Chicago Med (2015) s09e06 Episode Script
I Told Myself That I Was Done With You
1
That boy almost died today.
I think the hospital
should pull Exsomadex.
It's not how things work here.
This is bigger than
just one patient.
I am impressed with how
you turned your life around.
Top of the list, maybe county juvenile.
He had a lot to overcome.
You're forgetting things, Bert.
Let's make an appointment
with the neurologist.
The two of you are cooking up
this nonsense
so you can get my money!
I'll get tested,
just to get you off my back.
Oh, good.
You made it.
Are you spying on me?
You have an appointment
at my place of employment.
I thought I'd make
myself available to you.
Look, I understand if you're nervous.
I'm not nervous.
I told you, I'm fine, Sharon.
I don't need a damn babysitter
watching my every move.
You know what?
If you feel that strongly
about it, I'll back off.
Just let your children know
what the doctor says.
Thanks.
- Hey. I'll do a
- Good morning.
Hey, good morning.
- Get you anything?
- Oh, no.
I make my coffee at home.
I'm bougie about my coffee.
Oh, is that so?
I'll do a medium drip, black, please.
Thank you.
I'm decidedly unbougie.
No, I hear you reserve
your refined taste
for weird cocktails.
You're referring to my Sazerac?
Go to New Orleans and say that.
There you go. Keep the change.
Thank you.
You were saying.
Ah, Dr. Ahmad, Dr. Marcel.
I have some news I'm sure
you'll be glad to hear.
The hospital has put a temporary hold
on the use of Exsomadex pending
a thorough safety review.
That's amazing.
I thought the drug and formula committee
weren't gonna take action.
They weren't, but at the urging
of one of our board members,
Everett James,
the committee decided
to reverse their decision
until the FDA sorts it out.
Great. Thank you, Ms. Goodwin.
You're welcome.
Look at you.
I always thought
institutional inertia meant
we were dead in the water,
but we did it.
You did it. Congratulations.
On my count, three, two, one.
- Oh, it hurts.
- Okay, Lucas, we got you.
I need an X-ray. Single GSW.
As far as I could tell,
I didn't see anything
on his back, but I couldn't
stop the bleeding.
BP's falling. Rate's 110.
Hang a unit of O-neg. Mike, chest X-ray.
- Yep.
- Okay, on my count,
let's swap places. Three, two, one.
- [MACHINE BEEPS]
- [GROANS]
Yeah, that's the subclavian artery.
Thanks, Courtney, we got this.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Clear.
Yeah, bullet's retained
behind the clavicle.
- I-I can't breathe.
- Okay, just stay with us.
We gotta get this bleed under control.
Clamp.
We won't be able to get an angle on it.
Get me a Foley cath.
- For a gunshot?
- Come on.
I'll insert the Foley
to capture the bleed.
It'll let me inflate the balloon.
It'll temporize, buy us some time.
Yeah.
BP's still low but stable.
Page Trauma, have them open an OR.
Let's go.
Little pick-me-up?
Oh, no. I already have one. Thank you.
It's prophylactic.
Figured you'd need a second run
after spending another night
in the on-call room.
How'd you know I slept here?
You're brushing your bed hair.
- Oh.
- Are you okay?
You've been spending
a lot of time in the ED
since the divorce.
Because the house doesn't
feel like home anymore
and I feel like a stranger there.
Maggie, I need an assist.
Yep, right behind you.
- Thanks for the coffee.
- Yeah.
Hello, I'm Dr. Archer.
- This is Nurse Lockwood.
- Morning, morning.
I hear you're having some
trouble with your ileostomy.
Deb. That's my son, Caleb.
- Hey, Doc.
- Hi.
I'm pretty sure it's a prolapse again.
Do you mind?
Sorry, I know it's nasty.
Don't worry. We're not squeamish here.
Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely prolapsed.
You say this has happened before?
Every time he sneaks off
to play basketball.
You took me to Chicago in the winter.
What else do you expect me
to do for fun?
Not run off and hurt yourself.
We're visiting from Oakland.
Well, it's still too inflamed
to manipulate right now.
We can reduce the swelling with some
Sugar.
I figured that was the case.
Yeah, miracles of modern medicine.
I also want to order some labs,
a CBC, BMP, and abdominal CT.
You got it, Doc.
Can I ask, I see some other scars here.
Some are surgical, but the others?
Caleb was shot two times in the fall.
Oh, my God.
A lot of car break-ins where I'm from.
One turned into a shootout,
and I caught a couple of strays.
Sorry to hear that.
You seem to be doing well.
He's a tough kid.
Tough on the court too.
One of the best guards
in California before this.
Well, after the reversal procedure,
you'll be back on the court in no time.
Won't matter.
Dr. Davis, our pediatric
surgeon back home,
said Caleb has to wait
another 10 months.
By then, the summer's gone,
and so are all the college scouts.
Why don't we focus
on getting through this
for now, okay, hon?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
Do we have your permission
to contact your surgeon
- to get Caleb's medical records?
- Of course.
Okay.
Well, in the meantime, sit tight.
We're gonna get these tests going,
and then I'll be back
to check on you shortly.
Thank you.
Mr. Sullivan, a doctor
will be with you soon.
We just need you to get in the bed.
Fine, just both of you, give me 6 feet.
Okay. Okay, sir. Okay.
I'm giving you space. It's fine.
Morning, Anita.
Early start to the madness?
Got a call about a bar fight,
picked up this charmer, Robert Sullivan.
I don't want any vitals.
I don't want anything. I don't
He's still intoxicated
and wouldn't settle down.
So I told him, it's either
the hospital for his injuries
or the drunk tank.
- Hmm. He's no idiot.
- Yeah.
He was adamant about
being brought to Med,
said he knows a doctor here.
He say which one?
He kept asking for Rip.
- For Rip?
- What are you gonna do?
I don't want any BPMs.
I don't want nothing.
Hey, Mr. Sullivan, how you doing?
- Who the hell are you?
- I'm Dr. Charles.
You know, Nancy's just
trying to get your vitals,
make sure you're okay, take two seconds.
No, I'm already good. I feel good.
Where's Rip? I wanna talk to Rip.
Do you mean Dr. Ripley?
Just get him.
Nancy, let's give
Mr. Sullivan a little space
- and page Dr. Ripley.
- Okay.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
Hey. Trauma called.
Subclavian repair went smoothly.
- Patient's doing well.
- Good. Thanks, Trini.
Hey, I got your page. What's up?
Oh, are you, uh,
are you familiar with this
gentleman in five here?
Mr., uh Mr. Sullivan,
Robert Sullivan.
Yeah.
Gentleman is pushing it. What happened?
He got banged up in a bar fight,
insisted on being brought
to Med because of you.
Won't let anybody else treat him.
No!
At the very least,
I need your temperature.
No! No.
Great.
Yeah, keeps on asking for Rip.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
Yeah, uh, Sully and I used
to run the streets together
before I left Chicago.
Oh, yeah?
You you okay treating an old buddy?
I can find somebody else.
We're not that close,
so it shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks.
Okay.
I won't have this conversation with you.
Hey!
There he is.
All right, let's keep it down, Sully.
I told you I knew him.
I got this. Thank you.
Thank God.
I can finally relax.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Don't even think about it.
Jeez.
Cop might as well have
dropped me off at jail.
Still an option if you
keep acting this way,
showing up here,
giving everybody a hard time.
