Empty Nest (1988) s02e15 Episode Script

M.D., P.O.V.

Life goes on and so do we just how we do it is no mystery one by one we fill the days we find a thousand different ways Sometimes the answer can be hard to find that's something I will never be I'm always here for anything that you need Rain or shine I'll be the one to share it all as life goes on we share it all as life goes on from the Cuban quarter to biscayne boulevard, Monica angle is one beautician who can honestly say she's combed Miami.
Tomorrow on "Miami people," we turn from hairdressers to tongue depressors, as we spend the day with pediatrician Harry Weston.
I'm Alexandra Hudson for A.
M.
Miami.
Good morning, Laverne.
Did you catch A.
M.
Miami this morning? Yes, I saw it.
Just our luck have to follow a big show stealer like that beautician.
Laverne, I wish I hadn't let you talk me into this.
This whole feature-story television thing is making me very uncomfortable.
I did it solely so you would get the attention you deserve.
Hi.
I'm Alexandra Hudson.
Where's that A.
M.
Miami t-shirt you promised me? I'm sorry.
Those are on back order.
Nobody sees the doctor without going through me first.
Nice jacket.
Oh, uh, hello, there, miss, uh miss Hudson.
Harry Weston.
It's very nice to meet you in person, I must say.
- Exam room one Roy Burnett.
- Okay, thank you.
Oh, that's great.
We'll just oh, no, no.
Excuse me.
You will get your interview, but I think I have to lay down a few ground rules here, because the kids come in here They're scared enough.
And the camera's just going to make it worse.
So rule number one No filming during appointments.
- Okay.
- Rule number two Laverne.
Rule number two Keep the noise down.
Rule number three Don't block up the hallway.
Rule number four At all times, you are to shoot me from my left side That being my more successful side cheekbone-wise.
That's a lot of rules.
I'm a lot of woman.
- So what's been going on? - He's very tired.
He's been running a slight fever.
And he has a headache.
Well, those are the flu symptoms.
This is the flu season.
Could it be the flu? You know, she may be on to something here.
Roy, uh, been feeling dizzy? Mmmm.
Mm-hmm.
Eaten anything that's disagreed with you? - Mm-mm.
- Mm.
Difficulty speaking with thermometers in your mouth? - Mm-hmm.
- Mm.
There we go.
Uh-huh.
I think you go the flu, pal.
Sorry.
So plenty of rest, plenty of liquids, give him some Tylenol if he needs it.
And you'll call me if there's any change at all? I will, doctor Weston.
And you Hey, you promise me now Plenty of television and no school.
- You heard the doctor, mom.
- There.
All right.
Thank you, Dr.
Weston.
Bye-bye.
Bye, Laverne.
Finally.
Now, doctor, we'd like to shoot you in your yeah, I know.
I'm really very sorry, but, uh Nice jacket.
But it's You know, it's flu season, and we have kids backed up out into the hallway.
So, Laverne, who's next? Nobody.
Right.
Your next is Bobby castillo, and he's not for 45 minutes.
I cleared your calendar today so you'd have some time with this nice reporter woman.
Well, you know, I've got all this paperwork to do here.
It won't take 45 minutes to sign that form Unless you've got some unwieldy middle name I don't know about.
No.
Dr.
Weston, I know our appointment wasn't until oh, absolutely.
No problem at all.
Absolutely.
Good medicine's prompt medicine.
We'll get right Take care of you.
I'm real sorry.
When am I going to get some time with him? I mean, I've already taped all the interviews with this friends and daughters.
I just don't understand why we have to do this together.
- Cut it out, Carol.
- Okay.
Now, remember, just relax and be yourselves.
And we just talk into that camera? - That's right.
- How do we know when it's on? - The red light will be on.
- Oh, my god, it's on.
- What did I say? - Nothing.
Then why did I panic? Oh, great.
Now I panicked, and I made a fool out of myself.
Carol, relax.
Okay, uh, let's start with what it was like being a pediatrician's daughter.
Oh, it was fun.
I felt special.
All the kids looked up to me, because when we played doctor, I had a real ear-flashlight.
You see, I love my father desperately.
But the truth is, most of the time growing up, he wasn't there.
He was busy taking care of other people's children.
And we always had the best things for show-and-tell.
Once, I brought in an appendix in a mayonnaise jar.
