St. Elsewhere (1982) s01e10 Episode Script

1
[Squawking] Previously on St. elsewhere.
I've been wishing that Myra wouldn't answer the phone.
I've been wishing she wasn't there. I've been
wishing this whole thing was just a dream.
Why were you quacking around Mrs. Pechar's room?
This time, I'm leaving.
For once, you stay and you deal with it.
Tonight on St. elsewhere.
A patient of mine was treated last night by Dr. Bullfinch.
So? So nobody's ever heard of Dr. Bullfinch.
I'm Dr. Paxton. Ah, you're the Bradshaw fellow.
Well, it seems silly to call
anyone as pretty as you a "fellow."
And good morning to you, Mrs. Petschek. Dr. Bullfinch.
"Please excuse Victor ehrlich
from surgery today. He has a cold."
What is this? A note from your doctor.
You're about to have a baby.
- When?
- You're in labor.
My wife and I have split up.
I'm sorry to hear that.
You better scrub this afternoon,
or I'll make sure you're back down
In the animal research lab like that.
I know how difficult this is for you.
- But I think you should see your baby.
- I don't wanna see him.
[Body crumples on floor]
To qualify angiographically, our patients have to have
70% or greater reduction in arterial diameter.
What are you doin' here? [Craig continues, indistinct]
Covering for cerone. His best friend left his wife.
Lame excuse. Not when you consider he left cerone's wife.
I don't get it.
Cerone's wife dumps him to be with his best friend.
Now the friend dumps her. It's pretty weird.
Cerone says she's a basket case,
and they both think this guy's schizophrenic.
Well, don't ever date anyone crazier than yourself.
You can never win. [Scoffs] Tell me about it.
Come on. Can't anyone answer that?
Dr. Ehrlich.
Could you repeat the question?
Dr. Samuels, you seem to be
senior staff member in attendance.
- Would you care to respond?
- Pericardial tamponade.
It's relatively uncommon, but potentially fatal.
- Criteria.
- Seven days after surgery,
look for prominent jugular
veins, increased central pressure,
decreased cardiac index or a double
heart shadow on the chest X-ray.
Thank you. Who's on my service today?
Cerone is scheduled, but he's out of town. Who's covering?
Oh, no. I am.
Well, for the patient's sake, Dr. Ehrlich,
I hope you're more attentive than you are now.
I'll see you this afternoon in the O.R. okay. That's it.
[Laughs] Oh, man. Who did this? Did what?
Wrote a medication order on one
of my patient's charts in crayon.
[Laughs] Recognize the signature?
Looks like bull-something to me.
Mmm. Bullfinch.
Never heard of him. Neither have I.
Great. Any suggestions? No. Do you have any suggestions?
Rolodex. Good luck.
[Knocking] It's open.
[Door opens]
Dr. Auschlander? Yes?
Hello. I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Paxton.
Ah. You're the Bradshaw fellow. That's right.
Well, it seems silly to call
anyone as pretty as you a "fellow."
Please sit down. Thank you.
A belated congratulations. I'm sorry
I wasn't here to greet you myself,
but I was out of town visiting my grandchildren.
Don't even think twice about it.
Now, let's see, as I recall,
you did your residency at the Cleveland clinic.
That's right. Fine hospital. I
understand the city's coming back too.
Well, their phrase is, "new York may be the big apple,
but Cleveland's a plum."
[Moans] [Laughing]
I'm really thrilled about having this
chance to work with you, Dr. Auschlander.
I hope you won't be disappointed.
You have a remarkable reputation.
Flattery will get you everywhere, doctor.
But I think the word's out. Better work with
him now he won't be around much longer.
My health has become grist for the medical gossip mill.
You do know I have cancer?
Yes. Dr. Wyler told me right
before I left Africa. I'm sorry.
Don't be. There's not time enough to be sorry.
Is he still working 20 hours a day?
Every day. You cannot slow him down.
You know, there were doctors with more experience
In the field of endocrinology than you.
But you had the widest range of experience,
and wyler said you worked even harder than he did.
Well, the peace corps can do that to you.
[Knocking] Come in.
- Your patients are here.
- Have them come in.
I'm showing a chaplin film this morning
for some of my terminal patients.
