St. Elsewhere (1982) s01e13 Episode Script
Family History
1
- Previously on St. elsewhere.
- This boy's dead and gone.
- He's not dead till I say he's dead.
- I'm here for a sex change.
[Guffaws] - Do you remember what
happened the night you were shot?
I don't even remember being shot.
- You have no right to tamper with my life.
- Who am I?
- I don't know.
- Tonight on St. elsewhere.
No, Peter. Come here.
Don't, Peter, don't. Why not?
[Sighs] I just don't want it right now.
I really got interested in it when I was a woman.
When you were a woman?
Mark, al and I are lovers.
Any operations to the head, nose, ears, throat?
No. Do you pick your nose?
Just enough to keep it respectable.
He's my son! Let me go! Take him out of there!
Keep him away from me! Keep him
away from me! Okay, settle down.
Well, today's the day. Your anniversary?
Bob overland, sex change operation.
You're gonna have to get over this.
You're gonna give yourself an ulcer.
Last night, Ellen and I discussed
it for hours. Didn't do any good.
I seem to be the only one that feels this way.
Mark, why don't you go talk to Hugh beale?
I talked to beale about talking to Bob.
I'm not the crazy one.
Oh, Mark. Uh, I was hoping if you had a few moments,
we could we could talk.
You're busy.
No, that's all right.
What's the problem?
Worried about the operation? No, not at all.
How do you feel? I feel confident, good.
Except for the fact that you've been avoiding me.
Well, I have to tell you, Bob, as much as
I've tried, I can't come to terms with this.
I think you're making a terrible mistake, and
you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
Well, at least, uh
At least it would be my life, huh?
Well, I hope someday, Mark, that we can talk
You know, there's
There's one thing that you can't do,
and that's to make new old friends.
They're a lot like hearts, Mark.
It's not that easy to replace them.
Hmm?
Good morning. Hiya, Dr. Chandler.
You hear anything lately from
the police? They find who shot me?
No, no leads yet. Given any more
thought to what sterling means?
"No, no leads yet." Your parents
will be here in a little while.
What'd you say my name was? David steward?
Yes. I don't like it.
I've gotten used to John Doe number 12.
Listen. I've seen pictures, fingerprints,
blood type everything matches.
You are David steward from
port dalhousie in Ontario, Canada.
And these people are your parents.
I believe you, it's just that what?
I prayed last night that a miracle would happen.
That somehow when I see them, it will all click into place.
The miracle is that you're still alive.
Now everything else is gonna be a long, slow ride.
I know. When they get here, I'll be ready.
You see him, man? No, I-I don't.
Well, keep lookin', man. He's in there.
No, Mr. Singer, I'm sorry. You have
everything else in your ear but an ant.
When's the last time you used a washcloth?
Pete, your wife's on the phone.
I'll be right there. Okay.
Now don't do that.
It's raw enough in there already.
Hello.
Yeah, yeah.
No, no, no, that's okay. That's okay.
Yeah, he told me. It's just that
I was working late, you know,
and I thought it would be too
late to call you when I got off.
Yeah?
Yeah, listen. I've been thinking the same thing myself.
And, uh mm-hmm.
Okay, uh okay, I can get an
hour off this afternoon sometime.
If that's, you know Yeah. About 2:00.
Okay, that sounds real good.
Okey-dokey. All right. Bye-bye.
[Clears throat] That was Myra.
I gotta go over there to pick up a few things.
I mean, I got, like, two pair of socks and three shirts.
[Siren wailing in distance] It's ridiculous, you know.
I gotta get back in there.
[Woman on P.A.] Mrs. Weller, please report to your room.
Mrs. Weller, to your room.
Okay, let's see how it is.
Oh, there's still a little.
So, I'll bleed to death.
Mr. Heller, in the great majority of
cases, the bleeding contains itself.
So tell my corpuscles.
It's never been this bad before? Has it ever been this bad?
Will you make it stop already?
How's your general health? Okay? Okay? I'm 77 years old.
