ER s01e08 Episode Script

Another Perfect Day

Coming through.
Thank you.
God, what a day.
ER.
Yes, l know they're late, but l can't-- Okay, l'm on my way.
They're on their way up.
No, this isn't ER.
This is Patrick.
Okay.
Bye-bye.
Are you the new desk clerk? Yeah.
Right.
-Who are you? -Patrick.
Okay, Patrick, where is everybody? My dad went to the bathroom.
You go sit over here.
You can't sit here.
Don't turn.
Hi, this is John Carter.
l'm calling about your ad for the apartment.
Got anything to eat? l'm sorry? -Perfect.
l'm starved.
-lt's been taken.
Mr.
Carter? This is great.
Where'd these come from? Taglieri.
He brought them in for Carol Hathaway, l think.
There's a woman who needs stitches in her face.
The plastic surgery boys are there.
Go in and back cleanup.
Give her a really good scar.
Just kidding.
EMT's at the back door with a 20-year-old stabbing victim.
-lt doesn't sound good.
-All right.
Notify the O.
R.
Tell the blood bank l need eight units O-neg.
You still doing the total gastrectomy? l have an interview with Morgenstern and Bradley.
-Starzl Fellowship? -Yep.
-What? -Nothing.
Langworthy said only third-year residents get it? -Exactly.
-ln her dreams.
Tell Morgenstern to meet me at Trauma 2.
-What do we got? -Stab wounds to the neck.
-Pulse is 1 50 and thready, BP's 50 palp.
-What else? Couldn't tube him, too much blood.
This guy's circling the drain.
l love that about you.
You're all optimism.
All right, let's take the turn.
Get him in Trauma 2.
Move it.
Let's not lose him, all right? Here we go.
Follow me.
All right, unstrap him.
We're gonna do this like we always do.
We're gonna do it on my count.
One, two, three.
Let's go to work.
Pulse ox? lt's only 70, and he's cyanotic.
All right, let's go.
Here we go.
No airway.
lntubation tray.
Move! -Seven and a half? -Yes.
Come on.
Come on.
l can't see anything in here.
Suction! Come on.
l need some suction.
Let's get it in here.
All right, we got a full out gusher here.
One more minute, he'll have brain damage.
Let's do a crike.
-You sure? -As the day is long.
Let's move.
Doing a surgical airway here.
Give me the numbers.
Count it out nice and loud.
BP still 60 over 40, pulse 1 60.
All right.
Trach tube.
Thank you, doctor.
Syringe.
Come on.
Let's see what we got here.
l like the way it sounds.
All right, l believe we have ourselves a breather here.
Welcome back, sir.
Can you ventilate him? -Good morning, Peter.
-Breathing easy.
What've you got? A stab wound to the neck.
Unable to intubate due to bleeding.
l performed a stat cricothyrotomy.
Airway established.
Good bilateral breath sounds.
The patient is stable.
What do you need me for? Let's get him up to the O.
R.
Excellent.
Excellent work.
Sound judgment.
A solid execution.
Excellent.
l'll see you at the Starzl interview this afternoon.
Right.
Pretty cool.
ER.
Yeah, hold on.
Carter, phone for you.
For me? Thanks, Jerry.
Yes, l did call about the one bedroom.
No.
What about the studio? Garage? No, l don't think l want a gara-- Hello? -That's good.
-Looking for an apartment? Yeah.
l've been living at home, and my dad thinks l'm a freeloader.
Mine did too.
l found my own place six months ago.
-Through the paper? -No, through a patient.
Eighty-five-year-old guy has a heart attack.
He crumped, l jumped.
-Are you saying that he died and-- -Dr.
Benton? Dr.
Morgenstern called.
He wanted me to tell you that your -Stertzle? -Starzl.
The interview's been pushed to 3:00.
Oh, man.
A boy with a laceration in 1 .
Carter's having a light day.
Let him take it.
l'd rather you do it.
Carter, see the kid in 1 .
l gotta go to Recovery to see a patient.
A 96-year-old stroke victim in Curtain Area 3.
-You might want to check it out.
-Check it out? Yeah.
He lives at Great location.
More sleep.
More sleep.
Say it ain't so, Joe.
lt ain't so, Joe.
Oh, God.
lt's 7:00.
My shift starts in a half an hour.
You're gonna be late.
l am? l called the hospital and told them you're too busy having sex with your wife.
And you want me to make an honest woman out of you? Okay, that takes care of the cut.
l fell off a ladder.
Yeah, l know.
Let's check your elbow.
l fell off a stool but l didn't hurt my head.
lt stays on, see? Go like this.
-Knock, knock.