And a bar fight at the crack of dawn?
What the hell, Sully?
Hey, some guys were
talking down on my Bulls,
and I retorted,
and they couldn't take a joke,
so we handled it outside.
Yeah, looks like they handled you.
Where else they get you?
Couple cheap body shots.
Not to mention your jaw.
I'm still a sex symbol, though.
I can't say the same
for him and his boy.
They were on the receiving end of this.
Looks like what we call
a boxer's fracture.
Hmm, I like the sound of that.
I gotta say, I'm impressed you
finally learned how to use your hands.
Could have used them back in the day
while I was busy saving you
from getting your ass kicked.
[LAUGHS] Still got jokes.
Fancy white coat
and a pretty-boy haircut,
but at least you kept
your sense of humor.
[COUGHING]
Little short of breath there?
[COUGHING]
Ugh.
Just a little cough
I picked up over the holidays.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Let me take a listen. Deep breath.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[COUGHING]
All right, I'm gonna order bloodwork
and an X-ray to be safe.
I just wanted my hand looked at.
Now you're trying to upsell me?
Just put the gown on and stay put.
Someone'll be by soon
to image your chest and hand.
And don't give them a hard time.
♪
[COUGHING]
Throat doesn't look that bad.
How long have you been
feeling this way, Adriana?
A few weeks, hard to say.
Been traveling a lot, so my
sense of time is out of whack.
Anywhere fun?
Grand tour of the Midwest
Hotel Convention circuit.
I organize tabletop and board game cons.
Anyway, I thought this was
just another con cough,
you know, something you pick up
when you're stuffed
in a ballroom full of gamers, but
Can you breathe for me?
[COUGHING]
Ow, that hurt.
Your lungs do sound a little junky.
Just means that there's a lot of phlegm.
Could be from flu, COVID, or pneumonia.
But we won't know until
we run a few tests to be sure.
I just got my shots, but pneumonia?
Wow.
We'll take good care of you.
Let's start with a
chest X-ray, CBC, BMP,
swabs for COVID, flu, and strep,
and put in a CT for chest and neck.
Okay.
I'll be back to check on you soon.
Hey, I just wanted to double
check on those CAT scans.
Shouldn't we wait
for the chest X-ray first?
It seems aggressive.
Honestly, I'm not even sure that
this is just an infection.
But page me when those tests are back.
You got it.
There you go.
You're a real pro at this.
It's not a skill I planned
on mastering, but thanks.
Caleb, Deb, good news.
Your labs came back normal.
Oh, that's great, hon.
Well, looks like your prolapse
hasn't reduced as quickly as we'd like.
It's probably because
of persistent congestion.
So based on what I'm seeing
here and Caleb's latest CT,
I think it would be better
if we went ahead
with your reversal surgery.
- Excuse me?
- Wait, what?
Truthfully, my recommendation
would be to do this
as soon as possible.
You're telling me I can get
rid of this thing, like, today?
I should be able to get you on
the schedule in a few hours, yeah.
Let's go!
Mom, we can call Coach Mark,
tell him I'm running
with the soldiers this summer.
This is good news.
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
Can I speak with you for a moment?
I don't understand.
You can't reduce the prolapse bedside?
Well, I probably can,
but I think surgery
is the better long-term
solution at this point.
Caleb is several months out,
and his recovery is going great.
His labs indicate that
he's healthy, strong.
All due respect, Dr. Davis has been
with us since day one.
We've known you, what, two hours?
Dr. Archer has a lot
of experience with this.
Our doctor was adamant we wait,
that with all of Caleb's surgeries,
the adhesions needed time to break down
before we can do the reversal.
That was a solid plan.
However, Caleb's recurring prolapses
could make it more likely
for him to prolapse again.
And possibly make the eventual repair
more challenging.
You don't know for sure.
I won't trade my son's health for that.
I know you wanna hold off
until you get home,
but I'd be happy to speak
with your pediatric surgeon.
Like I said, Dr. Davis believes
Caleb is better off waiting.
So until he says otherwise,
I'm not discussing surgery any further.
♪
Can I get your eyes on something?
Of course.
Skipped right to CT scans, huh?
Patient came in with
classic signs of an infection,
but with the shortness
of breath and chest pain,
I was afraid that it was
a septic pulmonary embolism.
- I know that's a long shot.
- No, you were on the money.
Look definitely a small PE.
Check out this next CT.
I'm not exactly sure
what I'm looking at.
Peritonsillar abscess
with infiltration to the jugular vein.
What'd the swab come back as?
Strep.
Hmm.
This is Lemierre syndrome, isn't it?
I've only read about it.
Effective blood clot in the neck, yeah.
Very rare, very dangerous.
Explains a lot
infection starts in the throat,
spreads to the jugular, starts
throwing clots downstream.
Okay, we
we need to anticoagulate
your patient ASAP.
So go ahead and start her
on a heparin drip,
prevent the existing clot
from propagating,
and I'd also start her
on antibiotics, okay?
Why wait when we can go after
the clot with the thrombectomy
and eliminate the risk entirely?
We're not there yet.
Let's give the meds some time
to get the fever down.
But if she doesn't turn the corner soon,
I think you're right.
Surgery may be our best bet, okay?
I'll get Adriana up to speed.
Good. And I'll call ENT.
They'll need to scope her, all right?
Mm-hmm.
[COUGHING]
Oh, Mr. Sullivan
- Sully.
- Sully, I'm so sorry.
Buddy, we can't really have patients
wandering around out here.
We just have too much
foot traffic out here.
It's a hospital policy thing.
I hope you understand.
But I just wanna find a place to smoke.
I just can't be in that room.
Totally get it.
It's such a drag having to wait.
But I promise you, Dr. Ripley
will be by any second.
Oh, speak of the devil.
Hey, hard to believe
it's the same guy who had us
stealing candy when we were kids.
Where the hell were you?
I told you to stay put.
I'm sorry, Dr. Ripley.
Won't happen again.
I got this. Thanks.
Time for a bedtime story?
I'm tired as hell.
Actually, I think you're gonna want
to sit up for this, seriously.
Okay, okay, what?
[COUGHING]
I got the results from your chest X-ray.
They show a nodule in your
left lung that concerns me.
And your white blood cell count
came back low.
So you'll you'll need
a chest CT as well as a biopsy.
Can you explain it to me in English?
You got early signs of lung cancer.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Wait, what?
Look, I know it sounds scary.
But some lung cancers
are very treatable.
I'll refer you to an oncologist.
That's a cancer specialist.
No, no, no.
I only came here to avoid jail
and get my hand patched up.
Now you're throwing the C-word at me.
Like I said, I'll have
an oncologist talk
I feel fine.
The way I see it, this convo's over.
I want out.
You need a thorough
evaluation and treatment plan.
No! I'm done.
Where do I sign?
All right.
At least let me get ortho in here
to splint that broken hand.
The bandage is just temporary.
It shouldn't take long.
Fine, but that's all.
♪
Excuse me.
Can you point me to your cafeteria?
I'm trying to find something
Caleb can eat.
Absolutely.
Right this way.
I have to say, you've really
got a handle on Caleb's care.
Must be reassuring for him.
[CHUCKLES] Thank you,
though I suspect Caleb wishes
he could see a little less of me.
I'd take that as a good sign.
It means he's a normal teenager.
Normal?
It's been a long road
to get here, for both of us.
Yeah.
You know, after Caleb
was shot, I was a mess.
