Medical Investigation (2004) s01e20 Episode Script

Previously on Medical Investigation The jolt rocked Central America, early morning local time N.
I.
H.
teams were already on the ground, investigating an undiagnosed outbreak prior to the earthquake.
We hear rumors there's a terrorist problem down there.
It's mainly in the northern provinces.
All N.
I.
H.
staff are strictly prohibited from entering those territories.
The doctor that sent you here, he might be in trouble.
Do you know where he was headed ? Mission La Roca.
We'll find your family.
I promise.
Natalie said that on top of everything else, we're dealing with an outbreak of bacterial meningitis.
Coordinate with her when you land.
She'll tell you what she needs.
And where are you gonna be? North, to find Miles.
Two of my men are missing.
They're my sons.
They might all need our help.
Nestor ? I need to remove that bullet from your brother.
He dies, you die.
If she doesn't stop bleeding in the next couple of hours, she's going to need an emergency C-section to survive, for both her and the baby.
Juan ? Nestor ? Papa ? It's an aftershock.
Everybody out now.
Now ! Move ! Take cover.
Stephen ! Connor ! Connor ! You all right ? Might be better.
You can tell your guys to relax.
We're not going anywhere.
The people who are buried inside there are as important to us as they are to you.
Without heavy equipment, it'll take days to get them out.
There's got to be another way to get in there.
There is.
Come.
Vamanos! -- Medical Investigation 120 -- -- Mission La Roca part 2 -- Relief continues to arrive from various international agencies for the many thousands displaced throughout the region.
However, these efforts are being hampered by outbreaks of communicable diseases, particularly in the refugee camps.
The German team confirms hundreds of cases of cholera in and around the San Pablo area.
And World Health reports that dysentery has begun spreading throughout the southern provinces.
I need to talk to you.
Coordinate with both groups, get medicine and supplies to the most critical sites.
Yes.
What do you have? It's bacterial meningitis-- gram stain just came back positive.
Are you sure? Yes, I've got 37 confirmed cases, six more just came in.
I'm about to allocate resources here.
We're going to be drowning in new cases if we don't start treating this now.
Okay, you'll get your meds.
But we need to identify the geographical source so we can stop this.
We need to ask every infected person where they're from.
I'll get Eva to collect that data.
Have you heard from Connor? No.
And I have no idea where the hell he is.
What do you think happened up there? Aftershock, probably.
Oh, this rock crushed his skull.
He's gone.
Oh, God, poor man.
How's she doing? She's still very sick.
Nothing hit her.
Good.
Nestor.
Are you all right ? ¿ Estas lastimado ? No.
Pero tengo calor.
Yeah, his fever's rising.
The bullet wound's still draining from the infection, but no new injuries.
Good.
How's your leg? Oh, I'm okay.
Just twisted my ankle.
All right, come on.
Sit down.
Let me take a look.
Uh, looks like it's just a sprain.
I don't think I need to x-ray it.
Hmm, that's a good thing.
Yeah.
You're the one who's sick.
How do you feel? The good news is now that I'm experiencing these symptoms personally, I'm convinced it's bacterial meningitis.
Rapid onset, fever, headache and my neck's getting sore.
So that's what everyone was sick with from the start? Yeah.
Ironically, you'd always be concerned about meningitis in a natural disaster like this.
And a college dorm.
They have a lot in common.
It's nice you can joke.
It's what I do since I was a kid when I am utterly terrified.
There.
That feels better.
Thanks.
I don't know how long those beams are going to be able to hold with that weight above us.
Can I see a crayon, Berto? I know this is you.
Right? Berto.
Is this your mother and father? ¿ Es tu mama ? ¿ Es tu papa ? ¿ Como se llaman ? I want to help you find your parents, Berto, but you have to help me.
Local government agencies are getting up to speed to move homeless children to refugee camps, hoping eventually to reunite them with their parents.
I'm with Eva Rossi of the N.
I.
H.
And who's this? This is Berto Zuniga.
And we've been looking everywhere to find his family, but with no luck.
Berto is just one of the thousands of displaced children who desperately continue the search to find loved ones.
What is this, a mine shaft? No.
Well shaft.
Two kilometers-- it connects to the basement of the church.
Before it was sealed, my men would use it to avoid soldiers.
Why'd you stop using it? The roof began caving in.
But it's the only way to reach my sons.
Come, this way.
How's Nestor doing? Pressure on his optic disc is continuing to build.
So, the swelling on his brain has started? Yeah, his meningitis is spreading.
Juan's fever's up.
How's she? In and out of consciousness.
Ah, your fever's high, too.
Yeah.
Come.
Sit.
Whoa, Miles.
It's all right.
Easy.
Yeah, I'm okay.
Oh, my head's pounding.
I think you need a little analgesic.
Thank you.
