Medical Investigation (2004) s01e05 Episode Script

Well, look who's here.
Hey, Mr.
Roland.
You're on about? You must be feeling better, right? Much better.
You know Joey white? Sure.
Why? Last time he was here, the kid spent like an hour, just looking around.
Didn't buy a darn thing.
His pockets sure seemed full.
I don't think he'd do anything like that.
Oh, you never know.
Joey, what are you doing back there? Joey? Joey! Son, are you all right? Don't touch me! Please don't touch me! I'll get help.
I'm finishing our analysis of the salmonella outbreak in Santa fe.
There's some very interesting statistical anomalies that probably bear more scrutiny.
Okay.
Stay on it.
Frank? Still checking out the MRSA problem in those doctors' offices.
They're telling me they have it under control, but we'll see.
Good.
Eva? / Well I just got a phone call from Dr.
Ansuya patel.
The internist from Massachusetts? Yes.
She sounded very agitated.
- Something new happen? - Another child collapsed.
A boy, apparently with the same symptoms as the others.
Okay.
Get the boy's charts.
We'll take a look.
Stephen, these parents are freaking out and she doesn't know what to tell them.
What's going on with these kids? It's not entirely clear.
But for several years, she's been noticing a pattern of chronic illnesses among the town's children.
- We need to get up there now.
- Our plate's already full.
She's been asking us for help for almost six months, Stephen.
Must be a lot of nervous parents up there.
Her hospital doesn't have the resources she needs to make a diagnosis or even think about a treatment.
Obviously, I want to help, but now is not the best time to go.
That doctor is overwhelmed.
She needs us.
Those kids need us.
Okay.
Overbrook Hospital Massachusetts I can't thank you enough for coming.
Especially with the other cases that must be competing for your time.
You made a very persuasive case, and you have a lot of sick children here.
Yes, we do.
All the cases are similar.
Fatigue, muscle inflammation and weakening, joint pain, upper body rashes and sores.
- How long since your first case? - It's been almost three years now.
How have you been treating them? Pain medication, moist heat.
Sometimes the children can't climb stairs, get up from a chair, or even comb their hair.
Any deaths? Two in the past 18 months.
A boy and girl.
Both presented with severe respiratory disease in advanced stages.
Any similarities to your current patients? Unfortunately, yes.
A couple of the kids may be nearing a similar point of no return.
I've assembled them all.
These are desperate people.
You'll get all the cooperation you need.
Doctor, how many people live in this town? Just under 9,000.
But only a dozen children are sick? Why is that? They probably all attended the same school at one time or another.
Why not the other students or the teachers? Who's your latest patient? All right, Joey.
Here's what we're going to do.
While I'm pushing down, I need you to push back up.
Okay? Yeah, ready? Yeah? One, two, three, go.
How old are you now? You must be about 12.
Ten.
/ Ten? I have a son, Jack, who's 11.
You're already bigger than he is.
Ready, set, go.
Okay.
Let's take a look at your legs here.
Ready, one, two, three, go.
Baseball.
You a Red sox fan? / Yep.
Good man.
Me, too.
I used to play.
Yeah? My son plays.
Ready? One, two, three, go.
I made the All-star team last year.
Yeah? But I don't know about this year.
Well, we're here to see if we can do something about that, okay? Okay.
/ Let me talk to your parents for a sec.
Okay.
Any history of this illness or these symptoms with either of your families? No.
/ We'll need to run some more tests on Joey, if that's all right? Yeah, um Are we missing something? It's just that, um Can we talk outside for a second? Yeah.
It's just what this illness has done to the other families.
I mean, we've only been living with it for about six months.
But the others, I hear it's pretty much wiped them out financially.
That won't be a problem.
But the kind of tests he needs and the treatments, can't that get really expensive? Not to you, ma'am.
This is all on us.
Anything in the houses? Nothing out of the ordinary.
I tested the air and tap water for heavy metals.
Checked out medicine cabinets.
Nothing.
We might be looking at some kind of environmental allergy.