Laughter seems to be the best medicine.
It's too early to quantify that, but
that's where you'll eventually come in.
I look forward to it.
If there's anything you need,
let me know. Thank you. I will.
Wonderful to meet you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye.
I don't know. Maybe my biorhythms are off.
Whatever it is, Craig's not gonna buy it.
There's one thing that might get you out
of surgery this afternoon. Turn around.
What are you doing? You'll see.
Here you go.
"Please excuse Victor ehrlich
from surgery today. He has a cold."
What is this? A note from your doctor.
I used to write 'em in high school.
Got me out of two years of phys ed.
I believe it. I've seen your body.
I don't know. Maybe I'll just crash in on call.
Don't bother. There's two "gomers" sleeping in there.
Gomers in on call. Is nothing sacred?
Uh, Jack no, I can't cover for you. I'm already on call.
Wait, listen. A patient of mine was
treated last night by Dr. Bullfinch.
So? So nobody's ever heard of Dr. Bullfinch.
You sure you got the right name?
Of course I'm sure. It's written
right here in green and orange.
Check with Dr. Westphall. I gotta start rounds.
[Fiscus] You know, auschlander's
a man of vision. Oh, really?
He's brought in an incredible piece of anatomy
Five foot 5, blonde, a balcony
you could do Shakespeare from.
I see. And this makes him a great humanitarian, right?
Sure. A lesser man would keep her for himself.
I asked her to come down here to check on a lady
Who's got what I think's a bad liver.
If you behave yourself, I'll
introduce you to her. No, thanks.
Come on. I owe you.
Well, okay. I mean, one more
woman in my life can't hurt, right?
There she is. Hey, Nancy. Wait.
Oh, my god. [Fiscus] told ya.
I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.
Nancy Paxton, this is Ben Samuels. Ben.
This is Nancy Paxton. Nancy!
All I got was a handshake. What are you doing here?
It's so good to see you. I don't believe this.
The last time I saw you, you were,
what, a junior or senior at nyu.
You were just beginning
medical school. I don't believe this.
Nancy's sister, Janet, and I went
to school together. Oh, great.
How is she? She's dropped out of medicine.
She lives on a ranch in Colorado
with her husband and two kids. Really?
Yeah. So you became the doctor in the family.
Right. I don't wanna break up this reunion,
but we have a lady with a distended liver.
Excuse us. Oh. Uh
We should talk. Yeah, definitely.
Okay. I'm around.
Donald, one of these days, I'm gonna come to work,
and this hospital isn't gonna be here.
Someone's gonna have dismantled this
old place and sold it off brick by brick.
With the current budget deficit,
it'll probably be our creditors.
I can't believe the paperwork I'm
gonna have to do to get those beds back.
And good morning to you, Mrs. Petschek.
Dr. Bullfinch. I'm so glad to see you.
And how did we sleep last night? Like a log.
Any more pain in your abdomen? None to speak of.
I'm feeling so much better.
Ah. That's the kind of news we doctors like to hear.
You're gonna be out of this place in no time.
Thanks to you, doctor. And please, call me Evelyn.
Evelyn, I'm going to make a slight
adjustment in your medication order.
30 c.C.'S of mylanta, two "q" hours instead of "q" four,
and we'll add to that 300 milligrams of cimetidine
"Q" eight hours.
Should I mention this to Dr. Chandler?
No, don't bother. I'll tell him myself.
Two doctors. How lucky can you get?
Evelyn, can I ask you a personal question?
Of course.
Can you samba? Why, yes.
Leonard and I took lessons on our Caribbean cruise.
Oh, excellent.
Until we meet again, mon pet it chou-Fleur.
Oh, Dr. Bullfinch.
Oh, what's blue cross?
I guess it's safe to assume you
don't have medical insurance.
What's medical insurance?
[Paxton] How often do you drink?
I only drink beer. I never touch the hard stuff.
How much do you drink a day? Just a couple.
The other doctor thought it might be my liver.
My whole stomach is cramping on me, and my back hurts.
Have you ever had your appendix out? Yes.
How about any constipation? No.
Nausea at all? Do you have diarrhea? No.
[Siren approaching] We'll get to you as soon as possible.