The emergency room, the ICU,
in and out of surgery,
I felt like I basically
lived at the hospital.
I can't imagine how rough that was.
It was the waiting, you know,
the not knowing that wore me out.
But we finally made it home.
We figured out a routine together,
the bag changes, the diet, the cleaning.
Caleb hates it,
but it's a version of normal.
Yeah.
Oh, the cafeteria is down
the hall to the right.
Just follow the signs.
You can't miss it.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
All right, Caleb.
I think we're ready to reduce this.
Okay, I'm sorry.
Okay, Caleb.
You're gonna feel
a little bit of pressure.
Are you ready?
Okay.
So Oakland.
I know of some Hall of Famers
at your position from there.
Gary Payton, Jason Kidd
before your time.
I studied them both.
- But Dame is my guy.
- Ah.
So if I get this surgery,
what kind of recovery time
am I looking at?
That depends.
Probably a question
for your pediatric surgeon.
You've gotta have an idea, right?
I mean, we talking days, weeks?
How long I'ma have to wait
to get back on the court?
Yeah, I think that's a conversation
we can have with your mother.
When your mother comes back
from the cafeteria, we can
She already made up her mind.
But it's my life.
There's a chance
that I could still salvage
my high school career,
I could still get a full ride
from a big-time D-I school.
And I could make a play for the NBA.
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
You said you could do this today, right?
Come on, Doc, you did, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
Dr. Archer, may I speak
to you for a second?
All right, your stoma's all set.
[SIGHS]
What can I do?
He backed me into a corner.
He's a minor, and his mother
made her wishes very clear.
All right, listen, now,
I don't need a tutorial
on medical ethics.
Caleb has the right to know
what his future holds.
And I feel for Caleb too.
But they just got their lives back
after a horrific experience.
Right, one I wanna
help him move on from.
You can't just move on
after your life's
been turned upside down.
Deb is just trying
to hold on to something
that is normal for them.
That's the problem, okay?
She's clinging to a normal
that does not exist.
So instead of moving forward,
she's not doing anything at all,
even when her son clearly wants to.
What-what does my son want?
Caleb reiterated to me
that he wants the reversal
procedure, but I told him
I thought I made myself clear earlier.
Yes, you did, but
Has my son's prolapse been resolved?
Yes, it has.
Then I would like him to be discharged.
♪
Bert, how'd it go?
Bert.
You got what you wanted, okay?
What did the neurologist say?
I was doing fine till you had
to go and screw everything up.
Well, I'm just concerned for you, Bert.
We're divorced. Stay out of my life.
♪
Dr. Charles, can you do a capacity check
on Sully for me?
Why, have you noticed some
kind of behavioral
or cognitive change since you
last connected with him?
He's being irrational.
He probably has lung cancer,
but he's refusing further testing.
Oh, boy. I'm sorry to hear that.
If I let him walk out of here AMA,
I'm basically handing him
a death sentence.
Unfortunately, refusing further testing
is not really grounds
for questioning somebody's
decisional capacity.
He's got a terminal illness
and won't get treatment.
Sounds like he's got a problem
with his decisional capacity to me.
Okay, so this is where
I have to ask you,
would you be pushing for this
if this were just a regular patient?
It's the only way
I can see to save his life.
I mean, unfortunately, if he
doesn't wanna pursue treatment,
there's just
I mean, there's nothing
we can do about it. I'm sorry.
Yeah, me too.
[TENSE MUSIC]
- [ALARM BEEPING]
- [SHALLOW BREATHING]
Dr. Marcel, Dr. Ahmad.
Her blood pressure
just dropped 20 points,
90/60 and still falling.
[GROANING] Where am I?
She's disoriented.
And hypotensive. Must be septic shock.
Zola, start a central line
and get her on pressors.
Need to get her BP back up.
Get a bag on her.
Dial up the O2 to 15 liters.
And bolus a liter of crystalloid
- and set up a norepi drip.
- On it.
[MURMURING INDISTINCTLY]
Adriana, slow, deep breaths
for me, okay?
Pressure's still down.
Need to get that line in.
Got it.
Wire.
Go ahead.
We're in.
Okay, start the norepi at 10
and titrate up to a MAP of 65.
Norepi's on.
Okay, cycle the BP cuff.
♪
Blood pressure's coming back up, 95/65,
and sats are climbing as well.
- She's stabilizing.
- Good.
Let's draw a culture, start her on vanc,
and let's get an A-line set up.
- Let's get a blood gas too.
- Page us when she's lucid.
You were right.
She's gonna need a thrombectomy.
- Here.
- What's this?
A little light reading a critical
care committee just drafted.
"Revised post-operative muscle relaxant
reversal agent protocol."
See, I heard getting Exsomadex pulled
was your little crusade.
Thought you might be eager
to learn about its replacement.
"The new recommended
reversal agent is Gamaverse."
There a problem?
No, except it's ten times
the cost of Exsomadex,
which gets pushed on to the patients
when their insurance won't cover it.
That there has to be
cheaper therapeutic alternative options.
No. Nope. No.
Not according to the committee.
So the next time you think
about sounding the alarm
off limited data, think twice.
♪
Mom, I got it.
Okay.
Um, Deb, I've got your
discharge paperwork,
and I'll have someone by
to walk you out.
Thank you.
Okay.
Caleb, I know this is hard.
But your life is more important
than some game.
Not much of a life anyways.
I'll go pull the car around.
Deb, wait, please.
- What?
- I just
I'm sorry that you're leaving.
But Dr. Archer is an excellent surgeon.
And he just wants to do
what's right by your son.
I really don't want
to discuss this again.
I know you're afraid.
And it makes sense with everything
that you've gone through.
What we're still going through.
Of course.
It's understandable that
you would want to hold on
to what's familiar while you can,
while your world has been
turned inside-out.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
It has taken everything I've
got just to make it this far.
Deb.
I don't know if I can go
through this again right now.
What if it goes wrong?
I don't think I can handle that.
At least this way, I know
what tomorrow looks like.
I understand.
But this life now,
is it worth holding on to,
knowing that there's
a possibility of another way?
[SIGHS]
Dr. Malone, good afternoon.
Ms. Goodwin, come in.
Bert just left, so I have to assume
your visit is not a coincidence.
Well, I know given HIPAA regulations,
it's not my place to come here
and ask about your patients,
but my family's worried.
I understand.
And there is no privacy issue here
as you're listed as Bert's
primary emergency contact.
I'm listed as his emergency contact?
Yeah, it's what's in his file.
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but
I've diagnosed Bert
with Alzheimer's dementia.
Alzheimer's.
Now, there are treatments
available to him.
But as you're well aware, this diagnosis
can be a long and rough road
for everyone involved.
You likely know most of this.
But here's some information your family
can anticipate moving forward.
Yeah.
I offered them to Bert, but he, um,
he left them behind.
He didn't take the news well?
Well, in my experience, few people do.
♪
My door is always open.
To you or your children,
if you have any more
questions or concerns.
Thank you.
♪
All right, Caleb, game time.
Mr. Sullivan, I assure you,
they're just printing your paperwork.
Keep it. I don't care. I'm leaving.
I'm out of here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, lady.
Sully, Sully, come on. Knock it off.
- Get back in bed.
- I got my splint.
I'm leaving.
You need to see an oncologist.
Shut up already.
You got your little iPad
and your name tag,
you think I'm supposed
to do what you say?