These children might be idiosyncratically sensitive.
The real mystery is that more people in this town aren't sick.
Meaning? FSM industries.
Town's largest business, by a long shot.
Produces all sorts of highly reactive chemicals.
Anybody contact the EPA? Dr.
Patel tried.
Some bureaucrat said she'd need more than two dead kids to get them interested.
Did she try the local authorities? Even less interested.
About ten years ago, EPA found hundreds of violations.
Leveled fines, mandated a huge cleanup.
Cost the company millions.
Almost put them out of business.
FSM is this town's biggest employer, also provides most of its tax base.
Yeah, well, from what I've learned, people in this town would rather go without food than hurt them.
I just got off the phone with EPA.
FSM has complied with all applicable reporting requirements.
Right.
They reported themselves clean.
EPA says it's on top of them.
That their spot checks haven't revealed any red flags.
Maybe it's not FSM.
I mean, a thousand different toxins could be causing this, - from a thousand different places.
- What would you have us look for? Whatever's making these kids sick.
Start at FSM.
Maybe you'll find a red flag that someone forgot to notice.
You think I'm gonna die, like those other two kids? We are gonna do everything we can to help you.
Dr.
P.
is worried because I've been living with this longer than anyone else.
Three long years.
Must be really tough.
At first it wasn't that bad.
I had this boyfriend, Jimmy, and he didn't mind.
Not at first.
Then the skin things started happening.
He couldn't deal with the sores, so hey, don't worry, there'll be other boyfriends.
People at school couldn't deal with them either.
It got easier to just stay home.
I don't feel sorry for myself.
I mean, I still get to do what's really important to me.
My acting.
Even if it's only in front of a mirror.
You're an actress? Before this, I was the lead in, like, every school play.
Wow.
Then I guess our goal is clear.
To get you back on the stage.
Actually I'm about to do that.
They're letting me audition for the winter production.
Tomorrow.
That soon? You sure you don't want to wait? Till when, Dr.
Durant? Till I feel better? I'm sorry, miss.
Company policy.
I can't let you in.
I understand your policy, but could you make an exception? Sorry, can't do it.
No unauthorized visitors allowed.
If it's a liability issue, we routinely sign waivers.
If you get hurt, a waiver means nothing.
Sir, we're trying to help a bunch of sick kids.
- We just want to look around.
- I'm sure that's all you want.
Look, I'm not gonna lie to you.
We might have to make more than one visit.
Why? We run a clean shop here.
Then I don't understand.
Why won't you let us in? Because you have no legal right to enter these premises.
We can get that authorization if need be.
You Washington people.
You swoop down here with all your rule and regulations, telling us how to live our lives.
The fact is, you don't know a damn thing about our lives.
Or have a clue about what's best for us.
Sir, look.
It's only a matter of time before we get that I want you the hell off this property.
Now! Come on, Frank.
Let's go.
Thank you.
All right, what do we got? Assuming we're talking about an unknown environmental trigger? Let's start there.
Well, the research on purely environmental triggers is still in its infancy.
Give it a shot.
Okay, I'm thinking fibromyalgia.
Given the widespread pain and the multiple tender points.
A lot of doctors think fibromyalgia's a phantom disease.
It only exists in the patient's head.
Well, the American college of rheumatology disagrees.
Okay.
What else? Chronic fatigue syndrome.
Neither explains the dermatological onsets.
Could be more than one toxin is involved.
If so, we could be dealing with multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome.
- Hence the rashes.
- Treatment? Well, first we need to find the trigger, or triggers.
Right.
/ They didn't exactly lay out the welcome mat.
But I have a call in to a friend at EPA.
I'm hoping he can get us inside.
Great.
Yeah.
Right.
Don't move him.
Don't do anything.
I'll be right there.
Joey white.
He had another episode.
I'll drive.
What the That didn't take long.
Not long at all.
Those factory workers are making sure we don't misunderstand how they feel.
I don't give a damn how they feel.
Here we go, Joey.
You ready? It's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
It's a migraine.
