLD Channel.
“Working on this series has been an amazing experience,” says Patricia Kelikani, director of advancement films at LLUH. “This show is about real people finding meaning in the midst of a tragedy. This is where the real story lives and their strength of spirit shines.”
Narrated by celebrity host and journalist Lisa Ling and produced by the 12-time Emmy Award winning advancement films team, “Life on the Line” zeroes in on Loma Linda University Health—which serves one-quarter of Southern California—and equips medical teams to travel around the world. The show follows patients from Southern California to the Amazon, Haiti, and Egypt as they all fight a similar battle: to stay alive.
The series features six unique half-hour episodes:
- Episode 1 – “Heart to Heart” tells the story of a family whose newborn baby desperately needs a heart transplant to survive.
- Episode 2 – “Out of the Rubble” captures the life of an 8-year-old Haitian boy who was trapped under earthquake rubble for three days.
- Episode 3 – “End it Now” follows three child abuse victims as they learn to move beyond the trauma and live their lives to the fullest.
- Episode 4 – “Baby Blue” shows how doctors from opposite sides of the globe collaborate to save Egyptian babies born with congenital heart disease.
- Episode 5 – “Armed for the Challenge” features an athlete who sets out to prove that disability doesn’t mean inability.
- Episode 6 – “Anchoring Hope” features a medical boat from Loma Linda University providing much needed health care services for people living in the underserved Amazon jungle.
“Life on the Line” will air on Fridays with repeats throughout the week. During each viewing, two episodes will appear back-to-back. In addition to airing on the WORLD Channel in April, the show will air on PBS stations throughout the country in July. For the full schedule, episode previews, and more information about the show, visit www.lifeontheline.tv.