-Who's there? -Patrick.
-Patrick who? Me, Patrick.
Okay.
l think it's probably fine, but just to be sure l'll have someone take an x-ray.
X-ray? lt's like a picture of your bones.
Can l keep it? Sure.
Thank you.
You're welcome, Patrick.
l'll be back to check on you, okay? Take him up to X-ray.
Sweet kid.
l think l should be going out with patients instead of doctors.
Doctors? l don't know.
Shrinks aren't too bad.
-So the rumors are true.
-What rumors? That you've been dating Div Cvetic.
Oh, just now and then.
-For two months.
-Oh, jeez.
Was it a secret? You eat with him every day.
Malik, did you get blood samples from the lady in 5? -Already at the lab.
-Great.
Thanks.
So everyone knows? He's taking you to a birthday dinner and asked you to wear that black dress.
Oh, my God! Did he put it in the newsletter? The bulletin board.
Just kidding.
l will kill him after dinner.
Jerry, you got anything to eat? Bagels in the lounge.
Never mind.
Did Linda Farrell come by yet? Linda Farrell of the pizza, Armani suit, Novell Pharmaceuticals? -Yes, Jerry.
-Haven't seen her.
l'm a little confused.
ls Slice your first name or your middle name? Slice is his street name.
Right.
Street name.
And how did this happen? Cops beat me up.
He put his foot through a window breaking and entering.
Who's the nurse on the phone out there? That's Nurse Wright.
Lydia Wright.
She married? l have no idea.
This is probably gonna sting a little bit.
What's that? That's an EKG caliper.
We use it to measure distances on a cardiogram.
A cardiogram measures the electrical activity of the heart.
You probably shouldn't be doing that.
Grab Lydia and Jerry, and meet me at the ambulance bay.
You bet.
Radial head looks okay.
No fat-pad sign.
l think he's in the clear.
EMT's pulling in right now.
Motorcycle versus semi.
-Who's on? -Benton and Ross.
Surprise! Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Susan Happy birthday to you Birthday Jell-O in the lounge.
-l hate this.
-That's why we did it.
That's for you.
-Happy birthday.
-Oh, thank you.
Hey, Carol.
l thought we'd crawl in here and escape for an hour.
You did? What if they find us in a compromising position? Then what? Then how about a more exotic locale? l have seven minutes.
Come on.
l don't know if ''exotic'' is the word l would've picked.
Well, l mean.
We'll put the pool in over there, maybe a little wet bar, a putting green.
-A putting green? -Hey, l'm a doctor.
Golf's easy.
l could teach you how to play this afternoon.
l have four minutes.
Maybe there's not enough time for that.
lf you moved in, there'd be more than enough time.
You mentioned something about that, right? Yeah, two weeks ago.
The silence of no answer is getting deafening.
Oh, God, Tag.
So much has happened, you know? And we've gotten through that.
l just-- l want to move slowly and feel sure.
About us? About me.
l think we have moved slowly, and l am sure about it all.
Look, l'm a good guy, Carol.
And l love you.
lf you have a problem with us, l need you to deal with it.
Knock, knock.
Was that Patrick? Yeah.
As a precaution, Dr.
Lewis has asked him to sit in a wheelchair until his father gets here.
Some precaution.
Linda Farrell.
Still haven't seen her.
Jerry, do you like your job? However, when l do, l'll track you down no matter where you are.
Well, and a good late morning to you.
l had car trouble.
l did.
l had car trouble.
How is Jennifer, Mark? She's great.
Yeah, l'll bet.
What's this for? Later on tonight? Keep it up.
She's adorable.
She's almost 1 3 now.
And this is Ralph.
Have you ever seen anything so cute? Miniature schnauzers.
Very cute.
ls Mookie down there? Carter's stitching him up.
Carter? Where's Benton? Don't know.
That is one sorry paint job.
The hospital saves the big bucks for the doctors' salaries.
l'm not even talking about myself.
l'm not a resident so they don't pay me anything.
You're telling me you're a freebie? Where's Dr.
Benton? He's supposed to be stitching him up.
Pawned me off on a freebie? Not one word out of you, Mookie James.
You've done enough for one day.
-How do you two-- -Where is Benton? He had to go up to Recovery.
Son of a bitch! You casually mentioned our dinner? To Doug Ross? Yeah.
What's the problem? He's like Dr.
lntercom.
Biggest gossip in the hospital.
The cafeteria workers probably know.
But you do look great in that black dress.
This isn't working.
Dr.
Cvetic? -What? -The patient l mentioned is over here-- Three times you mentioned him.
Three times l told you l didn't have time to see him.
