ER s01e18 Episode Script

The Birthday Party

Oh, God, what time is it? lt's late.
Go back to sleep, Natalie.
-What? -l said, go back to sleep.
You just called me Natalie.
lt's not Natalie? -Sorry.
-lt's okay.
l forgot your name too.
Don? -Doug.
-Doug.
Pamela.
-Hi, Pamela.
-Hi.
-You going someplace? -Work.
-At 4 a.
m.
? -A man's gotta eat.
-l'll call you.
-No, you won't.
Don't let the cat out.
Damn! lt's cold out! Slow night? Calm before the storm.
ln a little early, aren't you? Actually, l am a dedicated pediatric resident struggling to fulfill the promise of a brilliant early career.
-You been drinking? -l wish.
Nobody's in 4 if you want to get a few winks.
No, l'll just catch up on some paperwork.
Thanks.
-You're in early.
-You're in late.
l'm waiting for somebody to pick up Tatiana.
Children Services said they'd be here by midnight.
Did they say what year? Nice shirt.
Sleep in it? Something like that.
You working today? Yep.
On at 7.
Get a couple hours, l'll watch Tatiana.
-Really? -Yeah, l can practice up on my Russian.
She's in 3.
Thanks, Doug.
What are friends for? l know, l'm early.
Hi.
Hi.
Oh, God.
Hi yourself, kid.
Baby, leave Uncle Peter alone.
Now go on upstairs.
Go.
Put some clothes on.
Sorry, honey.
l was trying to let you get some sleep.
-What time is it? -lt's about 6:30.
l was gonna make you go home last night, but you were snoring to wake the dead.
l do not snore.
Worse than Daddy used to.
Oh, man.
Look what the cat dragged in.
-Any juice? -That blood on your shoes? -Probably.
-Damn.
-She give you any trouble last night? -No.
She went to bed early.
-Hey, how was the movie? -Wack.
-Jesse liked it.
-Jesse's 4.
You gonna make it back in time for dinner? l don't watch her on Thursdays.
lt's the 1 6th, Peter.
Mommy's birthday? -Oh, yeah.
Today? -Yeah.
For the last 76 years.
Come on, kids, the ''dad bus'' is leaving.
Steven, come straight home from basketball.
Don't make me send your father after you.
Here.
Where you going without your books? l don't know what this lipstick is about, but we'll talk about this.
So you're not coming? No, no, no.
l'm coming.
l just gotta figure something out, that's all.
Lamb? -Standing rib roast.
-Right.
The American Heart Association diet, right? Hey, it's what she likes.
-And it won't kill you.
-lt might.
Please don't disappoint her.
You're the only one she really remembers anymore.
Jackie, l'll be here.
l'll be here.
-l've been on for 24 hours.
-l'll take Christmas, New Year's -Thanksgiving, 4th of July.
-You owe me three days already.
All your hemorrhoid cases for a year, half my future practice, my first born.
Hey, man, it's my mother.
She's sick.
l need to be there.
Not this time, Peter.
l can't.
Sorry.
-Lily, get Psych down here now! -What's happening? A guy poured gasoline all over himself.
Says he'll drop a match.
-ls he serious? -Who knows? But l'm looking for marshmallows.
-Get any closer, and l'll do it! -You don't want to do this.
-Yes, l do.
-No, you don't.
-Yes, l do.
-No, you don't.
Yes, l do.
What, are we arguing? l do! Back up! Back up! l'm backing up.
You'll set off the sprinkler system and you'll just be a bald guy with no facial hair and a bad sunburn.
You don't have a sprinkler system.
We don't have a sprinkler system? All right.
We can talk about this, right? We can, because l don't wanna see you hurt yourself or anybody else.
So let me be your friend here, okay? l can be your friend.
Please? Come on.
When you're finished, Dr.
Freud Sparky there will need an eyewash and a shower.
Daddy.
There's something you don't see every day.
He climbed up on a chair in our den stuck his head in and started screaming.
He's bleeding a little bit.
-lt hurts.