I pee too much. I sleep too little. What's okay?
Any recent sudden weight loss?
I have been a contractor for 51 years,
and I have never lost one day to a nosebleed.
Now let's get with it, or find somebody who can.
I'm sorry.
Ever since I come in here, I've been gripin' and bleedin'.
I just have no energy.
I don't even have enough to
make a dirty-old-man pass at you.
Any operations to the head, nose, ears, throat?
No. Do you pick your nose?
Just enough to keep it respectable.
What kind of contracting?
Oh, uh, remodeling. You know,
adding on. I like to use my hands.
Anything a plumber, an electrician
or a Mason can do, I can do myself.
I still spend a couple hours a week helping out my kid.
My kid. He's 53 years old.
That's terrific.
Yeah, all I do now is walk around the house
And leave a trail of blood behind me, like a snail.
Well, Mr. Heller, this may be nothing at all.
The only way we can find out for
sure is to run some tests on you.
Is that okay? Oh, sure, sure.
We're gonna find out what's in there, huh? Right.
Two weeks ago, your son was admitted to the emergency room.
Now, he'd had been shot here with a hollow-point bullet,
which splintered through his body.
Now, his heart stopped. His left lung collapsed.
He lost an enormous amount of blood which
cut off the oxygen supply to his brain.
Now, the bullet holes in his heart,
liver and left kidney were sutured.
We had to remove his spleen.
And we put in a temporary colostomy.
Clinically, he was dead.
My god, I had no idea of the extent of his injuries.
Michael, please, sit down.
But you said he's going to be all right.
Yes. Yes, he is. The reason I'm telling you all this
Is so that you'll understand what a
trauma your boy has been through
And what a remarkable recovery he's made.
[Knocking] Yes, come in.
Ah, Dr. Chandler. Mr. and Mrs. Steward.
Dr. Chandler he's been in charge
of David's case since he left surgery.
Oh. How do you do? How are you? Mr. Steward.
Hello. How's he doing? Oh, very well, considering.
He's a great kid.
The major problem, as you know, is he
suffered a complete loss of memory
Of everything prior to his waking up here at the hospital.
How long will it be before my son is cured of this amnesia?
Well, Mr. Steward, I think we should tell you that, uh,
David may never recover his memory.
Or if he does, it may be just a
partial recovery. We don't know.
But we are working together
every day to try and get it back.
I see.
I think you should know that
the entire hospital is behind David.
We all feel we have a personal stake in him.
He's a tremendous kid, and we're
doing everything that we can.
I know this is an awful lot of
information to absorb so quickly,
so if you wanna just think about
things before you go see David
He's been gone 13 months. It's a long time.
I don't wanna wait any longer. Right.
I'll show you the way.
Now, if there's anything you
wanna know about his medical care,
or if there's anything at all I
can do for you, please let me know.
Thank you very much, doctor.
Thank you. Certainly.
Dr. Chandler, are you aware that I'm David's stepmother?
Yes. I read that in the police report.
Lizzie, David's mother, died about four years ago.
Of what? Botulism.
Well, we're right in here.
Michael and I were married
nine months after Lizzie's death.
I don't think David fully accepted our marriage ever.
As a matter of fact, I think he
thought that we betrayed his mother.
That's not true. Not true.
We've talked about this before. I
don't think he has any problem with that.
All right. Maybe you're right.
Maybe it's just a feeling that I have.
David's always been very sweet to me.
It's just well, his mother's
death was quite a blow to him.
And to me too. We were great friends.
Well, um, while David was in deep relaxation,
he remembered one word: Sterling.
Does that mean anything to either one of you?
- No. Kate?
- Sterling? No.
Well, if anything comes to mind, no matter
how insignificant, please let me know.
[Michael] All right. I'll go get David.
Oh, by the way, don't expect
him to recognize you right off.
Don't push too fast. Go easy.
He's still very disoriented, weak and still traumatized.
- We understand.
- Good.
That's him.
Can I? Sure. Go right ahead.
[Chuckles] You look fine. How do you feel?