I'm trying to help you, man.
And I'm trying to leave, man.
Move.
If you walk out of here, this will be
the dumbest thing you've ever done.
- You can't leave.
- Out of my way.
No.
Rip, I'm gonna tell you one more time.
- Move!
- Can't do it.
Security!
Hey! Security!
Dr. Ripley.
Dr. Ripley!
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Calm down. Calm down.
Hey, calm down. Settle down.
You all right?
Yeah.
Should I call Dr. Archer?
Um, no, give me a couple minutes, okay?
[GRUNTS] [LOCKER SLAMS]
No. No. I'm not I'm not
I'm not in the mood for a lecture.
You don't you don't know Sully.
There's only one way to deal with him.
By tackling him to the ground?
I was just trying to get
the situation under control.
Mm, looked kind of like
you lost control to me.
So file a complaint.
Let's go see Archer and Ms. Goodwin.
Come on. Let's get it over with.
So so you can lose your job?
Is that what we wanna do now?
Yeah, I screwed up.
I screwed up, okay? I know that.
I'm just trying to just trying
to look out for the guy.
I get that, but ideally,
you don't wanna
risk your job in doing so.
If I'd never left Chicago,
I'd probably have been right
there with him, at that bar,
throwing down beside him.
That's how tight we were.
[SOFT MUSIC]
But I wanted out of that life,
and I got out.
And that's a good thing, right?
But it can be a little more
complicated for the people
who feel, you know, left behind.
You know, having said that,
I think he came here
looking for you because he trusts you.
Then why won't he listen to me?
Maybe he wasn't looking for
some guy in a white coat
with a fancy degree.
Maybe he's just looking for his friend.
♪
So
you tolerated surgery well.
And from what I'm seeing,
you're gonna be fine.
- For real?
- Thank God.
A few days here, a few weeks at home,
and you'll be back on your feet.
Then I can hoop again?
Maybe in about eight weeks,
but only if you take it easy.
That's cool.
I appreciate you, Doc.
Well, save me some tickets
when you make it to the NBA
floor seats, preferably.
Thank you, Dr. Archer.
And thank you for pushing me.
I'm just glad that you
and Caleb get to move forward.
Sharon, I'm just so sorry.
Well, I guess the upside is,
now I know what I'm dealing with.
Exactly.
And you know what?
I mean, there are some very
promising clinical trials
happening right now.
Some exciting new medications
are being developed.
And I'm just I'm confident if
we get the right kind of help,
that we're
we're gonna be able to navigate this.
We? [LAUGHS]
You mean me.
The decisions that will have to be made,
the appointments, the treatments,
that's all gonna fall on me, Daniel.
What about the kids?
I mean, the kids will be there.
No. They've got their own lives.
I don't want them to have
to deal with this, either.
And how am I gonna do it?
I've got a hospital to run.
I got a new relationship that
is really going well.
And then what?
I have to take care of my ex-husband.
I know it's selfish just to
think about myself, but
No, it is not, not at all.
I can't do it, Daniel.
I can't.
Hi, Adriana. How are you feeling?
Been better.
Well, look, we wanna
talk to you about next steps.
So given the state of your infection,
it's our recommendation that
we progress with a procedure
called a thrombectomy.
Dr. Ahmad said something about that.
Yeah, so myself and an
interventional radiologist
would pass a wire
up your arm, into your neck,
and basically extract the clot.
Oh, God.
The procedure is minimally invasive,
and it would eliminate any risk posed
by the clot, set the antibiotics up
for success moving forward.
We'll have you home in a few days.
This procedure, I really have to do it?
There's no other option?
Yes, that would be my recommendation.
Well, there might be.
- We could wait.
- What do you mean?
Give the antibiotics a chance
to fight off the infection.
And the blood thinners
haven't had that long
to break up the primary clot.
Which means it would still
pose a serious threat, no?
But if we give the medications a chance,
then maybe we can bypass the need
for a thrombectomy altogether.
Really?
Very unlikely is how I'd put it.
Dr. Ahmad, could I speak with you?
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Now, what was that?
You undermined me
in front of the patient.
And this procedure was your
plan from the start, right?
We both know that going after
an unstable clot is risky.
Same is true if we just
sit on our hands here, right?
Now, IR is the only real
path forward for Adriana.
You knew that hours ago.
So what's changed?
Everyone keeps saying
that I'm impulsive,
that I make rash decisions.
And I think they're right.
I've been here a month, and already,
I've been assigned an ethics course,
pissed off the board, and now
this disaster with Exsomadex.
Maybe I should keep my mouth shut.
Stop.
She needs this procedure, period.
All right, go clear your head.
Go on.
♪
Okay, I'm off.
To the on-call room or
No, I'm heading home.
Oh.
I think it's time that I move on.
Yeah.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
Uh
Tara, hey, sweetie.
How's it
no, wait, wait, wait.
Slow down, sweetie, slow down.
Hey. What are you doing?
Tara called and said Bert's
not answering his phone.
And I called, and it went
straight to voicemail.
You know he's tried
to take his life once before,
so I'm just gonna
head over to his place.
- I'll come with you.
- You don't have to.
- No, I'm coming.
- Okay.
Still nursing that bougie coffee?
[CHUCKLES] How's Adriana?
The procedure went well,
no complications.
She's back in the ICU,
awake and talking, okay?
- That's great. Thanks.
- Sure.
Hey.
Yeah?
Do you know who that guy is?
Everett James? Yeah.
We sit on the board together.
He's a bigwig at Ward and Bancroft.
Yeah, the pharma company, so?
So I did some research
while you were in surgery,
and guess who manufactures
our new expensive reversal
medication, Gamaverse?
Ward and Bancroft?
Yeah.
Huh.
So this board member sells
his product to the hospital.
Must have used our recommendation
to get himself a sweetheart deal.
That that's a conflict of interest.
That can't be legal.
Look, I don't agree with it, either,
but it's not illegal.
This is all happening
because of my recommendation.
Hold on, are you
are you blaming yourself?
Before you spiral out any further,
let me remind you
what's actually important
your patient,
who's alive and well in large part
because you listened to your instincts.
You knew thrombectomy was
the right call from the get-go.
Now, you might not be able to take down
the medical-industrial complex.
But you saved a life today.
And, Zola, if that's
not good enough, then
maybe you should think
about another career.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[DEEP SIGH]
Bulls snap that losing streak?
Lost it by 2 in OT.
Old fashioned, neat.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
Fancy drink.
Well, it's a lot smoother
than the rotgut
- you got in your glass.
- [SCOFFS]
Some kind of mouse trap?
I use this and I wake up under a knife?
Just a little something
to help out with that cough.
[SIGHS]
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
Look
If you need anything,
anything at all,
you know where I'm hiding.
Doesn't matter where or when.
I got you.
♪
[CLEARS THROAT]
[SIGHS]
I'll see you around, Rip.
Hope so.
- Bert!
- He's gotta be in there.
His car's out front. [KEYPAD BEEPING]
- Bert!
- I got it. I got it.
Bert.
Bert, you home?
Bert?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
Bert?
[STAMMERS]
I don't know
what's going to happen to me.
Well, whatever comes,
we'll deal with it.
I I don't wanna make this
anyone else's problem.
I I have to deal with it on my own.
No.
No, you don't,
because I'm here.
And it's all right.
It's gonna be all right.
♪
That boy almost died today.
I think the hospital
should pull Exsomadex.