-The teeth are jammed into his neck.
Hang in there, buddy.
We'll get you out.
l took him to see The Lion King for the ninth time last night.
This is the thanks l get.
No more Lion King, Gus, you hear me? -No more! -Daddy.
Did you bag this? Great grandfather bagged it in lndia with Teddy Roosevelt.
Sorry.
When did it happen? l mean, when did this get stuck on Gus's head? Half an hour ago.
l might've made it a little worse trying to pull it off.
He'll need some stitches.
Malik, get me a bone saw.
Hold on.
You're gonna cut into my kid's neck? We're gonna saw the jaw off the tiger.
lt's been in my family for 90 years! l mean, it's historical for God's sake.
l mean, gee, Teddy Roosevelt.
Seventeen-year-old female, BP's 90 over 60, pulse 1 08.
Empty bottles of vodka and brandy Valium, Flexeril, Darvon.
Father thinks she might have others stashed away somewhere.
No note.
Okay, ready? On three.
One, two, three.
Let's get a CBC, Chem-7, cath urine for Rud's a tox screen and a blood alcohol.
-What have you got? -One of your old favorites, Rene.
Rene! lt's been a long time.
What, a couple of weeks? Rene.
Rene? -What are you on, Rene? -l got a headache.
l bet you do have a headache.
Give me something.
-Something? Were you thinking aspirin? -No.
You're not getting Demerol, Rene, so forget it.
Lavage? Ewald tube.
Saline, 3 liters.
l'll get the charcoal.
lt's stomach pump time, Rene.
Calm down or this is going down your nose.
You know you hate that.
So who brought her in this time? Her dad or the creep? Her dad.
You know, if we gave out Green Stamps, Rene'd have a car by now.
People at Sunshine House agreed to take her in.
-They're set up for AlDS kids? -That's all they do.
-What are her chances of adoption? -With advanced AlDS? Zero.
-There's foster care.
-So she goes there to die.
The people at the hospice are great.
She'll be with other kids.
There's full-time nursing care, teachers.
She's fortunate there is a Sunshine House.
Yeah, it's her lucky day.
She's in here? Tatiana.
What's she saying? She doesn't wanna go.
Hi, Tatiana.
l like your doll.
What's her name? Anya.
That's a very pretty name.
Tatiana you need to come with me.
Please? Let's start an lV.
Five milligrams morphine.
-How'd this happen, Mr.
Kazuo? -Boning fish.
Let's get a CBC, Ancef lV and a DT.
-X-ray? -Yeah.
Where's your finger? l couldn't find it.
lt hurt too much.
lf we can find it, we may be able to reattach it.
-The guys brought the crate in.
-Dr.
Benton? All right.
Carter, Chen! Let's go.
All right.
The good news is, the finger's on ice.
The bad news is, it's in here.
Dig in.
Get the replantation team up here.
Carter, Chen, move! lf the tissue freezes, you might as well serve it as sushi.
Rene's gonna be okay.
We pumped your daughter's stomach.
Tox screen showed cannabis opiates, benzodiazepines.
Her blood alcohol level was 3.
75.
She had a fight with her boyfriend.
Said she wanted to kill herself.
You want me to get Psych down here again? What for? They'll just let her out in a couple of days.
Have you thought about any inpatient treatment centers for Rene? When we did that she cut her wrists.
What am l gonna do? Oh, God! Have you decided what you'll do in your Sub-l next year? My elective? l don't know.
We have a couple of months to decide.
Sure, but the good ones are gonna be long gone.
-l thought we just had to sign up.
-No, it's really competitive.
-l was thinking about just staying here.
-Trauma placement? They've already got 1 2 requests for the one spot.
ln the ER? We're here, so we have the inside track, but it's the resident's decision.
Benton? lt's not supposed to be, but they always go with who the resident wants.
So have you already applied? Are you kidding? As soon as l got here.
l didn't want Benton to think l wasn't interested and-- l got it! He already told you? One missing digit.
Six-year-old male, gunshot wound to the back.
C 7, T1 region, no exit wound.