When they told me what you've been through
Hello, David.
I don't know you, you know.
I told you it would take some time, David.
Come on, come on. We've got a lot to talk about.
Yes, well, I'll see you in a little while. Dr. Chandler.
Yes, David. When am I due in physical therapy?
Not for a couple of hours. You take all the time you want.
Dr. Westphall? Can I have a second?
Sure. Come on in.
I've got a patient in the E.R Chronic
nose bleeder but I can't find anything to treat.
What's the platelet count? Adequate, 250,000.
The function is near 100%.
Did you order a coagulation profile?
It showed a p.T./p.P.T. Less than
one point off the standard control.
I also did a blood smear. Normal differential.
The cells were mature, normal in shape, size and color.
Hmm. That's interesting, isn't it?
What about his family? He's a widower.
No, no, I mean any of his
relatives have the same complaint?
I don't know. Why don't you know?
I didn't check.
Wendy, diagnosis is less of a
gamble if you start at the beginning.
You didn't take an adequate
history, right? I thought I did.
You should know by now
How important it is to get a
complete family medical history.
You ask him: Mother and father alive or
dead? If they're dead, what did they die of?
Brothers and sisters did any
of them die? Also, why? Of what?
You've got to delve into this
thing as far as you have to go.
Well, I used what we had on him. He wasn't
my patient the first time he came in.
Well, that's just fine. Why don't you
tell him that? I'm sure he'll understand.
But I suggest you get that history and work from it.
Otherwise both you and your patient
are in for a pretty rough time, right?
Right.
[Beale] I'm preparing for a lecture
that I'm doing tomorrow at Harvard
For some young medical students who
are thinking about going into psychiatry.
You see, the whole idea is to get a
fix on the hypnagogic hallucinations.
Look, look, you see? Each one of
these represents the last image
That some prisoners at walpole correctional had
Just before they fell asleep each night.
Oh, that's interesting, Hugh. Yeah.
But all I wanna know is did you talk to Bob overland?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did.
He's feeling fragged, right?
It's a midlife crisis. Does he think he's the only one?
In my opinion, Bob is handling the situation very well.
[Scoffs] I think you're the one with the problem, Mark.
Me? Yeah.
I do not have a problem.
You and Bob are very old friends.
You have similar backgrounds, similar families,
similar educations, similar mind-sets.
But I'm not about to get my thing cut off.
There is that one difference, yes.
I think you have to admit, however, that
what he's doing takes a whole lot of courage.
Yes, I admit that. Bob's always had a lot of courage,
integrity, strength.
Like those guys up there: Daniel Boone,
natty bumppo, hawkeye.
What the hell am I talking about?
Will you turn this damn thing off?
I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation,
and you keep showing me these stupid slides.
All right. All right.
Look.
Bob is one of your oldest and best friends.
You want what's best in life for
him, what'll bring him happiness, right?
Of course. All right.
Then try and separate. Just try and separate the two facts.
Number one: You are personally offended by this operation.
Now that is a fact.
Number two:
Bob has lived his whole life as a man,
and it has not brought him happiness.
This may just do it for him.
Separate the two?
So, we were raised with three different cultures.
We spoke yiddish at home. German,
we knew. And American, right?
Does anyone else in your family have nosebleeds?
Sure. Yes?
Doesn't everybody have nosebleeds?
Many people do, but not everybody does.
Oh. Yeah, my grandpa Nathan.
That was my mother's father.
I remember him with a big handkerchief,
holding it over his face and it was all bloody.
We'd just got off the boat from danzig. I was five.
What did the doctors have to
say about his condition? Doctors?
This is 1910, Ellis island. What doctors?
We'll help you to the wheelchair, okay, Mr. Heller?
Look, my legs are fine. I can walk.
It's my nose. Believe me, this will be much faster.
[Groans] No, you know
Now, you know, that name Armstrong?
What are you, Chinese?
Japanese.
How did your grandfather die?
Oh, the dybbuk got him.