It's not how things work here.
This is bigger than
just one patient.
I am impressed with how
you turned your life around.
Top of the list, maybe county juvenile.
He had a lot to overcome.
You're forgetting things, Bert.
Let's make an appointment
with the neurologist.
The two of you are cooking up
this nonsense
so you can get my money!
I'll get tested,
just to get you off my back.
Oh, good.
You made it.
Are you spying on me?
You have an appointment
at my place of employment.
I thought I'd make
myself available to you.
Look, I understand if you're nervous.
I'm not nervous.
I told you, I'm fine, Sharon.
I don't need a damn babysitter
watching my every move.
You know what?
If you feel that strongly
about it, I'll back off.
Just let your children know
what the doctor says.
Thanks.
- Hey. I'll do a
- Good morning.
Hey, good morning.
- Get you anything?
- Oh, no.
I make my coffee at home.
I'm bougie about my coffee.
Oh, is that so?
I'll do a medium drip, black, please.
Thank you.
I'm decidedly unbougie.
No, I hear you reserve
your refined taste
for weird cocktails.
You're referring to my Sazerac?
Go to New Orleans and say that.
There you go. Keep the change.
Thank you.
You were saying.
Ah, Dr. Ahmad, Dr. Marcel.
I have some news I'm sure
you'll be glad to hear.
The hospital has put a temporary hold
on the use of Exsomadex pending
a thorough safety review.
That's amazing.
I thought the drug and formula committee
weren't gonna take action.
They weren't, but at the urging
of one of our board members,
Everett James,
the committee decided
to reverse their decision
until the FDA sorts it out.
Great. Thank you, Ms. Goodwin.
You're welcome.
Look at you.
I always thought
institutional inertia meant
we were dead in the water,
but we did it.
You did it. Congratulations.
On my count, three, two, one.
- Oh, it hurts.
- Okay, Lucas, we got you.
I need an X-ray. Single GSW.
As far as I could tell,
I didn't see anything
on his back, but I couldn't
stop the bleeding.
BP's falling. Rate's 110.
Hang a unit of O-neg. Mike, chest X-ray.
- Yep.
- Okay, on my count,
let's swap places. Three, two, one.
- [MACHINE BEEPS]
- [GROANS]
Yeah, that's the subclavian artery.
Thanks, Courtney, we got this.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
Clear.
Yeah, bullet's retained
behind the clavicle.
- I-I can't breathe.
- Okay, just stay with us.
We gotta get this bleed under control.
Clamp.
We won't be able to get an angle on it.
Get me a Foley cath.
- For a gunshot?
- Come on.
I'll insert the Foley
to capture the bleed.
It'll let me inflate the balloon.
It'll temporize, buy us some time.
Yeah.
BP's still low but stable.
Page Trauma, have them open an OR.
Let's go.
Little pick-me-up?
Oh, no. I already have one. Thank you.
It's prophylactic.
Figured you'd need a second run
after spending another night
in the on-call room.
How'd you know I slept here?
You're brushing your bed hair.
- Oh.
- Are you okay?
You've been spending
a lot of time in the ED
since the divorce.
Because the house doesn't
feel like home anymore
and I feel like a stranger there.
Maggie, I need an assist.
Yep, right behind you.
- Thanks for the coffee.
- Yeah.
Hello, I'm Dr. Archer.
- This is Nurse Lockwood.
- Morning, morning.
I hear you're having some
trouble with your ileostomy.
Deb. That's my son, Caleb.
- Hey, Doc.
- Hi.
I'm pretty sure it's a prolapse again.
Do you mind?
Sorry, I know it's nasty.
Don't worry. We're not squeamish here.
Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely prolapsed.
You say this has happened before?
Every time he sneaks off
to play basketball.
You took me to Chicago in the winter.
What else do you expect me
to do for fun?
Not run off and hurt yourself.
We're visiting from Oakland.
Well, it's still too inflamed
to manipulate right now.
We can reduce the swelling with some
Sugar.
I figured that was the case.
Yeah, miracles of modern medicine.
I also want to order some labs,
a CBC, BMP, and abdominal CT.
You got it, Doc.
Can I ask, I see some other scars here.
Some are surgical, but the others?
Caleb was shot two times in the fall.
Oh, my God.
A lot of car break-ins where I'm from.
One turned into a shootout,
and I caught a couple of strays.
Sorry to hear that.
You seem to be doing well.
He's a tough kid.
Tough on the court too.
One of the best guards
in California before this.
Well, after the reversal procedure,
you'll be back on the court in no time.
Won't matter.
Dr. Davis, our pediatric
surgeon back home,
said Caleb has to wait
another 10 months.
By then, the summer's gone,
and so are all the college scouts.
Why don't we focus
on getting through this
for now, okay, hon?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
Do we have your permission
to contact your surgeon
- to get Caleb's medical records?
- Of course.
Okay.
Well, in the meantime, sit tight.
We're gonna get these tests going,
and then I'll be back
to check on you shortly.
Thank you.
Mr. Sullivan, a doctor
will be with you soon.
We just need you to get in the bed.
Fine, just both of you, give me 6 feet.
Okay. Okay, sir. Okay.
I'm giving you space. It's fine.
Morning, Anita.
Early start to the madness?
Got a call about a bar fight,
picked up this charmer, Robert Sullivan.
I don't want any vitals.
I don't want anything. I don't
He's still intoxicated
and wouldn't settle down.
So I told him, it's either
the hospital for his injuries
or the drunk tank.
- Hmm. He's no idiot.
- Yeah.
He was adamant about
being brought to Med,
said he knows a doctor here.
He say which one?
He kept asking for Rip.
- For Rip?
- What are you gonna do?
I don't want any BPMs.
I don't want nothing.
Hey, Mr. Sullivan, how you doing?
- Who the hell are you?
- I'm Dr. Charles.
You know, Nancy's just
trying to get your vitals,
make sure you're okay, take two seconds.
No, I'm already good. I feel good.
Where's Rip? I wanna talk to Rip.
Do you mean Dr. Ripley?
Just get him.
Nancy, let's give
Mr. Sullivan a little space
- and page Dr. Ripley.
- Okay.
Thank you.
[SIGHS]
Hey. Trauma called.
Subclavian repair went smoothly.
- Patient's doing well.
- Good. Thanks, Trini.
Hey, I got your page. What's up?
Oh, are you, uh,
are you familiar with this
gentleman in five here?
Mr., uh Mr. Sullivan,
Robert Sullivan.
Yeah.
Gentleman is pushing it. What happened?
He got banged up in a bar fight,
insisted on being brought
to Med because of you.
Won't let anybody else treat him.
No!
At the very least,
I need your temperature.
No! No.
Great.
Yeah, keeps on asking for Rip.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
Yeah, uh, Sully and I used
to run the streets together
before I left Chicago.
Oh, yeah?
You you okay treating an old buddy?
I can find somebody else.
We're not that close,
so it shouldn't be a problem.
Thanks.
Okay.
I won't have this conversation with you.
Hey!
There he is.
All right, let's keep it down, Sully.
I told you I knew him.
I got this. Thank you.
Thank God.
I can finally relax.
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
Don't even think about it.
Jeez.
Cop might as well have
dropped me off at jail.
Still an option if you
keep acting this way,
showing up here,
giving everybody a hard time.
And a bar fight at the crack of dawn?
What the hell, Sully?