Most likely related to his underlying illness.
I'll have Dr.
Patel set up a morphine drip.
Just to lessen his pain.
We're still no closer to finding an answer, are we? We think he's getting sick from something he's been exposed to here in town.
We need a list of Joey's favorite places.
He doesn't go outside much.
Especially not since we moved back.
Back? Back from where? Omaha, Nebraska.
Five months ago.
We moved there before Joey was born.
Was he sick in Nebraska? Yeah.
Since last year.
That's when he first got sick.
Nothing to report yet.
CBCs are all coming back normal.
Same with electrolyte levels.
Vitamin deficiencies? Some of the D and E levels are a little low, but nothing to cause what we're seeing.
Have we heard from the local police about the vandalism last night? No, and I get the sense they're not gonna spend a lot of time investigating.
Right.
/ We got it.
Access to FSM industries.
Ten years ago, when they made their settlement with the EPA, They agreed to submit to spot checks whenever the EPA deemed it necessary.
But we're not EPA.
Well, I had a marker or two outstanding over there.
This is good news, Stephen.
Yeah.
The boy, Joey white, he lived in Nebraska.
He was sick there.
I thought you said the trigger was in this environment.
That was our best guess.
Well, so, the same crap making kids sick here could also be in Nebraska, right? Could be.
or it could be different toxins in both places, having the same effect on the children.
Find out if Nebraska's ever reported anything similar.
I'll put in a request for Joey white's medical files.
We have an appointment at FSM.
And I know somebody over there who's not gonna be too happy.
You mind giving me a little space here? Matter of fact, I do.
My job here is to keep you honest.
Though I'm probably wasting my time.
I mean, you already know what you're gonna find.
Mr.
Lewson, please understand.
We would like nothing more than to rule this factory out as a source.
Right.
And then what the hell would you tell all those parents, huh? Who would they blame, then? - Just let my people do their work.
- You just don't get it.
Your work could do irreparable damage for no damn reason.
Well, I'm assuming none of the sick children are yours, sir.
As a matter of fact, you happen to be right.
About that, at least.
My boy is healthy.
And if I told you how many times he visited me here well, what if your son wasn't so lucky? And the doctors couldn't tell you what was wrong? And all you could do was stand there, helpless, maybe even watching your child die before your eyes? Check this out.
That's some funky stuff.
We called EPA.
They're claiming the green goo is of recent vintage.
Oh, you think they'd admit that they missed it? Wait till they hear what's in there.
Arsenic, DDT, chlordane.
And we just started testing.
I'm testing the children's blood again, see if anything shows up.
Why just these children? Why aren't more people sick? The most obvious means of transmission is seepage into the water table, but the whole town would be exposed.
Water's one way it can get around, but who knows where they're dumping this stuff? If they are dumping, they're not gonna tell us without a fight.
Since this is only affecting kids, I'll check for places they hang out and see what I find.
Great.
Natalie, run the parents' blood, too.
See if there's any chemical links between them and the children.
That was Howard lewson from FSM.
He wants to meet me in his office later.
Says he has something I'd be very interested in seeing.
Okay, sir, that should do it.
They find anything in that factory yet? We're investigating the possibilities.
I worked that plant since I graduated high school.
And as sure as I'm sitting here right now, - They're the ones that's caused this.
- Do you have anything specific in mind? Not really, but they knew I was coming home to meet you today, so from out of nowhere, my supervisor mentions taking away my overtime.
And he knows we need every last dollar on account of Sabrina's sickness.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- I swear, if my little girl dies from this, they're gonna pay.
Big.
How are you feeling? You know.
The same, I guess.
My audition's later this afternoon.
You're gonna be great.
It's been kind of tough, working on the scenes.
I used to run them with my mother, but now She says she doesn't want to encourage me, just in case acting doesn't work out.
I understand.
Maybe you could read it with me.
Oh, I I'm not much of an actor.
I, I don't think I'd be very good at it.
All you have to do is read the lines.
I don't think so, Sabrina.
I have a lot of work to do.