Pardon? The dybbuk.
Did you ever see the exorcist? Yes.
Well, the dybbuk is a Jewish demon.
He ever gets ahold of you, it's good-bye, Charlie.
Old grandpa Nathan he was sure the dybbuk was after him.
The dybbuk used to yell and holler
in his ear and squeeze his heart.
And the dybbuk would turn around
so fast in his head, make him fall down.
One day, he didn't get up again.
He was sitting on the can at the time.
This isn't exactly what I'm after. I know that.
He had an infection of the inner ear.
Well, now, let's talk about your family.
Your dad's American, right?
Hot dogs and apple pie down the line.
Uh-oh, it started again. Let me see.
I wanna know what you're gonna do to help me.
Tell me that. Don't keep asking me about dead people.
Mr. Heller, these tests, along
with your family's medical history,
may give us the answer to your problem.
That guy you sent up for delousing, Mr. Singer?
He just pigeonholed me for 45 minutes
On how his ears bleed every August 28th if it's sunny.
It's your basic ear fetish. It's unbelievable.
I'm seeing Myra today.
Oh, really? Well, she's been calling, you know.
And I figured now is as good a
time as any to sit down and talk.
Well, that's terrific, Peter.
Don't go readin' anything more into this than is there.
All we're gonna do is sit down and talk.
Well, it's a start, right?
Right? I mean, reconciliations
Possible reconciliations
Do usually begin with a couple of
sentences thrown back and forth.
Oh, is that how it works? Yeah.
Just remember to shave.
Good luck.
♪[Whistling]
You're feeling better.
Well, sure. Listen. Hmm?
Bob has his life to live, and I have mine.
I mean, if he wants to screw his up, fine.
It's got nothing to do with me. Right. I think.
Just on my way to tell him how I feel.
Good, Mark. I'm happy for you.
[Woman on P.A.] Security to nurse's station six.
Security to nurse's station six.
[Chattering] Oh. I'm disturbing you.
No. Mark, please. This is al Kinley.
Come in, Mark. This is Mark
Craig, one of my oldest friends.
Dr. Craig. Look, this can wait for another time.
Mark, please. Perhaps I should go.
No, it's all right. Al's an old friend of mine, Mark.
Will you please get in here? All right.
Uh, well, all I wanted to say was, uh,
I've been in the wrong here, butting into your business.
And I wanted to apologize for that.
There's no need for that, Mark, believe me.
Yes, there is.
I have no right to add to your problems.
Well, that's really all I wanted to say.
Thank you, Mark. I appreciate it. I really do.
No big megillah. Al Kinley.
Any relation to big babe Kinley?
He's a pediatrician, from west somerville.
I don't think so. Al's my sex therapist.
He specializes in transsexuals.
Sex therapist?
Let me ask you a question.
How does a fellow become qualified to do that kind of work?
Well, you have to go to school for it, of course,
but I really got interested in it when I was a woman.
When you were a woman?
Mm-hmm.
How do you mean?
When I was Allison Kinley,
before I had my sex change operation.
Mark, al and I are lovers.
Let me get this straight.
You were a woman before you were a man.
Yeah.
And you're a man, and you're gonna be a woman.
And the two of you are that's right.
My dear god.
We were in sarasota, Florida.
This is you with the beach ball.
And, uh this is you too.
Just after your mother died.
Do you have any pictures of her? Oh, sure. Of course.
This is her.
David. David?
Please, could you not call me that.
[Michael] What? David.
- It's your name, son.
- I don't know who you are.
Do you understand that?
[Michael] You will. When we get
you home I can't go home with you.
You're just strangers to me. Just like any of them.
How can I go home with you? You're just faces.
In time that'll change. You can't help me.
No matter how many old pictures you have.
I know you don't remember. You've got to know we love you.
I love you, David. You say you're
my father, but I feel nothing for you.
Do you understand? I'm all alone.
You're not alone! Please. Could you go away?
I'm sorry. I know that this means a lot to you,
and I know that it's hard for you too, but I
I don't wanna see you anymore.