How come those machines never work?
Or are they supposed to be sculptures?
Don't hassle the lady, twerp.
That's Dr. Twerp to you.
Bring him in here.
Where's X-ray?
We need to find out if there's
any damage to the axillary artery
And the brachial plexus.
Okay, on three. One, two, three.
[Groans]
Can you make a fist, sir? Good.
Lucky nobody took this out. It saved a lot of blood loss.
We'll wail till things stabilize, check
the x-rays, and then I'll clean you up.
This happen on the golf course, sir? [Muffled] Yes.
If I were you, I'd find a friendlier foursome.
We're gonna have to cut your clothes off, okay, sir? Okay.
[Moaning] Just take it easy. Careful now.
If my back goes out, I can collect disability, right?
Listen to this one. According to his playing partner,
Mr. Grossman here missed a three-foot
putt, got angry and threw his club.
Unfortunately, it hit his golf cart, snapped in two,
and he gets impaled on the rebound.
I make the putt,
I break 90 for the first time.
- If it were up to me, I'd have given it to you.
- Thank you.
You're pregnant. What?
You're pregnant, miss barnett. That's impossible.
Daniels, tell me what you hear.
A healthy little heartbeat. Congratulations.
But why does it hurt so bad? I mean, the pain's killing me.
You're in labor.
- You're about to have a baby.
- When?
As far as I can tell, any time now.
[Moans]
[Cries]
How you doin'?
I've had better Saturdays.
Mr. Grossman, if this had been Excalibur and I were Arthur,
I'd be king of England.
Then again, maybe this makes me Jack nicklaus.
Here. Have a souvenir. Thanks.
It only went through the belly
of the pectoralis major muscle.
There's no artery or nerve damage. You're a lucky man.
If I was a lucky man, I would've made the putt.
[Chuckles] See you around.
Well, what is it boy or girl?
Circumcision. Oh.
Mrs. Petschek, I'm Dr. Westphall.
I remember you. You do?
Sure. You took care of my husband
Leonard's kidney condition three years ago.
Ah. Saved his life.
Is there something wrong with my kidneys?
No. Just wanted to see how you're feeling.
Much better, thank you.
The pain in my stomach is
gone. [Knocks on table] Thank god.
Miss petschek had a bleeding ulcer.
Stress. Leonard says I worry too much.
Dr. Bullfinch agreed. Dr. Bullfinch?
He was here last night and again this morning.
A nice, good-looking man like you two.
You know him. Oh, sure.
He was so kind and so concerned.
We talked for the longest time.
Then he prescribed some kind of medicine,
told me to take two teaspoons before meals.
It would cure my ruffled feathers, he said.
Can I see the new medicine? It worked. I slept like a baby.
Here it is.
Oh, this has a crack in this bottle,
Mrs. Petschek. I'll replace it for you.
Before bedtime? Before bedtime.
Give my regards to your husband.
Leonard died last spring. Oh, I'm sorry.
He was walking over to brigham's
with my beautiful collie, laddie,
to pick me up a pint of mocha chip.
Leonard liked vanilla himself.
A simple man deserves a simple ice cream.
Coming back, they got killed by a hit-and-run car.
"Hit and run." That's what the police told me.
You never know.
Now, at least my laddie is always with me.
He's stuffed?
[Knocks]
Uh, did you have your husband stuffed too, miss petschek?
Oh, no. I had Leonard cremated.
His ashes are on the mantel in the living room.
What do you think I am, sick?
Chandler, have the lab break this down, stat.
Hope we don't have to pump her stomach. Yes, sir.
Keep an eye on her. Why isn't she on psych?
We tried to get her up there, but
they said they didn't have any room.
Get someone down here from
psych liaison, have a look at her.
Keep your eyes open for our Dr. Bullfinch. Yeah.
Hello, Gina.
How are you feeling? Tired.
Your baby is doing just fine.
Because he was a bit premature, a pediatrician
is performing a few routine tests.
But don't worry about it. It's strictly precautionary.
I'll be able to bring him to you soon.
I don't want to see him.
I don't understand.
I can't be a mother. I just can't do it.
Have you called your husband?
I'm not married.
I tried calling Richie to tell him.
But after he lost his job, he
said he was moving to Houston.