What was your name? Div.
Malik, why don't l just take-- Malik! That's right.
And l told you that three times too, Div.
-Listen, son.
You better-- -Okay, enough.
Stop.
-What will you do now? Arm wrestle? -No, of course not.
Look, l've had five admissions today.
Two attempted suicides, two bipolars who forgot to take lithium and a 40-year-old from the street claiming to be dead, all before lunch.
Your patient will have to wait for the afternoon shift.
Boat collision.
-How long? -EMT's pulling up now.
Connie, clear Trauma 1 , notify the O.
R.
now, please.
His parents are with him.
-Are they hurt? -Thrown free, but they came with him.
Give me O.
R.
-Oscar, what do you got? -David Adler, 1 2, found unconscious.
-Please help him.
-Mr.
and Mrs.
Adler, l'm Dr.
Ross.
-We're taking your son to Trauma.
-He went under.
We couldn't find him.
BP 70, pulse 1 40.
Jerry will tell you where to wait.
-Can we stay with him? -We'll do everything we can.
-Couldn't start an lV or intubate.
-Come with me.
Okay.
All right, here we go.
Get that.
On three.
Hit that buckle.
On three.
One, two, three.
All right.
-Pass me the lidocaine.
-Airway.
-Here you are.
-You got it.
-All right, give me a-- -Six and a half.
All right.
Come on.
Heart rate's low.
Let's give him atropine and epinephrine.
-O-negative's here.
-You ordered it? lnternal jugular? Have to.
His peripheral vein's collapsed.
Here we go.
Connie, will you move them out of the hall? Perfect.
Okay, here we go.
Here it comes.
l think we got this baby.
O.
R.
's prepped.
Benton will take him.
-They can x-ray his C-spine upstairs.
-Let's take him on up.
-Paddles! -Two hundred? And clear.
-Again.
-Three hundred? Clear.
-Give me 360.
-Charging.
And clear.
Okay, he's stabilized.
Let's go! -Let's go! Come on.
-You'll need at least six units.
All right, we got him.
Let's go.
-We just pulled that one out.
-Yes, we did.
-That was like clockwork.
-l wish they all were.
We haven't done a save like that in a while.
So smooth! You were great.
You anticipated every move, every beat.
-Yeah, yeah.
-Yes, l mean it.
l do.
Yeah.
l do.
l do.
l'm sorry.
l shouldn't have done that.
You didn't do it alone.
Listen, l gotta go.
All right, Patrick.
You'll be all right.
Going home, Patrick? His father's here.
And you're going to take it easy for the next few days.
Pick a card, any card.
Oh, pick a card, any card.
Here.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
Let's find your dad.
Let's go, Patrick.
-All right.
-Going home.
Going home? Where am l going? Can l come back and visit? Doug, l got a three-year-old with a fever in 2, a six-month-old in 4.
His mother says he's not keeping anything down.
Okay, l'll be right there.
l'm sorry, l still haven't seen her.
-Seen who? -Linda Farrell.
Oh, right, Jerry.
Okay, thank you.
Michael Carson, age 35, victim of a five-mile-an-hour car accident.
Not a scratch.
No clue why he's comatose.
Results of the CT? Normal.
No improvement with glucose and narcan.
Well, he's non-surgical.
-He's all yours.
-The differential diagnosis of coma, huh? -Good luck.
-You too, on your interview.
Well, let's see what we can come up with.
l asked you to take that boy with the laceration.
-Haleh, what are you doing here? -Why didn't you? Carter could handle it.
What's the problem? The problem is l asked you to treat him and hoped maybe you'd talk to him.
-l had a patient to see in Recovery.
-The hell you did.
You just didn't want to be involved.
Okay.
Whoa, wait a minute.
Am l supposed to be the Big Brothers program? l'm supposed to turn every gang kid in here into Nelson Mandela? l know you'd never do that, Peter.
That's why l never asked you before.
l've known Mookie since he was four years old and he was a sweet kid.
And maybe someone will get through to him and he will be that again someday.
Probably wouldn't be half as tough as getting through to you.
What about metabolic causes? Hypoglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis? Blood tests rule that out.
We know it can't be arrhythmia or an Ml.
Negative CT rules out mass lesion and trauma.
Benton gave him narcan? And an amp of D-50.
The blood was normal except for the elevated white count.
Up to 1 4,500.
Pulse is slowing.
lt's down to 50.
And his BP's dropping.
Well, speed up the lVs and give him What about atropine? Yeah.
Point 5 lV push.
Maybe he had a seizure.
Connie, get a temperature.
He's got a slight abrasion on his tongue, probably from biting it.