I get it.
You like being a doctor? I do, very much.
You ever take the time to think about I don't know doing something else? Now and again, but - I, I don't really have the time.
- I have a lot time.
I can imagine myself doing so many different things.
I even thought about being an astronaut.
An astronaut.
That's very cool.
When you were younger, did you ever have a dream like that? I used to play the piano.
When I was little, my parents took me to Carnegie hall.
And there was this woman.
She played so beautifully.
For a while, being like her was all I thought about.
What happened? Well my life changed.
My mother became very ill, and I didn't have the luxury of thinking about the piano anymore.
Is she okay? She fought her illness for a long time.
She was a fighter, my mom.
She was a very strong woman.
Wow.
You hit pay dirt.
Yeah, so to speak.
Scoped out the local junior high, found some kids who will talk to me about where they hang after hours, followed them to this out-of-the-way pasture, saw how they could be exposing themselves to contaminated soil, got my samples.
And? And here I am.
Something else happen out there? Yeah.
I saw what those kids were doing out in that pasture.
- Yeah, kids grow up fast these days.
- Yeah, well, when I get home, I'm gonna have a little sit-down with my daughters.
Strange.
Four of the fathers I tested have elevated testosterone levels.
Oh, these levels are off the charts.
Maybe it's related to a chemical exposure.
I mean, it's possible the chemical plant affected their thyroid or adrenal glands.
See what you can find.
You're chasing your tail.
FSM isn't your problem.
I think that issue's still pretty much up in the air.
I talked to people I trust.
In hazardous cleanup and compliance.
We found toxic waste on your property.
In one spot.
That doesn't make us hazardous.
You can have our internal records, showing that we're on the up and up, if that gets you up and out.
You get me the records, I'll have the right people take a look.
Here they are.
I'll be in touch.
Hey.
I thought about what you said.
If my kid was sick, would I feel any different about the company? The fact is, I wouldn't feel different.
I don't believe that.
I've worked here every day of my adult life.
And FSM has given me so much back.
All of us, we wouldn't have a life without this company.
Mr.
Lewson, do you know any of those sick kids? Of course.
I know them all.
And their parents.
Right.
Look, if some of us have to suffer more than others, well, nobody ever said that life was fair.
The children's thyroid and adrenal glands are all working fine.
Same with the fathers'.
Okay.
We can rule out glandular abnormality as a cause.
Did you ever find out why the fathers' testosterone levels were so high? I did.
Most of the families want to have more children, but the fathers have fertility issues.
They've been taking hormone treatments to up their sperm counts.
Really? What? The situation, it's - it's really weird.
- I know that already.
I just got these files from the various doctors who treat the mothers.
Check this out.
Oh, my gosh.
These children were all conceived outside of their mothers' womb.
By in vitro fertilization.
This can't be a coincidence.
Could it? McCarthy Fertility Clinic I went through the parents' records, Dr.
Mccarthy.
12 children who were conceived here in this lab all suffer from the same illness.
You're kidding me.
12 sick children? In actuality, it was 14.
Two of them died.
My god.
- This is the first I've heard of it.
- I'm surprised you didn't know.
I guess it wasn't brought to my attention.
Besides the infertility practice, we also provide a full range of OB/GYN services.
I was wondering, doctor, could the in vitro procedures have been contaminated in any way? I don't see how.
I've always followed appropriate protocol.
All the fathers involved had severe infertility.
I'd have to check my records for the specifics.
We'd like to take a look at those, also.
There are issues of patient confidentiality to consider.
Yes, I'm sure, but the children here are need Doctor, this clinic has produced hundreds of healthy children.
And I'm not trying to obstruct you in any way, but I'd focus on the filth that factory spews into our air and water.
That's where your answer probably lies.
Find anything useful in there? A lot of technical mumbo jumbo so far.
I figured that's all we'd get from them.
Which is why I didn't stop at what they gave us.
Some of the documents referred to the troubles FSM had about ten years ago, when the EPA stepped in and mandated the big cleanup.