BP's 70 over 50, pulse 1 1 2.
Oxygen 1 5 liters by mask.
Two large bore lVs wide open.
All right, let's get him on my count.
Nice and gentle.
One, two, three.
Good bilateral breath sound.
Blood coming up? lV's wide open! CBC, type and cross four units packed cells.
Four units O-neg.
Let's move! C-spine and chest films, now! l think we've got a cord injury.
Okay, start a flow sheet.
-He's gonna need a Foley.
-All right.
-Good bilateral breath sounds.
-All right.
Blood coming up.
Are you hurt? Are you hurt too? l killed him.
l killed Drew.
Connie, get another gurney! -Switch him over to a dynamap! -Where's that O-neg? -l killed him.
-He's in shock.
-l killed Drew.
-Okay, here we go.
l shot my brother.
Let's get him on mask.
Start an lV of saline.
l shot my brother.
Got them.
-Damn! -C 7, T1 vertebrae.
-Gardner-Wells? -Yeah.
All right, bolus 600 mgs methylprednisolone over 1 5.
Now! Start a Foley catheter and an NG tube.
-The kid's father is here.
-l'll take him.
Call neuro, and book an O.
R.
He was okay a couple of days ago.
Now he's confused, agitated.
Dick.
Dick? Mr.
Thornberg, do you know where you are? -Do you know what day it is? -Will you scratch that for me? -lt itches like crazy.
-Do you know where you are? Dick, damn it, l'm telling you.
-Has he been sick, on any medications? -He has lung cancer.
Chemo? Radiation? They gave up a couple months ago.
Come on, Dick.
Let's get a CBC, lytes, calcium level.
-Want an EKG? -Yeah.
l'll get somebody.
Are you Mrs.
Thornberg? No.
Just a friend.
Have you contacted his family? He's got a daughter, but they're not in touch.
-Can l please stay with him? -Sure, sure.
Hey, Mark, Susan.
We've got end-stage lung cancer with altered mental status in 1 .
One, two, three.
Don't let the screen door hit you on your butt on the way out.
What is that smell? Halibut.
Dr.
Benton? Walt, come on, man.
You know how l feel about birthdays.
All right.
l gave my word.
l'll be there.
Tell Jackie don't make a big deal out of it.
Okay, 7:00.
Today your birthday? My personal life's my own.
Don't eavesdrop on my phone calls, okay? Sure.
Sorry.
-l had a question about Trauma Sub-l? -What about it? l understand that 1 2 students have already applied, and l was wondering if l was interested, can you tell me what my chances would be? Twelve people have applied, right? With me, it'd be 1 3.
Then l'd say your chances are 1 in 1 3.
-You walked into that one.
-Yeah.
The creep is here.
-He's in the waiting room with Dad.
-Great.
My day is complete.
-lt's Dr.
Benton's birthday.
-Really? My daughter's too.
-Should we do something? -Like what? -l don't know.
Throw a party? -A party? He would hate it.
Talk to Lydia, she can pull those things together pretty quickly.
Mr.
Thomas? l'm Dr.
Ross.
The bullet entered your son's back.
lt smashed his vertebrae.
We need to do exploratory surgery to determine the injuries.
He has reflex activity and anal sphincter tone both of which are hopeful signs.
Kyle, stop it.
Will my boy live? We don't know.
lt'll be a few hours.
lt doesn't look good.
Kyle, stop it.
l said, shut up! l'm sorry, son.
That's okay, son.
lt's okay.
l'm sorry, Kyle.
lt's gonna be all right.
l always keep my guns locked up.
l must've forgot.
l told them to stay out of my room a million times, but l must've forgot.
Good Lord, l must've forgot.
Hypercalcemia.
Normal saline 300cc's per hour and Diurese with 40 mgs Lasix lV.
There's too much calcium in his system.
We'll get it out.
-ls it from the cancer? -lt's not uncommon.
He needs to see his oncologist for a treatment to prevent this from happening again.
lt just gets worse and worse.
He'll feel better in a couple of hours.