Partially compensated metabolic acidosis.
You see that with seizures.
Meningitis? Yeah, could be.
We'll have to do a lumbar puncture.
You ever done one? No, no.
But l've seen it done.
See one, do one, teach one.
-Benton.
-Hey, Sarah.
You changed clothes.
Yeah.
-Who's in there now? -Dalton.
George Dalton? The guy can't close a door, much less an incision.
Yeah, who are you telling? l once saw him try to connect a ureter to a sigmoid colon.
You think that's bad? l watched him do a beautiful right fem-pop bypass on a femoral artery.
The left femoral artery.
What'd he say to the patient? ''There's some good news and, well, there's some bad news.
'' ''Well, sir, the operation was a success.
'' ''But it was the wrong leg.
'' That was terrific.
Thank you, Dr.
Dalton.
lt was good.
lt really was.
Thanks a lot.
Dr.
Benton, you don't mind if we take Dr.
Langworthy first, do you? She's scrubbing on a small bowel at 4:30.
Oh, no.
Not at all.
-Sarah, you ready? -Yeah, sure.
Come on in.
lnsert it between L-4 and L-5.
Tilt it slightly upwards so it's parallel with the bed.
Advance it slowly between the vertebrae then you'll feel a slight pop when the tip punctures the spinal canal.
-l felt it.
-Okay, you're not done yet.
Now remove the stylet from the needle and check for fluid.
Perfect.
Bingo.
Perfect on the first shot.
Crystal clear, Mr.
Carter.
That's one hell of a champagne tap.
Champagne tap? Perfect hit the first time, resident owes you a bottle.
No, no, not the resident, the nurse.
Dr.
Greene, your wife asked if you could meet her at Doc's.
Okay.
Thanks, Jerry.
Couldn't wait till tonight? l wish.
Judge Franklin called.
He said my zoning opinion wasn't what he'd hoped for from a University of Chicago graduate.
-The guy's nuts.
-He's an appellate judge.
So what? lt's the first thing you've written.
What do you expect? Something better which he'll personally lead me in at tonight's meeting.
l called my mom.
She's going to bring Rachel up in the morning.
l'll have to use the car again.
lt's all right.
l'll take the El.
Jen, you'll do fine.
How do you know? This is a ''make it or break it'' job.
l mean, if l blow this chance.
l wanted to spend the night with you.
Well, you'll be back Monday.
Rachel's daycare's having a Halloween party Monday.
-What about Tuesday? -l work Tuesday.
Well, maybe you can get off.
We'll figure this all out.
lt's just gonna take a little time.
l'll call you when l get up there.
l'll see you tomorrow on that hemicolectomy.
You bet.
Dr.
Benton, thank you so much for waiting.
You ready? Good.
This is Dr.
Bradley.
He's in charge of the Starzl Fellowship this year.
Yes.
Please be seated, Dr.
Benton.
Pleasure.
Thank you.
lt isn't often we entertain the candidacy of a second-year resident.
Yes, l know.
l feel very appreciative that you feel my qualifications are worthy of consideration.
Excellent recommendations.
Obviously solid achievement.
As you know, the Starzl Fellowship allows you to study with transplant teams.
Have you researched that area? Well, not directly, but l've done some-- Any extracurricular activities? Yes.
l believe it says-- Excuse me-- Right there.
The AO A Honor Society.
Right.
Back in medical school.
Anything more recent? No.
Peter has shown superior commitment, leadership.
His students come out stronger than any l've seen.
Well, that's very good.
That's very good indeed.
Thank you.
Thank you for taking the time to go through the qualifying process.
We won't make a decision for another two weeks but you'll hear from us then.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thanks, Peter.
You did great.
Hey, Lydia.
Will you give this message to Carter for me? Sure.
l didn't know he was looking for an apartment.
-There's two in my building.
-Yeah? That makes three.
-Good night, ladies.
-Good night, Jerry.
l hired Mookie today.
That gang kid.
CitiKids lntern Program.
He does volunteer work, they suspend his sentence and he stays out of juvenile hall.
He starts next week.
l put you down as his supervisor.
-You don't mind? -lt's been a long day.
l could use a quiet night at home.
The lecture's on advances in cardiomyopathy.
A room full of cardiologists.
l could hit my quota in one night.
Then it's an opportunity that you shouldn't miss.
l'll make it up to you this weekend.
After last weekend, l believe you.
What? Since when are you so eager to be stood up? Even l need rest.
This is the Murdock chart that l've been looking for all afternoon.
Call me crazy, but the black dress looks better without the lab coat.
Just shut up.
l can barely sit here dictating charts like this.
You can in my book.