It's all right, David.
Listen. We'll, uh, leave the
pictures just in case, all right?
Come on, Michael.
So the whole town was following our wagon, waving good-bye.
We had to get to danzig to catch the boat.
Which boat? To Ellis island.
So then we moved to Chicago, lived in a tenement there,
right near the grain elevators, great big cranes.
We had a stove there. Boy, do I remember that stove.
My sister, Irene, she still lives
in the same old neighborhood.
Is that the last one? No, we have to
do one more for the nine-minute sample.
Isn't it enough I got blood coming out of
my nose, you gotta take it out of both arms?
We have to find out if your bleeding and
clotting times are within normal limits.
[Exhales]
Now you say your sister Irene bruises easily?
Oh, yeah. Just like me.
Look there. I got that just backing into a pile of bricks.
What am I doing sitting here
telling you the story of my life?
It's all relevant, Mr. Heller. Relevant?
I've been wondering, young lady, if you know
the difference between a nose and an elbow.
There may be a connection.
Some diseases are hereditary.
It's important for me, and hopefully for you,
I find out as much as I can, as quickly as I can.
So, go ahead.
Anyone in your family die of cancer? No.
Any alcoholics in the family? No.
[Sighs] Okay.
After this, I wanna have them do a
liver/spleen scan and get some liver enzymes.
I'm sorry, but we're looking for a zebra.
A zebra?
It's what we call a case that
we can't find an easy answer to.
We start with a nosebleed and
now we're looking for a zebra?
[Chuckles]
[White] This last month hasn't been
particularly good for any of us.
Jack and Nina included.
Friends are friends, but they've got their own lives too.
I know.
Well, so I was thinking that, uh,
we should try it again Just for a little bit.
And maybe we can work things out.
God, you look good. You do.
Thank you.
No, Peter. Come here.
Don't, Peter, don't. Why not?
[Sighs] I just don't want it right now.
I feel relaxed and I'm content,
and I just don't want it right now.
Why did you ask me to come over here today?
[Dog barking in distance]
I need more money.
The three of us can't make it on a hundred dollars a week.
That's what you got before I moved out. It's not enough.
Look, Myra, I make $18,000 a year.
After rent, taxes and student loans,
that leaves $600 a month.
You get $400 of that. It's not enough.
It's all there is.
I promise you.
Look, Peter, I'm not trying to kill you. I'm really not.
You should have married a plumber.
Well, as long as I'm here,
I guess I'll go upstairs and get my things.
[David] Get out! Get away from
me! Listen, get a hold of yourself!
He's my son. Let me go. Take it easy.
I'm taking him out of here! Just stay away from me!
Okay, settle down. Settle down. Keep him away from me!
Settle down. What's going on? I don't know.
It started out as a nice father and son chat.
All right, it's over. Okay. Okay. Okay.
Okay.
Get out! What are you doing?
I thought we agreed you
can't keep me from seeing my son.
I had to talk to him to remind him
of things only he and I know about.
Get away from me! Keep him away from me! I thought
I thought maybe he'd remember me then.
Well, you see what you've done now?
I'm sorry.
Look, please,
do not come back until I tell you to, okay?
- Keep him away from me! Keep him
- I will. I will. Just relax.
All right, all right. Why can't he just leave me alone?
He's gone now. He won't be back.
Let's get something to calm him
down. Diazepam 10 milligrams, I.M.
I knew it. I knew it.
I shouldn't have let myself hope that I'd
remember them as soon as I saw their faces.
Why did you let me hope?
Why didn't you let me die? Why
didn't you just leave me on the street?
I wanna die. No, you don't.
Now, if you wanted to die, you would
have checked out in E.R. two weeks ago.
Now, you have an incredible will to live
And a heart to match it, beat by beat.
Samuels told me when you were in E.R., he grabbed
you by the heart, he knew you wouldn't die.
"The heart of a lion," he said.
Now, come on. You're gonna make it.
Hello again.
Al Kinley. I know.