The costs involved were enormous.
The company had to lay off a third of its workforce.
Which explains why the remaining ones weren't too thrilled when we drove into town.
In a way, you can't blame them.
It ruined a lot of families.
People had to move away just to find work.
I bet those executives found themselves a golden parachute on the way out.
Some did, some didn't.
One of the unlucky ones was a guy named Peter smith.
Ten years ago, he was a vice president of personnel.
Turns out he's also the one who blew the whistle with the EPA - about what was really going on.
- Does he still work there? No.
He resigned five years ago after testifying in federal court against the company's president.
What happened? / The president was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
You think Mr.
Smith could help us out with what's going on at the company now? I don't know, but there's another very interesting thing about this guy.
His teenage daughter was one of the two children who died of this illness.
Maybe we should pay this guy a visit.
Yeah.
You're, uh, probably wondering why I still live in this town, after everything that's happened.
We know a little bit about your experiences at FSM.
I guess I'm just a creature of habit.
I, I grew up here.
I just can't imagine living anywhere else.
We also know about your daughter, sir.
- Right.
- Must have been very difficult.
You have no idea.
No, sir, I don't.
When Melissa first got sick, we were already struggling pretty badly.
I, I was having trouble finding work, and my wife, well, she wouldn't leave my girl's side.
Well, from what we've seen, this illness is very tough on the families as well as the children.
Oh, yeah.
When Melissa died, my wife, well, she she got very angry.
First at the world, and then at me.
So she left.
Mr.
Smith, we've been trying to find out what's been going on at that plant, and whether it might have contributed to any of these illnesses.
I haven't been there in a long time.
But I can tell you this, whatever they're doing to comply with the law is the bare minimum.
It's the only thing they can do to survive, truth be told.
Do you think FSM is responsible for your daughter's illness? In my heart? Yes.
But I couldn't begin to prove it.
Your daughter, she was conceived by in vitro fertilization, correct? Yes.
Dr.
Lois mccarthy did that.
Anything about her or her procedures that stand out? No.
No, she did what we wanted.
She gave us a child.
I've tested the soil and ground water from the area where some of the children congregate after school.
There is some evidence of toxins produced by FSM, including trace amounts of alachlor and diazinon.
Wait a minute.
Those chemicals have been linked to low sperm count.
So FSM may be responsible for the fathers' infertilities.
But it doesn't look like they're responsible for the children's illnesses.
Plus, FSM has complied with every state and federal regulation.
Are you certain? / The reports have been certified by independent auditors.
So that rules FSM out.
What else? / Dr.
Lois mccarthy checks out with the state medical board.
Very few complaints on file.
None regarding her fertilization procedures.
I'm still waiting for my test results on my blood and tissue samples.
Keep digging.
Your EMG testing was suspicious? Very.
All the children showed insertional irritability and spontaneous, high-frequency discharges.
- What do you think it means? - I'm not sure.
That's why I'm doing the muscle biopsies.
Sabrina! / Dr.
Durant, Dr.
P.
Thursday is physical therapy day.
How are you feeling? - Better.
- How did the audition go? I think I nailed it.
They said I'd probably hear by this afternoon, - but I'm pretty sure I got the part.
- You let me know.
I may have a diagnosis, Stephen.
Look, their muscle fibers are degenerating.
An autoimmune reaction.
That and the blood testing and the physical exams all point one way.
Dermatomyositis.
That's tough to treat.
We can certainly start with immuno- suppressants and see where that takes us.
We still don't know the cause.
Some people think it's hereditary, a mutant gene triggered by the environment, exposure to a virus or an infection of some sort.
But if this were genetic, it would hit specific families, not this many different families in a town this small.
These sick children all have one thing in common.
They were each conceived in Dr.
Mccarthy's clinic.
Yeah.
They were all raised here, exposed to the same environment, except Joey white who was born in Nebraska.
He grew up halfway across the country, and he got sick anyway, with the same rare disease.
What are the odds of that? Pretty low.
So Joey's our outlier.