Happy birthday, Susie-cakes.
Happy birthday to you Everybody! Come on.
Happy birthday You live in a zoo Hey, Billy, this is Susie.
All right.
Happy birthday.
Hey! Hi to you too.
This is my sister, Chloe.
-Oh, and this is Billy.
-And, Billy.
Hi, Billy.
Now, we've come to celebrate.
Oh, man.
Chloe! l know this really cool club where there's dancing.
You'll love it.
l'm gonna go take a look at these.
Why don't you come? l gotta work.
Come on! Congratulations.
Good night.
Jerry said to give this to you.
There's a couple in my building too.
Wow.
This is like the perfect day.
What else are you guys on? Vodka and what else? Nothing.
l just wanted to wish you a happy birthday.
So you showed up drunk with a guy you met an hour ago? Oh, l did not! Billy cares about me so just leave him out of it.
l think he is already out of it.
ls he staying at my place too? Did he help you steal the TV? Oh, you shut up.
You just shut up, Susie.
You are just like Mom.
You're just like Dad.
You just always hate everything that l do.
That is not true and you know it.
Nothing was any different at home for me than it was for you.
-Sure! -Oh, my God.
l don't know why l'm having this conversation.
They never thought l could do anything, you know? Do you think they thought l could become a doctor? l had to prove it to them.
Sometimes l still have to, every day.
You don't know anything about every day! You don't know.
You don't have to worry about paying the rent.
You don't have to worry about where you'll sleep.
You don't have to worry about getting a job! Calm down.
lt's gonna be okay.
You're safe here, Chloe.
Do you understand? Dr.
Benton's going to fix your hand.
And then, if you want, you and l can talk through all this.
Okay? You are pathetic.
What are you doing back? l thought Jennifer was in town.
So did l.
l thought you had a date with the drug lady.
She went to a lecture on cardiomyopathy instead.
Wow.
That stings.
Actually, l'm glad.
She might be a little perky for me.
Perky? l thought you liked perky.
Well, this is true.
But lately l've found myself attracted to sullen and withdrawn and confused.
-You ought to go out with me.
-l am out with you.
Oh, my.
Oh, my.
Come on! l'm the short guy out here.
There's nothing, you know, wrong with a little infantile schoolyard competition to kind of boost the spirits.
Here we go.
A little game of one-on-one, to 21 .
-A buck a point.
-You're on.
All right, you ready? Through the legs.
They're stitching her up now.
She can sleep it off tonight in Room 3 and Benton will find somewhere to throw Billy.
He ought to find somewhere to lock him up.
Told you, l don't like surprises.
-l'm sorry.
-lt's all right.
l'm used to it.
Come on, let me get you out of here.
We can still grab some dinner.
No, l don't really feel like it.
l think l'll go up top, grab some air.
You want some company? Can l come over later? Maybe.
l don't know, Div.
l'll call you.
So you and Doug were great today.
What? The 1 2-year-old, boating accident.
-Thanks.
-Yeah.
Another 1 0 minutes, we would've lost him.
l'll see you later.
Hey.
Come on in.
Word came down from the O.
R.
The kid from the boating accident came through well.
He'll be fine.
That's great news.
Pretty strange day, huh? You could say that.
l could live the whole thing all over again.
Doug, John asked me to move in with him.
l thought l should tell you that l told him l would.
Did you decide this this afternoon? We talked about it for a while.
-But did you decide to tell him today? -lt doesn't matter.
What happened with us this afternoon, does that matter? What happened was an accident.
There are no accidents.
Look, it's great.
Really, it's great.
Thanks for letting me know.
l can't find anybody to drink this with me.
l don't know that l'm the best candidate.
-You are the only one with a birthday.
-Oh, please.
However, you're not the only one with a crazy family.
My dad says you should never, ever do this with a bottle of champagne.
Now, if that's not crazy.
Are you ready? l don't think so, but okay.
-Here.
-Thanks.
You know, Carter, this is a whole side of you l've never seen before.
What do you mean? l come up here a lot.
You do? lf you were Dr.
Benton's student, you'd come up here a lot too.
However, today was an excellent day.
l performed my first lumbar puncture.
-How was it? -Really scary.
Dr.
Greene talked me through it.
The patient did have meningitis.
Now he'll be okay.
l guess that's worth a scare.
You know, you can call us by our first names.
You call me Carter.
Yeah, well, that's different somehow.
So your sister, she's really stuck on this guy with the greasy hair? l doubt she knows his last name.
Why? l was gonna ask her out.
Who are you? l'm just kidding Susan.
l get it John.
No, it doesn't sound right.
Okay.
Call me Carter.

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