Hey, some guys were
talking down on my Bulls,
and I retorted,
and they couldn't take a joke,
so we handled it outside.
Yeah, looks like they handled you.
Where else they get you?
Couple cheap body shots.
Not to mention your jaw.
I'm still a sex symbol, though.
I can't say the same
for him and his boy.
They were on the receiving end of this.
Looks like what we call
a boxer's fracture.
Hmm, I like the sound of that.
I gotta say, I'm impressed you
finally learned how to use your hands.
Could have used them back in the day
while I was busy saving you
from getting your ass kicked.
[LAUGHS] Still got jokes.
Fancy white coat
and a pretty-boy haircut,
but at least you kept
your sense of humor.
[COUGHING]
Little short of breath there?
[COUGHING]
Ugh.
Just a little cough
I picked up over the holidays.
[CLEARS THROAT]
Let me take a listen. Deep breath.
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[COUGHING]
All right, I'm gonna order bloodwork
and an X-ray to be safe.
I just wanted my hand looked at.
Now you're trying to upsell me?
Just put the gown on and stay put.
Someone'll be by soon
to image your chest and hand.
And don't give them a hard time.
♪
[COUGHING]
Throat doesn't look that bad.
How long have you been
feeling this way, Adriana?
A few weeks, hard to say.
Been traveling a lot, so my
sense of time is out of whack.
Anywhere fun?
Grand tour of the Midwest
Hotel Convention circuit.
I organize tabletop and board game cons.
Anyway, I thought this was
just another con cough,
you know, something you pick up
when you're stuffed
in a ballroom full of gamers, but
Can you breathe for me?
[COUGHING]
Ow, that hurt.
Your lungs do sound a little junky.
Just means that there's a lot of phlegm.
Could be from flu, COVID, or pneumonia.
But we won't know until
we run a few tests to be sure.
I just got my shots, but pneumonia?
Wow.
We'll take good care of you.
Let's start with a
chest X-ray, CBC, BMP,
swabs for COVID, flu, and strep,
and put in a CT for chest and neck.
Okay.
I'll be back to check on you soon.
Hey, I just wanted to double
check on those CAT scans.
Shouldn't we wait
for the chest X-ray first?
It seems aggressive.
Honestly, I'm not even sure that
this is just an infection.
But page me when those tests are back.
You got it.
There you go.
You're a real pro at this.
It's not a skill I planned
on mastering, but thanks.
Caleb, Deb, good news.
Your labs came back normal.
Oh, that's great, hon.
Well, looks like your prolapse
hasn't reduced as quickly as we'd like.
It's probably because
of persistent congestion.
So based on what I'm seeing
here and Caleb's latest CT,
I think it would be better
if we went ahead
with your reversal surgery.
- Excuse me?
- Wait, what?
Truthfully, my recommendation
would be to do this
as soon as possible.
You're telling me I can get
rid of this thing, like, today?
I should be able to get you on
the schedule in a few hours, yeah.
Let's go!
Mom, we can call Coach Mark,
tell him I'm running
with the soldiers this summer.
This is good news.
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
Can I speak with you for a moment?
I don't understand.
You can't reduce the prolapse bedside?
Well, I probably can,
but I think surgery
is the better long-term
solution at this point.
Caleb is several months out,
and his recovery is going great.
His labs indicate that
he's healthy, strong.
All due respect, Dr. Davis has been
with us since day one.
We've known you, what, two hours?
Dr. Archer has a lot
of experience with this.
Our doctor was adamant we wait,
that with all of Caleb's surgeries,
the adhesions needed time to break down
before we can do the reversal.
That was a solid plan.
However, Caleb's recurring prolapses
could make it more likely
for him to prolapse again.
And possibly make the eventual repair
more challenging.
You don't know for sure.
I won't trade my son's health for that.
I know you wanna hold off
until you get home,
but I'd be happy to speak
with your pediatric surgeon.
Like I said, Dr. Davis believes
Caleb is better off waiting.
So until he says otherwise,
I'm not discussing surgery any further.
♪
Can I get your eyes on something?
Of course.
Skipped right to CT scans, huh?
Patient came in with
classic signs of an infection,
but with the shortness
of breath and chest pain,
I was afraid that it was
a septic pulmonary embolism.
- I know that's a long shot.
- No, you were on the money.
Look definitely a small PE.
Check out this next CT.
I'm not exactly sure
what I'm looking at.
Peritonsillar abscess
with infiltration to the jugular vein.
What'd the swab come back as?
Strep.
Hmm.
This is Lemierre syndrome, isn't it?
I've only read about it.
Effective blood clot in the neck, yeah.
Very rare, very dangerous.
Explains a lot
infection starts in the throat,
spreads to the jugular, starts
throwing clots downstream.
Okay, we
we need to anticoagulate
your patient ASAP.
So go ahead and start her
on a heparin drip,
prevent the existing clot
from propagating,
and I'd also start her
on antibiotics, okay?
Why wait when we can go after
the clot with the thrombectomy
and eliminate the risk entirely?
We're not there yet.
Let's give the meds some time
to get the fever down.
But if she doesn't turn the corner soon,
I think you're right.
Surgery may be our best bet, okay?
I'll get Adriana up to speed.
Good. And I'll call ENT.
They'll need to scope her, all right?
Mm-hmm.
[COUGHING]
Oh, Mr. Sullivan
- Sully.
- Sully, I'm so sorry.
Buddy, we can't really have patients
wandering around out here.
We just have too much
foot traffic out here.
It's a hospital policy thing.
I hope you understand.
But I just wanna find a place to smoke.
I just can't be in that room.
Totally get it.
It's such a drag having to wait.
But I promise you, Dr. Ripley
will be by any second.
Oh, speak of the devil.
Hey, hard to believe
it's the same guy who had us
stealing candy when we were kids.
Where the hell were you?
I told you to stay put.
I'm sorry, Dr. Ripley.
Won't happen again.
I got this. Thanks.
Time for a bedtime story?
I'm tired as hell.
Actually, I think you're gonna want
to sit up for this, seriously.
Okay, okay, what?
[COUGHING]
I got the results from your chest X-ray.
They show a nodule in your
left lung that concerns me.
And your white blood cell count
came back low.
So you'll you'll need
a chest CT as well as a biopsy.
Can you explain it to me in English?
You got early signs of lung cancer.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Wait, what?
Look, I know it sounds scary.
But some lung cancers
are very treatable.
I'll refer you to an oncologist.
That's a cancer specialist.
No, no, no.
I only came here to avoid jail
and get my hand patched up.
Now you're throwing the C-word at me.
Like I said, I'll have
an oncologist talk
I feel fine.
The way I see it, this convo's over.
I want out.
You need a thorough
evaluation and treatment plan.
No! I'm done.
Where do I sign?
All right.
At least let me get ortho in here
to splint that broken hand.
The bandage is just temporary.
It shouldn't take long.
Fine, but that's all.
♪
Excuse me.
Can you point me to your cafeteria?
I'm trying to find something
Caleb can eat.
Absolutely.
Right this way.
I have to say, you've really
got a handle on Caleb's care.
Must be reassuring for him.
[CHUCKLES] Thank you,
though I suspect Caleb wishes
he could see a little less of me.
I'd take that as a good sign.
It means he's a normal teenager.
Normal?
It's been a long road
to get here, for both of us.
Yeah.
You know, after Caleb
was shot, I was a mess.
The emergency room, the ICU,
in and out of surgery,
I felt like I basically
lived at the hospital.