He's the only child not subject to the same environmental stimuli as the others.
I need to go back and talk to his parents.
See what triggered the illness in Nebraska.
If we can find that trigger here, we may be able to stop a lot of kids from getting sick.
Durant.
Yes.
Okay, I'll be right there.
What? / That was Dr.
Patel.
I've got to go.
My wife found her.
What happened? Sabrina found out she didn't get the part in that damn play.
I told her trying out for that thing was a big mistake, but she wouldn't listen to me.
I'm so sorry.
I don't understand, doctor.
You're saying that all the sick kids, including our son, were conceived at Dr.
Mccarthy's clinic? Yes.
She's confirmed that to us.
But in one important way, Joey's different than the other kids.
Because we were living in Omaha when he started getting sick.
Exactly.
So we're gonna need to know some things about your life in Nebraska.
Sure.
However we can help.
Wait, do you think that Dr.
Mccarthy had something to do with this? I can't believe that she would ever do anything like that intentionally.
I mean, if she had something to do with it, it must have been a mistake, you know, a mix-up in the lab.
She would never do anything to hurt a child.
We couldn't even afford the in vitro.
She let us pay her out over time.
Didn't even charge us interest, you know, like a lot of doctors would.
Well, uh that's definitely good to know.
Hey, Joey.
Hey.
Mr.
and Mrs.
White, do either of you wear contact lenses? No.
We both have 20/20 vision.
Thank you very much.
We'll keep in touch.
What the hell was that about? Those people are not Joey white's natural parents.
Not both of them anyway.
/ What? It's been staring me in the face since the moment I met them.
Did you notice their eyes? Yeah, but parents have blue eyes, but Joey's are dark brown.
Right.
Genetics 101, a blue-eyed mother and a blue-eyed father always make a blue-eyed child.
So Dr.
Mccarthy substituted ingredients when she made that kid? Yeah, well, that's one way of putting it.
You must be joking.
Of course I used Clark white's sperm to fertilize Leslie's eggs.
Then how did two blue-eyed parents produce a brown-eyed offspring? Well, this may sound kind of strange, but it's possible that Leslie was having relations with a brown-eyed man at the time I performed in vitro.
I've seen it happen before, doctor.
Anyway, I have an office full of patients waiting, so if there's nothing further Doctor, something happened in those in vitro procedures.
Something you're not telling me.
Wait a minute, who are those children? Those are my success stories.
Each and every one conceived with our procedures.
I've seen them all before.
I know them because I examined them all yesterday.
Joey white, Paul werder, Allison hanes, Kari thompson.
Yes.
Their parents were all my patients.
Why are they all hanging next to one another? I don't know.
There's no logic to the way we put them up.
Their features they're very similar.
That can't be random.
You want me to test the children's DNA? Right away.
/ Why? Because these children all share the same parent.
Mother or father? You'll tell me.
Why'd you do it, doctor? I have no idea what you're talking about.
You took some unrelated man's sperm or some unrelated woman's eggs and used them in all of your procedures.
No.
/ That explains why all these children came down with the same illness.
The donor you used was genetically predisposed.
That can't be.
Now what you're saying, none of that happened.
I've only finished testing three of the children, but all three show the same biological father.
My god.
They're all half-brothers and sisters and they have absolutely no idea.
In this town, they could get married, have kids.
And before I go back to see Dr.
Mccarthy, we need to confirm that Clark white is not Joey's natural father.
I've already used all of his blood sample.
- I'll get some more.
- Okay, but you can't tell the parents what's going on here yet.
Why not? They have a right to know.
We've diagnosed the illness.
Now we can start a course of treatment.
I am not telling this to Sabrina martin's parents now.
Not after what they've been through.
Miles, can we have a minute? Yeah.
What's going on? / Nothing.
Okay.
If you want to talk about it, you know where to find me.
Stephen I'm worried.
About what? - The way this job is going.
- You're doing fine here.
My job is research.
I feel comfortable in a lab.
I just didn't bargain for all this patient one-on-one.
Yeah, well, you're good at it.