Richie thinks there's a lot of opportunities in Houston.
Information says he's not in the book.
I can't keep this baby.
Have you reached your family?
My father doesn't answer the phone.
He had a stroke. He's alone?
No. Well, I take care of him before and after work.
What do you do?
I make doughnuts at At Danny's doughnut shop.
I sit and I talk to my father until he falls asleep,
and then I go in and I open the
shop about 3:00 in the morning.
Mr. A he's my boss says it's hard
to get people to work that early.
But I like it.
There's this big glass window in the kitchen.
I like watchin' the sun come up and people goin' to work.
Sometimes they stop and they watch me.
I wave at them, and they wave back.
Do you like doughnuts? [Chuckling] Jelly doughnuts.
Can't resist. Me neither.
I have to call Mr. A. And tell him
I won't be in to work tomorrow.
He's gonna be real mad. I'll call
him for you. I'm sure he'll understand.
I can't skip work because of this.
[Crying] This whole thing is just such a mess.
It isn't fair, Dr. Paxton To my father or to me.
[Sniffles] It isn't fair.
Gina, I know how difficult this is for you,
but I think you should see your baby.
I don't know.
We'll work through this together.
Everything's gonna be okay.
Just try and get a little rest, all right?
Hibernating through the winter?
Provisions for E.R. the vending machines are on the Fritz.
You playing tonight? Oh, no, can't. Got a date.
That's too bad. The poker game's not the same without you.
Spare me. You must be a man short.
How do you know that? Intuition.
Really could use your wallet. Yeah, I bet.
[Morrison] Myra called the house last night.
I don't wanna hear about it.
She said you haven't called home
since you left. She's worried about you.
Then tell her I'm okay.
You wanna stay at our place till this blows over?
Your wife would really love that, wouldn't she?
Nina and I aren't taking sides, Peter.
We happen to like you both.
What do you say? No, thanks.
I've got my hotel room down in the combat zone.
It's not elegant, but it's affordable.
You really know how to punish yourself,
don't you? Hey. Save the lectures, Jack.
How could you be eight months' pregnant and not know it?
You'd think that once she stopped
menstruating, she'd know something was up.
If my period's more than a couple
days late, I start checking my calendar.
Well, never underestimate how uninformed people are.
I once gave this lecture to a
group of teenagers in Cleveland.
And I said that the best method
of birth control was abstinence.
So this girl raises her hand
and asks if it comes in liquid form,
'cause she has trouble swallowing pills. [Laughs]
I guess birth control isn't at
the top of everyone's priority list.
Well. I guess you ran into a
lot of that in the peace corps.
The third world is not exactly a walking
endorsement for zero population growth.
It can be really depressing.
Still, it must have been pretty exciting being in Africa.
Mm-hmm.
A village chieftain once offered me three
water buffalo and a yak to become his wife.
What happened? I held out for
another yak. He decided I wasn't worth it.
Men. [Laughs]
What you lookin' at?
I definitely got a thing for older women,
particularly women in white.
Forget it. She's not interested in you.
Hey, don't take shots just 'cause I'm
into females and you're into pigeons.
Mmm.
How's, uh, your pal, Ralph, the bird man doin'?
Oh, he's okay. I let him out every
now and then so he can flap his wings.
You lookin' for trouble? He's harmless.
Uh-huh.
Skip breakfast? I'm carbohydrate packing.
If runners can do it for stamina,
then doctors can do it for surgery.
A lesser man would go pharmaceuticals.
Stuff's bad news. It'd make me
too wired. I'd drop my scalpel.
What's that gray stuff? That's clam sauce.
Could've fooled me.
Hello, Mr. Ullman. How are we feeling today?
Lousy. Who are you?
I'm Dr. Bullfinch.
Listen. I'm not gonna sign any more release forms.
I signed one for that Dr. Craig,
and I signed one for that
foreigner that's gonna put me under.
And no more. That's it. I don't want you to sign anything.
Then what do you want? I want to wish you good luck today.
I heard Dr. Craig's diagnosis of your case this morning.
Believe me, you're in good hands. He's the best.
- What did he pay you to say that?
- Seven dollars.
You don't sound very confident in his ability.