Are you in pain, too ? I just didn't want you to drink alone.
Why do you think Juan and I haven't developed meningitis yet? There's no mathematical formula for the probability of who's gonna get sick.
Down here long enough, everyone will get it.
Look out, look out.
You okay ? Yeah.
Excuse me.
Are you Miss Rossi ? Yes.
And you are ? Alma Diaz, from the regional social welfare office.
I've been asked to survey the local hospitals, in order to locate the displaced and orphaned children.
A staffer gave me your name.
He said that you have a young boy, Berto Zuniga.
He's been separated from his family.
Have you found them ? Oh, no.
Unfortunately, no.
I'm here to arrange to have him transferred to a local refugee camp.
Do you know where I can find him ? I'm sorry, but there's no way that Berto could travel at this time.
Then he is here ? Yes, but he's not well.
It's important that I keep him here for further evaluation and treatment.
You are a doctor ? I'm with the N.
I.
H.
Oh.
Well, I will check back, then.
But as soon as he's stable, I need to have him moved to the refugee camp.
Berto's been through a lot, Ms.
Diaz.
And refugee camps can be so chaotic.
Not as chaotic as the rest of this country.
Excuse me.
Ewing.
Where are we ? Good.
Coordinate with the French.
I need every dose of cefotaxime, all of our rifampin and as much vaccine as you can get your hands on.
Listen, I gotta go.
We've got another busload of patients coming in, and I need that medicine.
All right, we're running out of room, so just try to get people as comfortable as you can.
Dr.
Ewing? Yeah ? Dr.
Durant needs you right away.
The bleeding hasn't stopped? The placental tear, she's losing blood as fast as I can get it in.
And the baby ? Without a fetal monitor, I have no way of knowing exactly-- we can't wait any longer.
We have to do that emergency C-section now or we may lose them both.
¿ Que pasa ? ¿ Mi niño ? Marilu, necessitas una operacion.
Okay, Marilu.
Let's get this baby out.
Scalpel.
Give her another unit of O-positive blood.
Did you give her an epidural? Yes, her blood pressure was too low for general anesthesia.
Marilu, ¿ como se siente ? Bien.
Okay, transverse incision coming up.
We've got just three minutes to get this baby out.
Less than that.
Her uterus is filling with blood.
Arterial bleed? Could be one of the uterine arteries.
I can't see a thing.
Suction.
Her B.
P.
's dropping, Nat.
You've gotta clamp that artery.
I got to get this baby out or we might lose them both-- one more unit of blood.
B.
P.
's bottoming.
She's going into tachycardia.
Baby's head is stuck.
Marilu, ¿ como se siente ? She's lost consciousness.
I.
V.
wide open.
The baby ? Stuck.
Another retractor.
We're under two minutes.
Almost there All right, I got it.
Baby's breathing.
Her pulse is strong.
Ooh, so much blood.
It's not the right uterine artery, must be the left.
Suction.
I can't see a thing.
Up all her pressors.
There it is, I found it.
Clamp.
All right, clamping.
Bleeder's clamped.
How's her pressure? It's coming back up.
I'll close for you.
Marilu, tu niña.
Niña.
All right, we all in one piece ? Yeah, I'm good.
How many of your people do you think got sick since this started? 50, maybe 60.
Many have died already.
You thinking what I'm thinking? Yeah, the source of this outbreak came from the north, just like I thought.
She's gone.
How's Juan ? Infection's spreading.
If he doesn't get an antibiotic soon he's going to die.
All right, I need to clean that wound again.
No, let me.
You rest.
All right, here, take this.
There's nothing more we can do for him.
Not down here.
How much longer do you think they have? A day at the most.
Probably less.
Agua, por favor.
Tengo sed.
Fever's dehydrated him.
I'll take it.
No, no, no, finish dressing that wound.
I'm not totally useless.
Okay Here.
Bien.
Gracias, doctor.
De nada.
Miss Rossi.
Yes ? The boy's parents, I think I just saw them.
Where ? The last room on the left, down the hall.
Miss Rossi, wait.
Eva You okay ? I found Berto's parents.
They're both dead.
I'm so sorry.
How are you ? Confused.
I don't know how I'm going to tell this little boy that he's all alone now.
If you want I'll go with you.
No We formed a bond.
I should do it alone.
What the hell ? That's it.
The basement is behind this wall.
Looks pretty unstable.
Give me a pick.
Do you hear that ? Yeah, it's coming from over there.
It's behind that wall.
Hello ?! Hello ?! Hello ?! Miles ! Yeah.
Connor, we're here.
Nestor ! Juan ! Papa ! Papa, estamos aqui.
Let me help.
They're my sons, too.
They're bringing the antibiotics in right now.
What's wrong ? The baby-- her O2 sats are in the 70s, and pulse and respiration are up.
Her lips are turning blue.