His calcium level wasn't that high.
Mike's too stubborn to die.
-Have you known him long? -Not really.
About a year.
We met at church.
He's a real character.
He's fun to live with.
You live together? No, no.
lt's not romantic or anything.
l liked him.
Thought maybe l could help.
He's a sweet guy.
He's got no one, no family.
lt just seemed like the right thing to do.
l was trying to get rid of a headache.
l wanna go home.
You don't know what l want! Your father said you were threatening to kill yourself? l was upset, you know.
T.
J.
and l had a fight, that's all.
Can't you give her something for the pain? You weren't considering suicide? She told you what happened.
T.
J.
, shut up.
You're not part of this family! Don't tell me to shut up.
Why don't you shut up! Leave him alone! Why don't you all shut up.
Okay? So, Rene, you weren't trying to kill yourself this morning? l just wanted to go to sleep.
Why don't you check yourself in voluntarily, get cleaned up.
l wanna go home.
l gotta get to work.
Mr.
Franks? Sure, whatever.
Let her go.
Dr.
Benton.
l understand you're anxious to change your shift tonight.
l was hoping to find someone to cover for me.
lt's happened a lot lately.
-A couple of times, yeah.
-Four times.
l checked.
lt's not forbidden to swap shifts, but we don't encourage it.
-Dr.
Hicks, l-- -No, let me finish.
Dr.
Morgenstern and l have spent a lot of time with the schedule trying to provide every resident with a well-rounded work experience.
lf you swap shifts, you upset the balance.
Peter, you've got two women with abdominal pain in Curtain 2.
My.
My mother's been ill.
lt's always difficult.
But if your mother's declining health becomes an impediment in your completing your residency you may want to consider taking a hiatus.
-Peter? -He'll be right there.
lt's not uncommon.
You're an excellent doctor.
These things happen.
You can rejoin the program next year.
That won't be necessary.
-So we understand each other? -Yeah.
Good.
Sometime this century, Peter? They got some sort of abdominal seizure from something they ate.
BP's 50 over nothing! l think they're crashing.
What's wrong with them? l can't stop twitching.
Their BP's racing! Oh, my God! Doctor, l can't stop! Carter, hold her down.
Doctor, please, help me.
l said hold her down! Happy birthday, Peter.
Happy birthday, Dr.
B.
Paramedics brought in a baby.
Fell out of a second-story window.
l need you.
She's unresponsive.
Skin's warm and dry.
Couldn't get an lV going.
Cross-table and C-spine of the neck.
-We have any beds in PlCU? -Cross two units.
Get a head CT.
-You the father? -Yeah.
How'd this happen? She fell off our balcony.
How far? How far did she fall? Maybe 1 5 feet onto the driveway.
Pulse is strong.
No bowel sounds.
Let's get an abdominal CT.
-Get Benton in here! -Moves all extremities to pain.
Abdominal soft.
Pelvis is stable.
Tough day to be a kid.
l hate it.
-That is a beautiful church.
-lt's a mausoleum.
My family's been coming here for years.
Let's rent Soldier Field.
We can invite fewer guests.
We don't have to fill it up.
Beth got married there.
lt was lovely.
Your sister, great.
Maybe l can borrow her wedding dress too.
Look, Tag, you know what? l hate it, okay? lsn't that enough? Sure.
Fine.
l'm sorry.
l'm tired.
l was up all night with Tatiana.
l'm worried about her.
l was thinking maybe l could do more to help her.
l was thinking maybe we could adopt her.
You want to adopt a kid with AlDS? She doesn't have anybody, doesn't speak the language.
She's completely alone.
How advanced is the virus? She doesn't have long.
-A month? A year? -What difference does it make? We could be watching her die for years.
Why do you have to do this now, three months before the wedding? Because she needs us now.
lf l don't want to do this, does it make me a bad person? No.
l have to get back to the hospital.
Carter, it isn't my birthday.
No, no.
l heard you on the phone.
l was talking about my mother's birthday.
Happy birthday, Dr.
B! Mary.