Confident? Listen, just between you and me,
I don't think I'm gonna make it off that table.
How come? Well, I've always been unlucky.
Why should it be different now?
Do you have a family, Mr. Ullman?
No, not anymore.
See, I'm what they call a diehard Red Sox fan.
That's not an easy thing to be.
So when my wife started rooting for the Yankees
During DiMaggio's hitting streak, I dumped her.
And in 1958, my son followed the Dodgers out to California.
I haven't talked to him since.
- I see.
- You, uh you got a team?
The orioles, cardinals and the blue jays.
[Blowing raspberry] Take a walk.
Hey, I'm for the underdog, just like you.
Remember that certain feeling in the air
On opening day at Fenway?
It starts as a whisper in the bleachers
And ends up reverberating all over the park.
"This could be the year."
"This could be the year."
Everyone senses it, and everyone believes it.
This could be the year for you too, Mr. Ullman.
Fill your lungs with it. There's so much to live for.
Yeah? Like what?
Imagine this.
It's late in the afternoon on one
of those crisp Autumn weekends.
The air is filled with the aroma
Of burning leaves and pumpkin pie.
The Red Sox are in the world series.
You look up at the sky and catch the sight
Of a migrating flock soaring in perfect formation.
It gets smaller and smaller and
finally disappears into the setting sun.
Can you see it, Mr. Ullman?
A picture of aerodynamic precision
Each one a member of the team,
each helping the other along on the journey.
You know, I I know why they fly that way.
It it cuts down the wind
resistance for the guy in the back.
Well, there are a lot of theories.
Personally, I think the bird in
the front is the one with the map.
[Laughing] The one with the map. Yeah.
Think of the surgical team as the migrating flock.
Think of Dr. Craig as big bird.
Take it easy, Mr. Ullman.
Dr. Craig. I've gotta talk to you.
I'm late, ehrlich. Dr. Craig.
I can't do it. Do what?
The surgery, sir. I don't think I can assist today.
Why is that? Because I've been on call 36 hours running
And I don't think I can last through five hours of surgery.
Besides, I don't feel well. You don't feel well.
No. I'm headachy, and I think I've got a fever.
This is a hospital, ehrlich, not kindergarten.
Listen, ehrlich. Surgeons are like the marines.
A few good men, and you have to be special to cut it.
Sniveling and whining doesn't cut it.
When I was your age, I'd give my right arm
To assist in in bypass surgery.
If you want to continue your surgical residency, ehrlich,
you'd better scrub this afternoon.
Or I'll make sure you're back down
in the animal research lab like that.
Understood? Yes, sir.
Unless you enjoy watching flea-ridden mongrels
Smoke menthol filters through their throat.
No, sir. I didn't think so.
I had dinner on the wharf, went back to my hotel.
The next thing I knew, I couldn't breathe.
I thought I was a goner.
I really thought my time was up.
The swelling in your throat's gone down now.
And you say it wasn't food poisoning.
'Cause if it was, I'd sue the hell out of that restaurant.
But you said it wasn't.
Dr. White? Is that correct?
Uh, no, it was an allergic reaction.
You mean no more crab meat cocktail or broiled lobster?
[Scoffs] What's next, chocolate cake?
Well, guess I should look on the bright side.
With all the nuclear waste in the ocean,
it won't be long before all the fish are strobing anyway.
When can I leave the hospital?
- Dr. White?
- Would you excuse me for a minute please?
[Throwing up]
God. [Spits]
You okay in there? [Ehrlich] yeah, sure, I guess.
[Toilet flushes]
Ehrlich, is that you?
[Moans, clears throat]
Yeah. How did you know it was me?
I recognized your retch. [Sighs]
[Razor whirring] It's either stress or the clam sauce.
I don't know.
Man, you look terrible. [Sighs]
You're so pale, you're transparent. [Exhales]
You want me to get you out of surgery this afternoon?
I gotta make the program, or Craig'll kill me.
I'll take care of Craig. Oh, really?
I heard about your last fight.
No. I can handle it, I think.
[Sighs] Boy. What a mess.
What are you afraid of?
What do you mean?
I mean, what's the worst thing that could happen today?
I don't know. Could you be a little more specific?
Okay.