Meningitis.
Mi niña ¿ esta enferma ? Marilu, your baby's going to be okay, we have the medicine now.
I'm starting her on an I.
V.
If the cefotaxime's here, I need it, now, Kate.
Where the hell's the cefotaxime? It's not here.
What do you mean it's not here? We had thousands of doses in the warehouse.
Not when we got there.
This was all that was left.
Everything else was stolen.
That's what happens down here.
We're going to get you better.
Hurry up, the roof's gonna give ! We're coming, Miles ! Hold on ! Come on ! Yeah, okay Miles, you all right ? I'm okay.
I got him.
Where's Nestor and Juan ? They're over there.
Hurry, Connor.
Grab 'em, grab 'em.
Hurry up, Stephen.
It's gonna give any second.
Stephen, come on ! Nestor ! Okay, easy.
What happened to my boys? Nestor has meningitis.
Juan was shot.
The wound's badly infected.
Levantale.
Cuidado, cuidado.
Grab him, grab him.
Hurry, the well shaft won't hold much longer! You're getting better, Marilu.
The medicine that we gave you when you first got here is working.
¿ Y mi niña ? She's very sick.
I'm sorry.
¿ La puedes ayudar ? We're doing the best we can.
¿ Va a estar mejor pronto ? I hope.
Look, another 63 cases of meningitis have walked through my door in the last five hours, and we still don't have medicine to replace what was stolen.
When's the new shipment coming ? 16 hours ? Do you have any idea how many patients I'm gonna lose ? No, I want that plane in the air tonight.
I don't care ! Do it ! Marilu's baby won't last 16 hours.
I know.
She's not the only one, either.
We can't wait for Washington to get off their asses.
They have any idea who stole the medicine ? State's looking into it, but I know who stole it.
The local government.
To sell on the black market.
And meanwhile, we don't have room to store the dead.
So what do we do now ? We find out who's in charge of incoming medical supplies, and we see how much ransom it's gonna take to get our meds back.
Mama.
Papa.
Mis padres.
I know, Berto.
¿ Estan con Dios ahora ? Yeah.
They're with God.
Miss Rossi ? Ms.
Diaz.
I hear that the parents of the Zuniga boy were found.
They're dead ? They were killed in the quake.
And the boy, is he still sick ? Eva, can you call the W.
H.
O.
and see if they can send some more intravenous fluids, okay ? Are you the doctor ? Yes.
Berto, the young boy, is he too sick to travel ? Yes, he's too sick.
Ah.
I will check on him again.
Hopefully he will be better.
Thanks.
She'll be back, Eva.
I-I can't put her off forever.
You need to prepare yourself.
Without a relative, sooner or later, they're gonna take him.
Have you seen the refugee camps ? How can I let that happen ? How can you stop it ? Let's get them water.
We have to keep them hydrated.
Your boys need medical attention.
You're a doctor.
Give it to them.
No, they need a hospital.
That means going south.
Yeah.
I won't allow it.
Look, they'll die if they don't go.
They'll die if they do-- the army will execute them.
If it were my son, I'd send him south for treatment.
That's easy to say-- he's safe at home.
They'll die if they stay here.
Now, look, I can hide them in a hospital under a different name.
There's gonna be so many sick, so many homeless, no one's gonna notice two more boys.
Baracas there are other people in your village that need treatment.
My people need treatment.
Please, just let us go.
We'll come back with medication for everyone.
You could leave and never return.
Yeah, I could.
Papa.
El otro me ayudo.
Y a Juan.
Estariamos muertos.
What'd he say? To trust you.
Watch over them.
Keep them safe.
I will.
I'll send them back to you.
You have my word.
A father's promise.
Gracias.
Let's go.
I need that truck, Minister Cabrera.
I'm sorry, señorita.
I wish I could help, but as you can see, we are overwhelmed here.
And the insurgents are stealing from everyone.
Yes, but the insurgents don't control the airport.
You do.
And that's where the truck with our medicine disappeared.
As I said, I am grieved your medicine is missing.
No, it's not my medicine, it's your people's.
I lose four patients every hour.
I've-I've wasted a half hour coming here.
Two more people dead.
Do you understand? Of course.
I am not blind to the suffering of our people.
Then have the medicine delivered to the hospital.
Ay, señorita, that is not as simple as you think.
How complex are we talking ? Well, I could negotiate you a deal.
Uh say, $50,000.
Where am I supposed to get that kind of money right now ? Ay, señorita, America is a very rich country.
Any luck finding out where this thing started ? Maybe.
Most of the patients seem to come from this area in the north.
How you doing ? I figured out how to keep them from taking Berto.
How ? Papers.
I'm gonna adopt him, Nat.
Adopt ? Do you think it's a good time to be making a a life-altering decision ? I know what it's like having no family, and I know how much my life changed when I finally found one.