Bob tells me you're a surgeon.
Heart. My father recently had open-heart surgery.
He had to this thing was all your idea, wasn't it?
Hardly. You should have left well enough alone.
When I first met Bob four years ago,
he had everything that was supposed to make him happy.
And nobody knew who he was.
Not his family, not his friends, not himself.
I don't wanna hear all this. I think you need to.
We're talking about a man who tortured himself,
knowing that he had to make love with his wife.
He loved Anne. He tried to.
He tried to live the kind of life you'd want him to.
But he's decided he can't live
a lie anymore, and it's cost him.
[Scoffs] As soon as his company
found out about it, they fired him.
No pension, no benefits.
His friends discreetly disappeared.
One son won't talk to him at all.
When the other one does, it's to make
a verbal attack. He's lost everything.
And all he wanted from you was a little understanding.
For whatever reason, he needed
it. You could have given it to him.
It wouldn't have cost you a thing.
You really should have, you know, for old times' sake.
It was nice to meet you, Dr. Craig.
I got it. Take some tetracycline,
it'll be gone in five days.
I know what he's got. Who?
Charlie Heller, my nose bleeder.
Let me read you something. My
mother had a cure for nosebleeds.
She'd put ice cubes underneath our armpits.
"Isaiah Berlin. Essays in the history of ideas."
This is a hospital, Wendy. Modern
medicine has no place for ideas.
Listen. "In this age of the self-conscious
solidarity" Wendy, it's our lunchtime.
Would you give us a break? Be like reader's
digest, give us the condensed version.
Or read something interesting like tubby the tuba.
You guys just can't see anything beyond your stethoscopes.
I think Berlin is saying it's important for each of us
To be aware of all the individual elements
Class, language, ethnic
background that are a part of us.
I mean, he's talking philosophy and
history, but he could be talking medicine.
When's the last time you had hot, sweaty sex?
Come on, fiscus. Let her make her point.
No matter how stupid it is?
Mr. Heller is Jewish. He's a German
Jew. A member of the ashkenazim.
Oh, well, that clears it up for me.
The ashkenazim are particularly
susceptible to gaucher's disease.
Never heard of it. It's a racially associated disease.
- [Ehrlich] Like sickle cell anemia?
- Without glucocerebrosidase
To break down the enzymes, you're gonna get
Fatty cells. You get a big belly,
aches, pains. And a bloody nose.
Is this just a guess or did you order a
glucocerebrosidase deficiency assay?
Do you know how much those things cost?
Well, that's why I haven't done it yet.
You better not, not till you get westphall's permission.
Forget it. [Ehrlich] yeah. He's not gonna go for it.
There's a one in a million chance you're right.
I'm looking to you guys for
some encouragement on this, okay?
Well, personally, I think you're crazy.
Look, if westphall says no, you can always read to him.
Essays in the history of ideas.
How do you climb into a person's mind?
Just try to put yourself in their place.
Yeah, I know, but I've never been amnestic.
I mean, sure, I've read books about it,
but I'd be lying if I told that kid I
know everything he's going through.
Did you ever have appendicitis? No.
Do you know that when someone
has it, they have a hell of a lot of pain?
You know, I was so busy telling David and his parents
Not to expect too much on the
first visit, I-I forgot to tell myself.
I guess now I'm feeling his depression and disappointment.
You know, Phil,
the mind can play dangerous tricks.
Your conscious self knows that you're
doing the best you can to treat this boy.
But the subconscious? Ah, the
subconscious is like a computer.
It can't make judgments about
right or wrong. It just stores facts.
And the fact is
That no matter how hard it gets,
David steward is trying to find himself through you.
Yeah. That's pretty good, beale.
Just common sense.
You know, I didn't realize I'm David's chance for recovery.
I just thought I was another spoke in the wheel.
You would have reached the same
conclusion on your own eventually.
Even if you did go to Yale.
Dr. Chandler? Oh, hello. How are you?
I might have some information about the word sterling.