I can, uh, do something stupid during the operation,
and Craig will crucify me, and the patient will die.
Yeah, that could happen.
It's the fear of failure One of the two big fears.
The other one's the fear of success.
Success? Yeah. It's kind of a head game.
You get in the way of your own skills, sabotage yourself.
Everybody's afraid of something. What about you?
You don't see me shaving with a blade, do you?
[Whirring] That's fear of failure.
You gotta psych yourself. Then
you can deal with the pressure.
Listen. You know, when I was swimming competitively,
you know what I used to do?
I used to shave down before every race.
Every hair on my body. [Chuckles]
It didn't make me any faster, but it
made me think that I was. You understand?
Wait. You shaved off all your body
hair, and there's no money involved?
Every bit. Believe me, it wasn't worth it.
The stuff really itches when it grows back.
Look, you're gonna be fine, all right?
- I mean, you're very good.
- [Scoffs]
Don't fight it.
Yeah.
[Muffled sob]
You all right?
Oh. Dr. Westphall.
Yeah.
You wanna talk? No, not really.
My wife and I have split up, and, uh
I I just can't seem to get, uh
I'm sorry to hear that.
You know, Peter, I know how enormous the strain can be
Between your personal life and
your work here at the hospital.
Why don't you take the rest of
the night off? No, no. I'm all right.
I've got a a patient there,
and I better get back to her.
[Sniffles]
I'll be all right. Really.
Suppose the tumor is confined to the right-upper quadrant.
Well, the likelihood of omental metastases is at least 25%.
Yeah. Doctor, your mask.
Oh, thank you, doctor.
[Paxton] Hello, Gina.
I thought you two might like to get acquainted.
Now, be sure and support the
back of his head with your arm.
[Murmurs]
Like this? That's right.
Oh, isn't he cute?
Look at those little hands. I know. Isn't it amazing?
- You going to breast-feed?
- [Softly] What?
Have you decided on a name for him yet?
Yes.
Rex. Rex. That's a good choice.
"Rex" means king.
"Regina" means queen.
When I was a little girl, my
daddy used to call me "Princess."
He said that only a Princess could grow up to be a queen.
When I grew up, he said I was a
dairy queen queen of the cows.
I still haven't decided what I'm gonna tell my father yet.
We'll work something out.
I always wanted to have a baby.
Well, you have one now, and he is beautiful.
[Crying]
- What do I do now?
- Just rock him gently back and forth.
- It's all right.
- Here.
I'm real tired right now. Okay. You get some sleep.
We'll talk about this all again
in the morning, all right, Gina?
Good-bye, Rex.
Jack, you in there? What's this?
We gotta talk. Oh.
Is that invite still open?
The thought of goin' back to that
empty hotel room isn't very appealing.
Have you thought about going home? Come on, man.
Right, right. I'm supposed to
stay out of this one. I forgot.
This is the backdoor key.
If it sticks, just give it a shove.
Nina's working late at the paper tonight,
so you should have the run of the place.
There's some leftovers in the fridge.
If you want to crash, the sheets are in the hall closet.
I'll find 'em. Thanks, Jack. What are friends for?
See you tomorrow.
[Exhales]
♪[Background: Classical]
Dr. Craig? Yes, ehrlich.
Does the diagonal branch appear
to have adequate collateralization?
Oh, yes. All the blood vessels
surrounding the artery are distended.
Okay.
All right, let's release the aortic clamp.
[Kochar] Uh. Uh, doctor. What is it, "punjab"?
Looks like a second-degree heart block.
He has no primary history, and his ventricular rate is 36.
And his blood pressure is 100 over 60.
All right. Let's get the patient on a pacer.
Ehrlich, step around here please.
Pacing wire, please.
Ehrlich, you're gonna insert the temporary pacing wire.
Dr. Craig, I don't think I
Ehrlich, you have seen pacing
wire placed, right? Yes, I have, but
At St. eligius, you see one, you do one, you teach one.
Now, advance the wire until you enter the right ventricle.
And for Pete sakes, don't get it stuck in the valve.
Otherwise, we'll have multifocal p.V.C.'S on our hands.
Come on, ehrlich. Pop it in.
A trained seal can do this, ehrlich.