Hey, Mark, what happened with Rene? Gone home.
Her dad signed her out.
l've got this rule out Ml in 1 .
Today is his 60th wedding anniversary.
Sixty? My record's sixty weeks.
-l'll never get married.
-Yes, you will.
l don't know.
All the marriages l know are pretty rocky.
Well, thank you very much.
Jerry, l need the Olan chart.
Where are the lab results from the MVA in 4? -l ate them.
-Well, l need them.
Your sister called.
Twice.
Peter, another MVA coming in.
-How long? -Six minutes.
Sounds pretty bad.
ER.
Excuse me.
ls Dr.
Ross working today? -He's with a patient.
-Can you tell him l'm looking for him? Diane Leeds.
Sorry.
Yeah, it's gonna be a little bit later than that.
Dr.
Benton? -The check didn't bounce, did it? -lt isn't going to, is it? l haven't had time to make a deposit.
l'll do that first thing in the morning.
That's fine.
l was hoping to catch a ride to the birthday party tonight.
She invited me, and l'd like to go if you can give me a lift.
Where's your car? ln the shop.
My husband can pick me up afterwards.
l didn't know you were married.
l take it off when l work with patients.
Happy birthday, Peter! -You and your mom have the same birthday? -No, it's a long story.
So can you give me a ride or not? l don't even know if l'm gonna make it.
You'd better catch another ride somewhere else, okay? -How long has he had this cold? -Couple of weeks.
He keeps getting sick this winter, and he's falling asleep in class.
Dr.
Ross, woman at the front desk looking for you.
Her name is Leeds.
Tell her l'll be there as soon as l can.
All right, kiddo, open up for me.
Let's take a look.
When's the last time Billy saw a dentist? l don't know.
Last year? All right, kiddo.
Let's put your shirt back on.
lt's cold in here.
Okay? All right.
He's anemic, Mrs.
Larson.
He's not getting enough iron.
So he needs some vitamins? What he really needs is a better diet.
Some vegetables, grain, meat, milk.
-He's malnourished.
-l try to get him some meat every week.
You're gonna have to do more than that.
Are you on food stamps? -How many kids do you have? -Four.
ln the winter, after l pay for the heat, there isn't much left to go around.
Dr.
Ross, that kid who fell out of the window? l need you.
You'll have to get more food for your children to eat.
Lydia will give you the name of several food banks and some church groups who feed families.
-l won't go to a shelter.
-You just go there for the food.
-l can feed my kids.
-Your son's teeth are rotting.
Get the food wherever you can, okay? Thank you, Lydia.
Kid's starving to death in downtown Chicago.
-What? -We got those x-rays.
Neck film was fine, so we undid the backboard and cervical restraint and rolled her over to check her back.
l think you should see for yourself.
Hey, honey.
Son of a bitch! Dr.
Ross! -What is that? -A footprint.
Thanks for coming.
Let me see your foot.
Son of a bitch! l'm all right! l'm all right.
l'm all right.
l really screwed up this time, huh? Yeah, you did.
-ls he gonna press charges? -l doubt it.
l don't think he wants his friends to know that a pediatrician beat him up.
He's got other problems.
Two detectives from Domestic Violence are talking to him in the lounge now.
God, it's freezing out here! l won't say l'm sorry, because l'm not.
Then don't.
So, what happens now? -l had to tell Morgenstern.
-What'd he say? He wasn't very happy.
l think you're looking at ink blots, couch time probably Resident Review Committee.
Your friend's still here.
-What? -The brunette.
She's waiting for you at Admitting.
l'm heading home.
Tell Rachel happy birthday.
lt's her birthday, right? l was supposed to be there an hour ago.
Jennifer's gonna kill me.
-Tell her it's my fault.
-l always do.
Mr.
Thornberg, you can't smoke inside the hospital.
What're you gonna do, arrest me? -You could blow yourself up.
-Well, that hasn't happened yet.
Mr.
Thornberg you have lung cancer.
One more won't make any difference now.
There, you see? Now you don't have to arrest me.
