The Schlemel Interview

"Yes... though I did have my sperm count tested. It was low, and I found out a year or so after that- three years ago- that I had low zinc. I didn't realize that vitamin could be so important!" He chuckles.

Jesse nods. "Stress- male and female- vitamin deficiencies, erectile dysfunction in guys, you name it. So even after trying for awhile, don't automatically assume you have to look into alternate methods, or that whatever is wrong can't be fixed. There are tests for both male and female to make sure, of course, but everything turned out normal other than the sperm count. Also, don't assume everything is going to work the same way for everyone, from supplements you may try to anything else."

Tarah nods. "Complications such as diabetes or extra weight on both male and female can make it hard to conceive, regardless of if you have a problem like PCOS. I don't have diabetes, but it's common in my family, unfortunately. So the doctor advised me to lose a little weight- if you can believe that! To give you an idea of why I wasn't so sure losing weight would help..." She points to the picture sitting on top of the piano.

"Our wedding. See? Am I really that unattractive?" She's half-joking and her eyes are sparkling.

"According to their charts, maybe a little. But nowadays, medical information seems to change about every six months! So what do they know, anyway?" Tarah grins. "But you're right- on the other side of things, being too thin can mean you don't conceive, either."

"I agree. I've been reading, though, that a lot of those charts, body mass index for example, were created with men in mind. And maybe, on some level, some doctors buy into the 'thin is beautiful' thing we have going on as a culture. Who knows?" Tarah shrugs. "He may have been thinking of my family history, though, and that's the part I can't wish away."

(OOC: celebs who refuse airbrushing people.com/celebrity/celebs-refuse-airbrush-photoshop/ )


"I hope so." Tarah sighs. "That's another thing I just thought of- some of those photographs the fans see... not the ones the journalists actually take, but what appears after editing in the magazines...a good bit of those photographs are airbrushed or PhotoShopped or whatever you call it nowadays. Just like nobody is perfect morally, nobody is perfect physically, either, but for whatever reason, the public wants people to think that celebrities are. It's disgusting. When I think of all the people- male and female- that we've maybe indirectly caused to have eating disorders from trying to look like us...it's sickening, you know?"

"It's not just that, either. Even the little...what some people might term distinguishing characteristics, like moles, are brushed out sometimes. Some celebs refuse airbrushing- us included- but it continues to be a thing, this idea that you would be better any other way than the way you are." Jesse adds. Maybe now, more than ever, he can see where Naamah and Menashe are coming from regarding their sexual orientations.

"It goes a long way, doesn't it?" Tarah observes. "Russell Brand- because I have to mention a fellow Englishman- and Portia de Rossi are just a couple I can think of of the celebrities who have had eating disorders in the past. And that's to say nothing of anyone else. If this even affects other celebrities, as well as their fans, where have we gone wrong as a culture?"

"Chava considered it. After our parents died...with Sheva in the hospital... it was...it's not always about your perception of your body, though a good bit of the time, it can be," says Jesse softly. "In her case...it was something she could control. But to think of my sister even just considering what to so many others can be a major problem...it started somewhere. So it also has to stop somewhere. Especially with the recent move and Sheva having to be a year behind, and the unveiling ceremony coming up soon...that's like a funeral but smaller, where you show off the tombstone, though it's also religious.... we worry about her. She's been to counseling, but that's the thing about too much stress. You can be just a breath away from... well, doing anything, really."

"We were almost too late ourselves," Jesse admits. "I didn't see it, being halfway around the world at the time- in Brazil, actually- and Tarah...didn't think. Chava has always been the kind of girl who would be more the 'purposely fail a test' type if she were to act out. Not...this. I think she knew that if she ever decided to become a gymnast professionally it might cause people to talk about how she 'almost ruined her career- and her life,' but...you can only fail so many tests in your senior year before you don't graduate."

Jesse nods. "Yeah. 'Just a diet.' What a bunch of crap. And sometimes even the trainers don't notice what these kids are doing. So... it was way too easy to blame myself. Or my career. Or long flights."

"I didn't know what to look for or I'd have at least tried to help," says Tarah. "Jesse knew better, since he has female soccer player friends, but he didn't suspect it of his own sister. But even if I had known the signs, all the change the family was going through didn't help. In fact it made things harder, because what person doesn't need alone time when someone dies? And would she have confided in me personally regardless? At that point, I didn't know."

"That wasn't what tipped me off, either. There was hardly any weight loss at all. In her case, it was bulimia, so it was the amount of candy she ate. Which is so not like Kochava at all- she's a kid, but...she's careful. Always has been, even before the gymnastics, Jesse said. She wasn't like a lot of kids we knew, just shoveling in candy and soda every day. I- I should maybe have been concerned, but who doesn't need a little extra comforting when...?"

"She was careful to hide the wrappers. She wouldn't even let us take out her trash- she did it herself, which should have alerted at least me." Jesse says as he wraps an arm around his wife. "Most teenage boys complain, maybe, but they will take out the trash... but some girls... all of ours included..." He shakes his head and smiles ironically.

"Definitely not. You'd think based on the sheer number of people who deal with them that there would be. Or that speaking out by celebrities would have helped there to be more information somehow. But it hasn't, and I wonder, if medical information changes every six months nowadays, why isn't this changing?" asks Tarah rhetorically.

"True, but I also wonder if it might have to do with medical funding," Jesse says. "No disrespect to anyone whose family is fighting cancer or heart problems, but this is important, too. And from where I'm standing, although heart problems or cancer happen to young people too, this seems to be affecting more of them."

Tarah nods. "Maybe if we made a donation, though...to fund a project like what you're talking about... do you think people would help? As far as something like this goes, a lot of info could be outdated, but outdated info still means somebody was doing research somewhere!"