I thought you'd be happy.
No, it's not that.
I think it's wonderful; there's just so much chaos right now-- everybody's lives are in flux.
I know what I'm doing.
You're running on pure emotion, Eva.
I want to give Berto a home, and love.
How can that ever be a bad thing ? Connor ! You found Miles.
Are you okay ? Not really.
Miles.
Yeah, I've got it.
Kris Von Goetz, Natalie Durant.
She was in the field with them.
She's a nurse.
I know their histories.
You should go with them.
I'll help you.
How far along are they ? Nestor only has a few hours left.
Miles not much longer.
Where's the medicine ? In a hijacked truck somewhere.
We've got a corrupt official holding it ransom: $50,000.
What's the state doing about it ? They're trying to find the money, but it's crap-- we can't wait for them.
Where's the truck ? I saw some trucks at a nearby warehouse.
That'd be my guess.
Frank, let's go.
Doctor Durant, the baby ! She's in respiratory arrest.
Get in there.
Her airway's so small Come on.
Get in there.
All right, I'm in.
If she doesn't get the medicine, this won't matter.
There's three trucks-- now we just have to figure out which one the medicine's in.
Ready ? Go.
Damn it ! It's not there.
Bingo.
Go.
All right What do you think the chances are of finding the keys in this thing ? Yeah.
Right.
Shh, shh, shh.
Quiet.
Come on, Frank, let's go, come on.
That's it, that's it.
Come on, Frank, let's go ! We're still waiting on the meds, Miles, but I've got you on fluids and I'm giving you morphine.
There was a woman she died in the church.
She told Kris lots of people in her village had it.
They presented two weeks ago.
Right before we got down here.
You think that's where this thing started ? Yeah.
A town called La Paz.
North.
We gotta stop the spread up there, Nat.
Start everyone who's sick on cefotaxime; everyone who's been exposed on rifampin.
You're miracle workers.
You stole it.
I prefer "liberated.
" I just got off the phone with Minister Cabrera.
He said someone stole a truck from the warehouse near the airport.
He's on his way over with an escort of soldiers.
What are you gonna do ? Give him back his truck.
And when he asks for the meds ? He won't.
That'd be admitting he stole them in the first place.
Where are those going ? We're taking doses back up north.
Are you sure the outbreak started there ? Yes.
Miles said he had a patient from La Paz.
People started getting sick there two weeks ago.
Before anyone in the south came down with meningitis.
Go.
Look, I'll tell everyone you didn't know.
I'll tell them we did this unauthorized.
Stephen, don't worry about it.
We'll live in my apartment to start.
But I'm saving, Berto, and someday, we'll have a house.
A farm maybe.
And then, if all goes well, one day, you'll have brothers and sisters and a dad who love you as much as I do.
Berto ? Augustin ! Who's this ? His name's Augustin Zuniga.
He came looking for Berto.
He's his cousin, Eva.
Oh Berto never mentioned a cousin or anyone.
He's a fisherman.
Lives on the coast.
He's been trying to get here since the quake.
To take Berto ? Gracias.
Gracias por salvar a mi primo.
Dios la vendiga.
Kris is gonna stay here and help with the medicine.
Now, everyone in your village, everyone who has had contact with the sick needs to be inoculated.
I understand.
When you're finished here, get some of these meds up to La Paz.
Got it.
Nestor Juan, are they safe ? They're in the hospital right now.
They're being treated with antibiotics.
Will they survive ? All I can promise you is they're getting the best care.
As soon as they're well enough to travel, we'll get them back to you.
Your belongings.
Andale.
Hey, Buddy It's Dad.
Yeah, it's good to hear your voice, too.
Look, uh I'm coming home soon, and, uh I'm gonna take some time off.
No, no work.
I promise.
This time, it's going to be different.
Hey.
Hey.
Welcome back.
Are people responding to the medicine ? Yeah.
Mortality rate's down to ten percent.
It was 50.
We did it, Miles.
We're fighting this disease.
That's what we came down here for in the first place.
Hey, how are Nestor and Juan ? Miles, I need to tell you something.
Juan and Nestor-, they're gone, Stephen.
They died ? No.
They'll fully recover, if they're given a chance to.
Where are they ? When the minister came for his truck, he had his men search through the place hassling us, and one of them recognized the kids.
Where did they take them? I don't know.
I tried, there was nothing I could do.
I'm sorry.
Take it easy man.
You did all you could.
We have a truckload of sick from San Miguel, they're unloading them now.
Come on, Connor let's get back to work.
The sick and injured continue to pour into hospitals and refugee camps in this small, devastated country.
Relief aid and aid workers are arriving from all over the world.
This effort will not be over in the near future.
It is a long-term project.
One can only hope that when the next disaster hits, our attention isn't completely diverted from these people, who will remain in need for years to come.