Dr. Craig. Today, ehrlich!
Can somebody take this? I'm having a bit of
[Body crumples on floor]
[Sighs]
Dr. Mainthow, step in please.
Dr. Craig. Ehrlich, how you feelin'?
Better, thanks. Good.
Dr. Craig, I'm sorry. I guess I really dropped the ball.
Baloney. The operation was a success.
Listen. Just now, we added 15 years to a man's life.
You have nothing to be sorry for. But I fainted.
Believe me, ehrlich. You're not the
first doctor to pass out in surgery.
I was assisting Raymond Johnson in '57,
and he threw an embolism right
in the middle of a bowel resection.
Dropped dead [loud slap] Right on top of the patient.
First time I ever had to tell a family
That the operation was a success, but the doctor died.
Should have seen their faces.
You look exhausted. You'd
better get some rest. I will. Thanks.
Do you have a car? No. I usually take the bus.
Good. You shouldn't drive in your condition.
[Footsteps departing] [Door closes]
She's in the Incubator now, and she's doing just fine.
[Crying]
[Sighs] Hi, Lucy.
Hi. It's quiet, nice.
Yeah. Even a circus gets an intermission.
Who are these for? Oh, Mr. Hennessey in 102.
Oh, dear. He liked getting flowers.
Yeah. I thought I wouldn't let them go to waste.
Right. I tell you what. Send them up to miss Bailey in 129.
She hasn't had a visitor since last Thursday.
There's something weird going on in 125.
125. Who's in 125? Mrs. Petschek?
What is it? What's the matter? You'd better check it out.
[Man, woman] I'm in heaven, I'm in
heaven and my heart beats so ♪
Hi, nurse Rosenthal. Come on in. We're having a party.
You know Dr. Bullfinch, don't you?
Oh, hello, nurse. Care to dance?
Uh, no. My card is full.
Suit yourself. ♪[Humming, vocalizing]
Wait right here. I'll be right back. [Sighs]
[Together] when we're out
together dancing cheek to cheek ♪♪
[Woman on P.A.] Maintenance to E.R.
Maintenance to E.R.
Nurse, a patient in maternity Gina barnett
Is not in her bed, and her clothes are gone.
Real fat lady? She walked out of here half an hour ago.
She just left? I don't know.
So it is true? It's all under
control, Mark. He's been found.
That fruitcake has been wandering
around here treating the patients.
Boy, that's rich.
Before you know it, some loony will be after your job.
There he is.
Dr. Bullfinch, I presume?
Dr. Westphall. Dr. Craig.
What did you put in the bottle you gave Mrs. Petschek?
A dietary supplement of vitamins and minerals
To give a shine to her coat and a spring to her walk.
The prognosis is excellent, doctor.
Dr. Beale, I'd like to talk to you.
Would you keep an eye on Ralph, Mark?
You stand over here. Right there.
How'd he get loose this time? I don't know.
I want this guy under lock and key. If you
can't handle him, we'll transfer him to roxbury.
I think that'd be a mistake. I will not have
this man running around here playing doctor.
Dr. Craig. Dr. Bullfinch.
Nice work today, doctor. Well, thank you, sir.
I assisted him today. What the hell's going on around here?
Come on, Ralph. Come on. Let's go.
Hasta la vista, Dr. Craig.
Hey, pearle! I wanna talk to you.
[Sighs]
I thought that was you, Dr. Paxton.
The slumped shoulders are a dead giveaway.
I've been asked to address the Harvard
medical school tomorrow morning
On hepatic endocrinopathies.
Now, the problem is, the students
have gotten too smart for me.
Their questions are too imposing.
Would you care to help me fend them off?
[Both laughing]
I would be honored to. So, how goes it?
[Sighs]
A patient of mine gave birth this morning
And walked out of here about
an hour ago abandoned the baby.
That's very sad.
I've spent the last two years living in an environment
That nurtures death,
that is so spiteful of life.
Babies dying in their mothers' arms,
their stomachs swollen with starvation.
And always it's the children who are the innocent victims.
Perhaps the mother will return.
I keep trying to convince myself of that.
How can you let your child go when you don't have to,
when its fate isn't already decided
by by drought or disease or war?