I mean, it might not sound like much now, but when you're in the third grade and you play the poison apple in snow white And you play it well You just don't want your father's beeper going off.
And we had every single issue of humpty dumpty magazine.
What is this, Barbara Glib-a-Thon? I mean, really, this is a news feature, not the "getting to know you" moment at a beauty pageant.
Miss Weston.
I knew you were going to do this.
I knew you were going to pull a "life's great" thing on me.
I-I-I'm sorry.
Uh, this isn't working out.
We're going to have to figure out some solution here.
But it was always the same dream.
This giant beeper kept chasing me, and Barbara was right behind it.
And she had real big teeth.
And the only place that was safe was this cave millions of miles below the earth inhabited by moles.
It was right around then that I first heard the word "therapy" at the dinner table.
Hi, lurlene.
Well, thank you, nurse Todd.
That was great.
You didn't get my right side, did you? Oh, no.
Don't worry.
Good, 'cause that's the side I got from my daddy.
I don't know what my mama saw in him.
But whatever it was, it was from the left.
Nurse Todd, can't you do something to help Dr.
Weston open up a little bit? Oh, he's just shy is all.
Once he loosens his tongue, it'll start a-waggin' like that red thing under a Turkey's neck.
Good-bye, Cheryl, dear.
Oh, hi.
Still here.
Really, Dr.
Weston, all you have to do is just stand right there and answer a few questions.
Oh, okay.
All right, then.
Are we rolling? Okay, we'll start with an easy one.
How long have you been a pediatrician? What is a pediatrician? Many things, really.
Part hippocrates, part sleuth, part cotton ball in a world that needs to be dabbed and reassured.
Hold, please.
Dr.
Weston, what are you doing? Huh? Oh, well, I was just using some notes.
Was it obvious? Um, it's just not what we're looking for.
Uh, I just want to know what you do.
What's your average day like? Well, i I don't know.
They're all pretty much the same.
I get in here at 9:00, take out a few sponges, look in a few ears, do a whole lot of paperwork, and then I'm on my way home around 5:00, and that's it.
I wish I could tell you it was more exciting, but, you know, sorry.
- It's Roy's mama.
- Okay.
Hi, there.
Excuse me, dear.
Hi, Helen.
Blurred vision? Uh, all right, well, listen, you bring him right over, and I'll i see.
Uh, well, listen, I'm on my lunch hour.
I'll just jump in the car, come over, and I'll check him out.
I'll be there.
It's no trouble, dear.
No, I'll be there very soon.
Bye-bye.
A house call? Dr.
Weston, really now, this isn't for our benefit, is it? Uh, no, no, dear, because you're not coming.
Listen, we'll do the interview later, all right? I promise.
I always wanted to be a pediatrician like my father.
I mean, he just seems to have all the answers, you know? He's so smart.
And I had it all planned.
I was gonna go to a great college and get accepted in a top medical school.
And I guess the realization that it wasn't going to happen came Oh, I don't know Right around the middle of my second pass at sixth grade, but anyway All right, Roy, I want to look into your eyes.
Can you see Elmer fudd there on the TV? Yeah, both of them.
Unless this is the big cloning episode, that answers my next question.
Hey, hey, hey, look at me.
You see me okay? Not really.
You're kind of blurry.
Hmm.
Well, I didn't powder my nose this morning, so you're not missing much.
I'm intentionally not making these funny, so you don't hurt your sides laughing.
All right.
Come on, let's go.
Now, relax.
He's okay, isn't he? Are you kidding? In no time at all, he'll be skateboarding down steep hills.
He'll be riding his bike with no hands.
What, are you crazy? You could break your neck.
Sorry.
Well, I don't think it's anything very serious.
But you know what? I think I'd like to run a couple of tests over at St.
Vincent's, just to be on the safe side.
The hospital? What what kind of tests? Well, it's just i want to checkout the blurry vision and the muscle weakness It won't take very long.
Roy, how about riding shotgun with me in my car? - Okay.
- Come on, sweetheart.
Let's get you dressed.
Uh, Laverne, we have to reserve a room for Roy over at St.
Vincent's.
We're on our way over right now.
It is definitely not the flu.
That's what bothers me.
I don't know what this is.
So you've worked for Dr.
Weston for six years.