BP 1 1 0 over 70, pulse 1 08, resp's 24, GCS 1 5.
Defensive wounds on hands and forearms.
He's stable.
What's he doing in Trauma? Except for that knife sticking out of his chest, he's fine.
He's had 1 5 liters of oxygen.
He's high, so we restrained him.
l think it's in his heart.
Lookie here, a swastika.
l got a ''Die, nigger, die'' here.
How do you feel about Asians? He took a crowbar to a black kid on West Adams.
Another brother jumped him with the knife.
Maybe somebody ought to drive the knife all the way through.
Let's do your damn jobs.
Get a CBC, type and cross 8 units, 0.
8 Narcan check the glucose and get a portable x-ray! Move! Are you all right? l'm fine.
l hurt my hand a little bit.
You wanted to talk to me? About Jake.
l'll come back tomorrow if you promise not to beat anyone else up.
Well, it's not a daily event.
l just wanted to make sure you were okay.
Have someone take a look at that.
lt might be broken.
-Lydia, como esta? -Muy bien.
l'm going home, aren't l? All right! Rolando, my man.
What's up, Jerry? Easy day, huh? When Benton comes down, tell him his sister's been calling every five minutes for the last two hours.
Make sure Mr.
Thornberg gets moved upstairs.
And there's a rule out Ml in 1 waiting on labs.
Can you call, please? -Good night, all.
-Good night.
-Who's on tonight? -Me and Benton.
-We didn't lose a single patient today.
-No kidding, really? Benton's still got that knife wound up in the O.
R.
Close enough.
Good night.
ER.
The muscles of the left ventricle are holding the knife in place.
We'll begin with a median sternotomy to expose the structures around the knife.
We'll open the pericardial sac, extract the knife, tamponading the wound as you make horizontal mattress sutures to avoid the coronary arteries.
We'll be out of there in no time.
Dr.
Benton, your sister's on line 2.
l'll have to call her back.
You cut, l'll watch.
We don't accept kids over 1 0, so she'll have plenty of kids to play with.
We're full right now, so we put Tatiana in the infant room.
We'll move her into her own age group as soon as there's an opening.
Hi, Tatiana.
You okay? Oh, that's right! She's very pretty.
You speak Russian? Just a little.
Just a little.
Daddy! -Happy birthday! -Thanks.
Bye.
Bye? Kiss first.
Thanks for getting home in time.
l couldn't get away.
l'm sorry.
lt's okay.
Craig helped.
Craig? You know, the other clerk.
-Where is young Craig? -Store.
We ran out of ice cream.
Rachel loved her gift.
-What'd we get her? -Super NES.
We weren't gonna do that.
She asked five times a day for three months, so l gave in.
So you found time? lt's from Susan Lewis.
Don't start.
Judge Franklin asked me to clerk again next year.
-And? -l'm going to do it.
No running in the house! That's it? You just decided? You made your decision unilaterally.
Now l've made mine.
Did l miss it? ls the party over? About an hour ago.
-She still up? -No.
She's asleep.
Jackie, l'm sorry.
l wanted to be here, but this man came in with a knife-- Jackie, l'm talking to you! She's at that ''not talking'' stage.
Now trust me on this one, okay? Just finish cleaning up, give it a couple of days, and l'll talk to her.
Got stuck in surgery? l couldn't be at my mother's birthday party because l had to save a man with ''Die, nigger, die'' tattooed on his arm.
That's my husband.
Good night.
Susan.
Susan! Dr.
Lewis! Rene's back.
Pulse 50.
BP 80 over 60.
Respiration's 1 4.
Rene.
Rene, what are you on? Mr.
Franks, what'd she take? What'd she take? l don't know.
l found her in the bathroom.
-Where's her boyfriend? -l don't know.
All right.
On three, bring it up.
One, two, three.
Get a tox screen and BA.
No gag, let's intubate.
Come on.
Rene, we haven't lost anyone today.
We are not starting with you.
Prep for lavage.
Rene, you are not going to die tonight.
You hear me? Not tonight! Get the charcoal!
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