The patients like you.
They trust you.
And you help them just by being there.
The way I've been reacting, it may not be in the patients' best interests.
Look, if I thought your objectivity was being compromised, I'd tell you.
Okay? Okay.
I can't believe it.
I mean, if what you're saying is true Mr.
White, I wouldn't be here now if I wasn't next to certain.
And this test is gonna confirm what I believe.
But if what you say is true about Joey, then Clark, don't even say it.
Joey is our son.
Your son.
I'm just going to need a little time is all to get my head around this.
If it helps, Dr.
Mccarthy is not going to walk.
You think she's going to go to prison? I believe what she did was criminal.
Can you help us prove that? What I can do is let the relevant authorities know what happened here.
Why is this happening to all these children at once? We're not certain what brings on this illness.
Obviously, a genetic predisposition is involved here and exposure to a virus or other infections.
But you can treat Joey? Joey's one of the lucky ones.
We caught his early.
With the right medications, physical therapy, he should be able to live a relatively normal life.
Can he play baseball again? Let's take that one day at a time.
Look, this is what I know.
All the children share the same biological father, including Joey white.
Now I need to know if there are others.
I'm not gonna cooperate with this little fishing expedition.
Doctor, more may get sick.
More may die.
You know, it's funny.
You're the person who created these children.
And now you won't help me save their lives? I met him in medical school.
I was taking an elective in oncology.
He was the most amazing man.
A brilliant professor, handsome, charming, and when he proposed to me my life was perfect.
We both wanted to have children.
But, um, it was my problem.
We tried in vitro so many times, and it just wasn't meant to be.
Where can I find him? He's dead.
Cancer.
It's ironic, isn't it? I mean, I moved here to forget.
And I walked into the most unbelievable fertility crisis.
Young couples were beside themselves.
I started this clinic.
I wanted to help.
By propagating your dead husband's genes? No.
No, no, not exactly.
Some of these men were never gonna father a child, ever.
And my husband was such a good man we still had his sperm stored from when we were trying.
Oh, god those poor children I never knew my husband had a defective gene.
I mean, he was never sick like this.
Oh, my god.
I'm gonna need access to your files.
All of them.
I'll do everything I can.
I'm so sorry, Dr.
Durant.
What I did to myself, I was so stupid, selfish.
You were obviously very upset.
But the good news is, I'm fine now.
And now that we know what's wrong with me - and can get the right medicine - I wish it were that simple, Sabrina.
But what you did to yourself tells me, tells your parents, that this sickness has taken its toll in more ways than we imagined.
I'm not some kind of psycho.
- I made a mistake.
- You need help.
You need someone to talk to about how you're feeling.
Right.
Is that all? No.
I've spoken with your parents about something else.
I'd like you to come to Washington to be treated at NIH.
Why there? Why me? Because your illness is more advanced than the others, and you need special care.
And by being there, you have the best shot at fighting this thing and getting your life back.
I'll think about it.
I'm glad to hear it.
But if I do go, can I call you my doctor? This whole thing is so weird the way it happened.
I mean ever since chemicals probably caused the father's fertility problems Leaving those families of Dr.
Mccarthy and her husband's mutant gene.
That was a perfect storm of bad luck.
Not quite.
There was a lot of design involved.
The best news is, only seven more children are at risk.
Yeah, now that they know, those other families can be on the lookout.
Dr.
Mccarthy's lawyer sent over the name of another child who hasn't shown symptoms yet.
The father is Howard lewson.
That jerk from the factory? I'll talk to him.
If you don't mind, I'd like to do that.
Miss Rossi.
I have some news for you.
I heard.
You finally figured out it wasn't our doing.
We also figured out some things about Dr.
Lois mccarthy.
I heard that, too.
How she shot her dead husband's sperm into some of those women.
One of those women was your wife.
No way.
I'm sorry.
But it's already been confirmed.
So your son is at risk of developing this illness.
Call me.
The minute your son starts to feel anything like those other kids.
But I'm praying that'll never happen.