How would you rate him as a doctor? Well, let me put it this way.
Back in hickory, Arkansas, we had this doctor named Toby Reynolds.
Now, we used to call him Dr.
Reynolds for reasons too complex to go into right here, but Since he was the only guy with a medical degree for 200 miles, he was our everything doctor.
He'd take out your tonsils, run out to your barn, deliver your prize calf, come back in, take out your impacted wisdom tooth without so much as stopping to rest, chat, or wash his hands in between.
The country doctor.
So how does Dr.
Weston compare to your Dr.
Reynolds? Oh, no contest.
He's a whole lot better than Dr.
Reynolds.
- Really? - Oh, yes.
Kind of hard to overlook that "not washing his hands" thing.
Hi, lurlene.
All right, Roy, we got all your test results back now.
I'm gonna have to ask you a couple questions.
Sure.
Who is, uh, Charlie brown's dog? Snoopy.
Great.
That's all I need to know.
I'm finished.
No, what am I talking about? Tell me, have you been feeling dizzy or tired at school lately? - No.
- Mm-hmm.
Hurt when you go to the bathroom? No.
Been clinging to any walls or ceilings? Not really.
I'll be very straight with you here, I'm suspecting spider-man syndrome.
No, really.
It's it's very possible you've been, you know, bitten by a radioactive spider and turned into a superhero in your sleep.
There's a lot of that going around.
You think so? Well, the only way you can tell for sure is some more tests.
More blood? That or bring in the kryptonite.
That's for superman.
Excuse me.
Who's the doctor here? All right.
Dear, could, uh, you leave us alone for a minute here? Roy and I have a little guy talk here.
All right, now, Roy, I need you to pee into one of those cups in the bathroom there for the more tests, okay? - Sure.
- All right.
What do you want for dinner? You name it, I'll track it down.
Fish sticks.
I'll do anything for fish sticks.
All right, I will prescribe fish sticks to be taken orally until full.
Now, I'm putting down Mrs.
Paul's, but you can order the generic brand and save yourself a few dollars.
- Thanks, Dr.
Weston.
- Yeah.
You're welcome.
I'll be back.
Well, dear, I think we're gonna have to keep him overnight.
There's nothing to worry about.
Now I've got to go arrange for his dinner.
Is there any way he could have fish sticks? I think maybe I can pull a few strings, yeah.
See, they're his favorite.
And last week when I made them, he talked back at the table.
And I threw them out and sent him to his room without dinner.
I couldn't live with myself if he didn't get better and the last thing he remembered was oh, Helen, dear, come over here.
Come on.
It's just some tests.
That's all.
He's gonna be fine.
Honey, hi.
What? What is it? How is he? - Uh, he is, uh, comfortable.
- Comfortable? What do you mean comfortable? What's wrong with him? We are not sure.
We're running some more tests.
The kid's been here how long, and you don't know what's wrong with him? Mr.
Burnett, will you join me in here, please? Doctor, can we have the room, please? Thank you.
Mr.
Burnett, this is indeed a wonderful hospital, state of the art.
One thing it is not is soundproof.
I will not allow you to stand outside your son's door and yell like that He is scared enough.
Now, if you're angry or upset, that's okay.
Kick the candy machine.
It's been kicked before.
And if you're angry with me, please kick that candy machine.
But do whatever you're going to do, and then please work with me so we can figure out what is making your little boy so sick.
Okay.
Now, we have run a battery of tests and, uh, for some rather serious stuff All negative, and that's very good.
The problem is He's getting sicker.
Now, I'm being honest with you because I need your help.
It's not going to help anybody to get your boy upset.
Now, for the next couple of hours, we will be running more tests.
So why don't you go home and have a bite to eat and bring back his favorite pair of pajamas or stuffed animal Anything you think that's gonna me him feel more comfortable.
You'll stay here with him? I will stay right there with him.
Thanks a lot, doc.
I remember one Christmas, I was about seven or eight, and daddy was stuck at the hospital with one of his sick kids.
Well, that's what Carol used to call them "sick kids.
" Anyway, mom told us that daddy might not be home Christmas morning.
So when we woke up, we came downstairs, and there he was, sitting by the tree with mom.
It was great.
And the next day he got someone to cover for him at the office.
And we all jumped in the car.
And we took this great surprise trip for two weeks.