I can't imagine how rough that was.
It was the waiting, you know,
the not knowing that wore me out.
But we finally made it home.
We figured out a routine together,
the bag changes, the diet, the cleaning.
Caleb hates it,
but it's a version of normal.
Yeah.
Oh, the cafeteria is down
the hall to the right.
Just follow the signs.
You can't miss it.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
All right, Caleb.
I think we're ready to reduce this.
Okay, I'm sorry.
Okay, Caleb.
You're gonna feel
a little bit of pressure.
Are you ready?
Okay.
So Oakland.
I know of some Hall of Famers
at your position from there.
Gary Payton, Jason Kidd
before your time.
I studied them both.
- But Dame is my guy.
- Ah.
So if I get this surgery,
what kind of recovery time
am I looking at?
That depends.
Probably a question
for your pediatric surgeon.
You've gotta have an idea, right?
I mean, we talking days, weeks?
How long I'ma have to wait
to get back on the court?
Yeah, I think that's a conversation
we can have with your mother.
When your mother comes back
from the cafeteria, we can
She already made up her mind.
But it's my life.
There's a chance
that I could still salvage
my high school career,
I could still get a full ride
from a big-time D-I school.
And I could make a play for the NBA.
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
You said you could do this today, right?
Come on, Doc, you did, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
Dr. Archer, may I speak
to you for a second?
All right, your stoma's all set.
[SIGHS]
What can I do?
He backed me into a corner.
He's a minor, and his mother
made her wishes very clear.
All right, listen, now,
I don't need a tutorial
on medical ethics.
Caleb has the right to know
what his future holds.
And I feel for Caleb too.
But they just got their lives back
after a horrific experience.
Right, one I wanna
help him move on from.
You can't just move on
after your life's
been turned upside down.
Deb is just trying
to hold on to something
that is normal for them.
That's the problem, okay?
She's clinging to a normal
that does not exist.
So instead of moving forward,
she's not doing anything at all,
even when her son clearly wants to.
What-what does my son want?
Caleb reiterated to me
that he wants the reversal
procedure, but I told him
I thought I made myself clear earlier.
Yes, you did, but
Has my son's prolapse been resolved?
Yes, it has.
Then I would like him to be discharged.
♪
Bert, how'd it go?
Bert.
You got what you wanted, okay?
What did the neurologist say?
I was doing fine till you had
to go and screw everything up.
Well, I'm just concerned for you, Bert.
We're divorced. Stay out of my life.
♪
Dr. Charles, can you do a capacity check
on Sully for me?
Why, have you noticed some
kind of behavioral
or cognitive change since you
last connected with him?
He's being irrational.
He probably has lung cancer,
but he's refusing further testing.
Oh, boy. I'm sorry to hear that.
If I let him walk out of here AMA,
I'm basically handing him
a death sentence.
Unfortunately, refusing further testing
is not really grounds
for questioning somebody's
decisional capacity.
He's got a terminal illness
and won't get treatment.
Sounds like he's got a problem
with his decisional capacity to me.
Okay, so this is where
I have to ask you,
would you be pushing for this
if this were just a regular patient?
It's the only way
I can see to save his life.
I mean, unfortunately, if he
doesn't wanna pursue treatment,
there's just
I mean, there's nothing
we can do about it. I'm sorry.
Yeah, me too.
[TENSE MUSIC]
- [ALARM BEEPING]
- [SHALLOW BREATHING]
Dr. Marcel, Dr. Ahmad.
Her blood pressure
just dropped 20 points,
90/60 and still falling.
[GROANING] Where am I?
She's disoriented.
And hypotensive. Must be septic shock.
Zola, start a central line
and get her on pressors.
Need to get her BP back up.
Get a bag on her.
Dial up the O2 to 15 liters.
And bolus a liter of crystalloid
- and set up a norepi drip.
- On it.
[MURMURING INDISTINCTLY]
Adriana, slow, deep breaths
for me, okay?
Pressure's still down.
Need to get that line in.
Got it.
Wire.
Go ahead.
We're in.
Okay, start the norepi at 10
and titrate up to a MAP of 65.
Norepi's on.
Okay, cycle the BP cuff.
♪
Blood pressure's coming back up, 95/65,
and sats are climbing as well.
- She's stabilizing.
- Good.
Let's draw a culture, start her on vanc,
and let's get an A-line set up.
- Let's get a blood gas too.
- Page us when she's lucid.
You were right.
She's gonna need a thrombectomy.
- Here.
- What's this?
A little light reading a critical
care committee just drafted.
"Revised post-operative muscle relaxant
reversal agent protocol."
See, I heard getting Exsomadex pulled
was your little crusade.
Thought you might be eager
to learn about its replacement.
"The new recommended
reversal agent is Gamaverse."
There a problem?
No, except it's ten times
the cost of Exsomadex,
which gets pushed on to the patients
when their insurance won't cover it.
That there has to be
cheaper therapeutic alternative options.
No. Nope. No.
Not according to the committee.
So the next time you think
about sounding the alarm
off limited data, think twice.
♪
Mom, I got it.
Okay.
Um, Deb, I've got your
discharge paperwork,
and I'll have someone by
to walk you out.
Thank you.
Okay.
Caleb, I know this is hard.
But your life is more important
than some game.
Not much of a life anyways.
I'll go pull the car around.
Deb, wait, please.
- What?
- I just
I'm sorry that you're leaving.
But Dr. Archer is an excellent surgeon.
And he just wants to do
what's right by your son.
I really don't want
to discuss this again.
I know you're afraid.
And it makes sense with everything
that you've gone through.
What we're still going through.
Of course.
It's understandable that
you would want to hold on
to what's familiar while you can,
while your world has been
turned inside-out.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
It has taken everything I've
got just to make it this far.
Deb.
I don't know if I can go
through this again right now.
What if it goes wrong?
I don't think I can handle that.
At least this way, I know
what tomorrow looks like.
I understand.
But this life now,
is it worth holding on to,
knowing that there's
a possibility of another way?
[SIGHS]
Dr. Malone, good afternoon.
Ms. Goodwin, come in.
Bert just left, so I have to assume
your visit is not a coincidence.
Well, I know given HIPAA regulations,
it's not my place to come here
and ask about your patients,
but my family's worried.
I understand.
And there is no privacy issue here
as you're listed as Bert's
primary emergency contact.
I'm listed as his emergency contact?
Yeah, it's what's in his file.
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but
I've diagnosed Bert
with Alzheimer's dementia.
Alzheimer's.
Now, there are treatments
available to him.
But as you're well aware, this diagnosis
can be a long and rough road
for everyone involved.
You likely know most of this.
But here's some information your family
can anticipate moving forward.
Yeah.
I offered them to Bert, but he, um,
he left them behind.
He didn't take the news well?
Well, in my experience, few people do.
♪
My door is always open.
To you or your children,
if you have any more
questions or concerns.
Thank you.
♪
All right, Caleb, game time.
Mr. Sullivan, I assure you,
they're just printing your paperwork.
Keep it. I don't care. I'm leaving.
I'm out of here.
Excuse me. Excuse me, lady.
Sully, Sully, come on. Knock it off.
- Get back in bed.
- I got my splint.
I'm leaving.
You need to see an oncologist.
Shut up already.
You got your little iPad
and your name tag,
you think I'm supposed
to do what you say?
I'm trying to help you, man.