In any case, the child will be well taken care of.
I know that. I'll see to it.
The lecture's at 10:00.
Shall we meet about 9:00 for a cup of coffee?
Good night, Nancy. Good night.
The doctors all complain about
being overworked, and, since I've read
All the back issues of the new England journal of medicine,
I figured I could help.
It's against the law to impersonate a doctor. Have a seat.
It's not against the law of nature, Hugh.
I'm helping to protect an endangered
species. Oh, and what's that?
The creatures of the earth who've been abandoned.
Once left alone, they cannot survive. Like Mrs. Petschek.
She needs someone to talk with, someone to share her pain.
I gave her vitamins. We danced and laughed.
It felt good. You sound real positive, Ralph.
Hugh.
Between you and me, the eagle has landed.
I've stopped eating garbage. There's no
future in it. Good. Good for you, Ralph.
I got a letter from Jane yesterday. Oh? How is she?
Great. Listen to this.
"You are my eagle. You are the noblest of birds.
"Soon I will be by your side,
"and we will soar to a place
where time stands still forever.
Wait for me. I love you."
It's signed, "your tweety bird, Jane."
It's a beautiful letter, isn't it? Yes. Yes, it is.
Can I see it?
Like these goldfish.
Hi, fishies.
Putting them in a bowl isn't
trapping them. It's saving them.
There's, uh there's no postmark on this letter, Ralph.
If one left, the other would die.
But they won't, because you
nurture them both. You keep them alive.
You wrote this letter to yourself, didn't you, Ralph?
Put me back in my cage, Hugh. I want to be safe too.
It's too dangerous out there.
You'll take care of me till Jane comes back, won't you?
Yes.
The reason why your mother taught
you to lock the bathroom door, Dr. Paxton,
is to protect you from guys like me.
Great legs, Nancy. Always had great legs.
Hello, Ben.
So, how's it goin'? Tough day?
Well, for an opener, it was pretty grim.
Welcome to St. eligius.
You, uh, mind if I join you? Upstairs.
You know it makes me crazy when you tell me to get on top.
[Laughs]
Oh. Room with a view, huh?
Well, your sense of humor has not
improved with the passage of years.
[Laughs, sighs]
[Sighs]
So, how's it going?
[Laughing]
Well, there's a great icebreaker. "How's it goin'?"
Well, do you remember when you used to try
to make a neat little package of your life
Put everything on a timetable?
At 35, I figured I'll be living in the south of France
Retired, with the wife and the little ruggers.
Instead, I'm spending my life working
in a hospital in the south of Boston.
"How's it goin'?"
I'm surviving. Dreams die hard.
What the hell am I doing up here?
I feel like I'm in a Doris day movie.
You know,
I used to fall in love in four-year cycles.
Fifteen, 19, 23 and then finally at 27.
Then it stopped. Thirty-one, 35 washouts.
And now you come back into my
life, and it's it's like you never left.
You remember the Christmas we spent together?
You, me, that jerk Carl from an
and what was his girlfriend's name?
Allison. Allison. [Chuckling]
You never liked Carl, and I could not figure it out.
After all, he did introduce us. Reason enough, right?
Oh, very funny.
Oh, I still hear from Carl. Why?
I married him.
You're kidding? Oh, I wish I were.
I wish. I married him,
I sent him through law school, and I divorced him.
[Both laughing] Well, you saved the court costs at least.
Oh. Carl was a jerk.
Ten years we're finally starting to agree.
We got along all right.
We argued like crazy. Well, the sex was good.
The sex was great.
Do you know what I remember? What?
I remember
Standing on fifth Avenue in front of fao schwarz.
And it was snowing and windy and my feet were freezing,
and I wanted to go back to the hotel.
You were staring in a store
window at the Christmas display,
and you looked so beautiful.
So innocent and so childlike.
You turned around and caught
me looking at you, and you said,
"hey, don't be sad. It's Christmas,
and we've got each other."
And then you hugged me.
You held me really tight.
And the more we held on to each other, the quieter it got.
All the traffic sounds disappeared.
And the only thing I could hear
was the sound of your breathing.
I have never felt that connected
To another human being before or since.
It was the single most perfect moment of my life.
No, Ben.
[Mews]