First, we went up to see grandma and grandpa in Atlanta.
And then we drove down to Disney world for a week.
And I remember it was just the happiest Christmas we ever had as a family.
My most vivid memory of my father as a doctor Oh, god, yeah.
That would've be when I was about 11 in a hotel at Disney world about a week or so after Christmas.
I remember that we thought daddy wasn't even going to make it home that year because he was with one of his sick kids, as Barbara used to call them.
Anyway, he did make it.
And he got it in his head to take this spur-of-the-moment vacation with mom and Barbara and Emily and me.
We'd been in the hotel about a week or so, and I woke up in the middle of the night one night, and I heard my parents talking in the bathroom.
And my mom was saying something about How there was nothing more my father could've done and he couldn't run away forever.
And I realized that that sick kid had died.
It was the first patient daddy ever lost.
You know That may have been the only time, until mom died, that I ever heard my father cry.
All right, you two, break it up.
- All right, Laverne.
- I don't know who started it.
Laverne.
How is he? I don't know.
I'm his doctor, and I don't know.
Two series of tests come out negative, and he's getting worse.
I may have to put him on a respirator.
Oh, lord.
Is they anything I can do for you? Yeah, bring me my "change of clothes" bag from the office.
Call Dr.
Gordon, see if he'll cover for me tomorrow.
- Got it.
- Call the girls.
Tell them not to wait up.
I'm on it.
- Need a neck massage? - No.
Ego massage? No.
'Cause I could tell you if that were my kid, I wouldn't want any doctor but you a-treatin' him.
Thank you, dear.
Well, Laverne, will he talk to us? I'm sorry.
This This isn't a good time for him.
Maybe later.
Look, we've been waiting all day.
We're gonna go in now whether you like it, or not.
- Is that so? - Yes.
Well, then I suggest you get some coffee to help you wash that camera down.
This is really something.
You look exactly like you do on TV.
- Oh, what were you expecting? - I don't know.
I just always heard that the camera adds a cup size.
Mr.
dietz! So, uh, what are you doing after the interview? - Mr.
dietz - Hey, hey, hey, it's okay.
Let's see, my Harry story One night we're having dinner together at this fancy restaurant.
As luck would have it, at the next table was a real-life Venus, which, by the way, is Roman for "babe.
" Anyway, when her eyes locked onto mine, I noticed that her creamy-white complexion was starting to take a walk on the blue side.
I turned to Harry, but he was frozen.
So I leapt from my seat, and I administered the heimlich maneuver Nothing.
I tried it again Nothing.
Time was running out, so I unzipped her dress and gave her one last heimlich for Saint Pete.
Bingo out popped the catch of the day.
I'm sorry to say that Harry was still in a state of panic, and I spent the rest of the evening trying to console that poor, blubbering shell of a man.
It's kind of ironic, really.
While the good doctor was at a loss, old Fred and Ursula dietz's middle child was kicking some angel of death butt.
Is Harry gonna see this? Probably.
Right.
Just to backtrack Did I say that I was the one that was "heimliching" or blubbering? Doctor.
Doctor, could I see you out here? Laverne, it is 2:00 A.
M.
go home.
Physician, send thyself home.
Stop telling me what to do, Laverne! Sorry.
That's all right.
Better you beating me up than yourself, although the candy machine is still the best choice.
I think he's dying, Laverne.
I know.
I'm supposed to stop that from happening.
I'm his doctor.
Five hours ago he thought the worst that could happen would be he would turn into spider-man.
Now he can't even stay conscious long enough to eat his fish sticks.
They're his most favorite.
Laverne, you stay with him.
Where are you going? I'm going to the lab.
He loves fish sticks.
His folks threw away his fish sticks.
- So? - So that kid's a kid.
If he ate the ones from the trash, he could have botulism, and we can treat botulism.
I don't know.
They're all pretty much the same.
I get in here at 9:00, take out a few sponges, look in a few ears, do a whole lot of paperwork, and then I'm on my way home around 5:00, and that's it.
I wish I could tell you it was more exciting, but, you know, sorry.
Dr.
Harry Weston, with a band-aid and a smile, makes boo-boos go bye-bye.
Tomorrow we spend the day with a man who's taking the city by storm.
Meteorologist Sam mcgavern.
I'm Alexandra Hudson for A.
M.
Miami.

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