And I'm trying to leave, man.
Move.
If you walk out of here, this will be
the dumbest thing you've ever done.
- You can't leave.
- Out of my way.
No.
Rip, I'm gonna tell you one more time.
- Move!
- Can't do it.
Security!
Hey! Security!
Dr. Ripley.
Dr. Ripley!
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Calm down. Calm down.
Hey, calm down. Settle down.
You all right?
Yeah.
Should I call Dr. Archer?
Um, no, give me a couple minutes, okay?
[GRUNTS] [LOCKER SLAMS]
No. No. I'm not I'm not
I'm not in the mood for a lecture.
You don't you don't know Sully.
There's only one way to deal with him.
By tackling him to the ground?
I was just trying to get
the situation under control.
Mm, looked kind of like
you lost control to me.
So file a complaint.
Let's go see Archer and Ms. Goodwin.
Come on. Let's get it over with.
So so you can lose your job?
Is that what we wanna do now?
Yeah, I screwed up.
I screwed up, okay? I know that.
I'm just trying to just trying
to look out for the guy.
I get that, but ideally,
you don't wanna
risk your job in doing so.
If I'd never left Chicago,
I'd probably have been right
there with him, at that bar,
throwing down beside him.
That's how tight we were.
[SOFT MUSIC]
But I wanted out of that life,
and I got out.
And that's a good thing, right?
But it can be a little more
complicated for the people
who feel, you know, left behind.
You know, having said that,
I think he came here
looking for you because he trusts you.
Then why won't he listen to me?
Maybe he wasn't looking for
some guy in a white coat
with a fancy degree.
Maybe he's just looking for his friend.
♪
So
you tolerated surgery well.
And from what I'm seeing,
you're gonna be fine.
- For real?
- Thank God.
A few days here, a few weeks at home,
and you'll be back on your feet.
Then I can hoop again?
Maybe in about eight weeks,
but only if you take it easy.
That's cool.
I appreciate you, Doc.
Well, save me some tickets
when you make it to the NBA
floor seats, preferably.
Thank you, Dr. Archer.
And thank you for pushing me.
I'm just glad that you
and Caleb get to move forward.
Sharon, I'm just so sorry.
Well, I guess the upside is,
now I know what I'm dealing with.
Exactly.
And you know what?
I mean, there are some very
promising clinical trials
happening right now.
Some exciting new medications
are being developed.
And I'm just I'm confident if
we get the right kind of help,
that we're
we're gonna be able to navigate this.
We? [LAUGHS]
You mean me.
The decisions that will have to be made,
the appointments, the treatments,
that's all gonna fall on me, Daniel.
What about the kids?
I mean, the kids will be there.
No. They've got their own lives.
I don't want them to have
to deal with this, either.
And how am I gonna do it?
I've got a hospital to run.
I got a new relationship that
is really going well.
And then what?
I have to take care of my ex-husband.
I know it's selfish just to
think about myself, but
No, it is not, not at all.
I can't do it, Daniel.
I can't.
Hi, Adriana. How are you feeling?
Been better.
Well, look, we wanna
talk to you about next steps.
So given the state of your infection,
it's our recommendation that
we progress with a procedure
called a thrombectomy.
Dr. Ahmad said something about that.
Yeah, so myself and an
interventional radiologist
would pass a wire
up your arm, into your neck,
and basically extract the clot.
Oh, God.
The procedure is minimally invasive,
and it would eliminate any risk posed
by the clot, set the antibiotics up
for success moving forward.
We'll have you home in a few days.
This procedure, I really have to do it?
There's no other option?
Yes, that would be my recommendation.
Well, there might be.
- We could wait.
- What do you mean?
Give the antibiotics a chance
to fight off the infection.
And the blood thinners
haven't had that long
to break up the primary clot.
Which means it would still
pose a serious threat, no?
But if we give the medications a chance,
then maybe we can bypass the need
for a thrombectomy altogether.
Really?
Very unlikely is how I'd put it.
Dr. Ahmad, could I speak with you?
[SOFT TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Now, what was that?
You undermined me
in front of the patient.
And this procedure was your
plan from the start, right?
We both know that going after
an unstable clot is risky.
Same is true if we just
sit on our hands here, right?
Now, IR is the only real
path forward for Adriana.
You knew that hours ago.
So what's changed?
Everyone keeps saying
that I'm impulsive,
that I make rash decisions.
And I think they're right.
I've been here a month, and already,
I've been assigned an ethics course,
pissed off the board, and now
this disaster with Exsomadex.
Maybe I should keep my mouth shut.
Stop.
She needs this procedure, period.
All right, go clear your head.
Go on.
♪
Okay, I'm off.
To the on-call room or
No, I'm heading home.
Oh.
I think it's time that I move on.
Yeah.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
Uh
Tara, hey, sweetie.
How's it
no, wait, wait, wait.
Slow down, sweetie, slow down.
Hey. What are you doing?
Tara called and said Bert's
not answering his phone.
And I called, and it went
straight to voicemail.
You know he's tried
to take his life once before,
so I'm just gonna
head over to his place.
- I'll come with you.
- You don't have to.
- No, I'm coming.
- Okay.
Still nursing that bougie coffee?
[CHUCKLES] How's Adriana?
The procedure went well,
no complications.
She's back in the ICU,
awake and talking, okay?
- That's great. Thanks.
- Sure.
Hey.
Yeah?
Do you know who that guy is?
Everett James? Yeah.
We sit on the board together.
He's a bigwig at Ward and Bancroft.
Yeah, the pharma company, so?
So I did some research
while you were in surgery,
and guess who manufactures
our new expensive reversal
medication, Gamaverse?
Ward and Bancroft?
Yeah.
Huh.
So this board member sells
his product to the hospital.
Must have used our recommendation
to get himself a sweetheart deal.
That that's a conflict of interest.
That can't be legal.
Look, I don't agree with it, either,
but it's not illegal.
This is all happening
because of my recommendation.
Hold on, are you
are you blaming yourself?
Before you spiral out any further,
let me remind you
what's actually important
your patient,
who's alive and well in large part
because you listened to your instincts.
You knew thrombectomy was
the right call from the get-go.
Now, you might not be able to take down
the medical-industrial complex.
But you saved a life today.
And, Zola, if that's
not good enough, then
maybe you should think
about another career.
[SOFT MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[MELLOW MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[DEEP SIGH]
Bulls snap that losing streak?
Lost it by 2 in OT.
Old fashioned, neat.
- Thanks.
- Yep.
Fancy drink.
Well, it's a lot smoother
than the rotgut
- you got in your glass.
- [SCOFFS]
Some kind of mouse trap?
I use this and I wake up under a knife?
Just a little something
to help out with that cough.
[SIGHS]
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
Look
If you need anything,
anything at all,
you know where I'm hiding.
Doesn't matter where or when.
I got you.
♪
[CLEARS THROAT]
[SIGHS]
I'll see you around, Rip.
Hope so.
- Bert!
- He's gotta be in there.
His car's out front. [KEYPAD BEEPING]
- Bert!
- I got it. I got it.
Bert.
Bert, you home?
Bert?
[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]
♪
Bert?
[STAMMERS]
I don't know
what's going to happen to me.
Well, whatever comes,
we'll deal with it.
I I don't wanna make this
anyone else's problem.
I I have to deal with it on my own.
No.
No, you don't,
because I'm here.
And it's all right.
It's gonna be all right.
♪