I don't know if it's too valuable, but
you did say to let you know anything,
no matter how insignificant it might be.
Yes, please, go ahead. Well, I
talked to David's grandmother,
and it seems that when David was about 10 or 11,
he bought his mother a sterling
silver St. Christopher medal.
Well, was that a big thing to him? It was.
It seems that he worked at the corner
grocery store for about a month,
just running errands so that
he'd have enough money to pay for it.
What happened to it? After his mother died,
Michael gave it back to him so
that he could have it as a keepsake.
Oh, okay. Well, thank you. Thank you. Maybe that'll help.
Get up.
Wake up. I gotta ask you a few questions. I'm tired.
Look, you slept all afternoon. You missed physical therapy.
Come on, let's go. It's that drug you gave me.
Baloney. Low-dose sedatives don't make you that sleepy.
Okay. Now.
You bought your mother a
sterling silver St. Christopher medal.
And when she died, your father
gave it back to you. Do you remember?
Nope. Try. It was five or six years ago.
You saved up the money by getting
a job at a local grocery store.
Sorry, I can't. Think.
I am. No, you're not.
I said I can't remember. You're not trying.
Think. Try. Remember. Talk, talk, talk.
I'm tired of it. I've had enough. Just concentrate.
I'm tired of it!
Look, David, I can't help you if you won't let me.
I don't want your help. It won't do any good.
I'm gonna be this way forever,
so stop wasting your time, okay?
I know what's wrong with Mr. Heller.
Heller? Oh, the nosebleed? Gaucher's disease.
Go-shay's. Yeah.
Well, you've gone from a basic
nosebleed to a rare, chronic disease.
One of probably 30 possibilities for a
bleeding disorder and splenomegaly.
Listen. This is Arnold toynbee on
the migration of the ashkenazim.
Toynbee? The historian? "The latter day Jewish herodians"
"Seized the opportunity that western liberalism offered,
by carrying forward the policy of assimilation."
If you're gonna tell me that gaucher's
Is as common among the ashkenazim
as tay-sachs, I already know it.
Now, Wendy, I think your speculation is very interesting.
I really do. But toynbee isn't medical fact, is it?
What's your diagnosis? Heavy and
spontaneous bleeding from the nose.
Pain of varying severity in the knees, hips and shoulders.
Bruises. A protruding abdomen
because of an enlarged spleen and liver.
Member of a racial group prone to a particular disease.
I want to order a glucocerebrosidase.
That's a very expensive test.
It's the only way I'll find out for sure.
It costs $250. I realize that.
You do? Well, then why don't you go ahead and try it.
- [Knocking]
- What can I do for you?
I do wanna remember.
Hi, Bob. Mm.
Oh, Mark. Shh.
You were right, you know.
You can't make new old friends.
You're a good person, Bob.
You always were, and I know you always will be.
So, I just wanted to say, um, good luck, buddy.
I don't know how
You can drink cold beer when it is freezing outside.
You know, it's gonna get down to zero tonight?
Yeah, I heard. Why don't you put it over here?
I have an electric blanket if you'd like.
No, this is fine.
I've always needed someone like you.
I've dreamed of someone like you.
When you went to see Myra today
I just went to pick up a few things.
Feel my heart, Peter.
Feel it.
Valium and everything, it still won't stop.
Sandy, you have nothing to worry about.
Move in with me.
I'll make you the happiest man on the face of the earth.
Please. Come here.
[David] They said she was my mother.
[Chandler] What do you say? I think she was.
When I was supposedly dead,
and I could see fiscus and the others
working on me in the emergency room?
Yes?
When I floated up into the light,
this is the woman who held out
her arms and asked me if I was ready.
Do you have any other memories of her?
I've been trying to. [Elevator bell dings]
Look at the photograph.
Concentrate on her face.
Study it.
Sit back, relax.
See her face smiling.
Imagine the smile getting wider and wider,
until it breaks into a laugh.
Can you see her laughing?
Yeah. Okay.
Good.
Imagine yourself in the photograph,
standing right next to her, okay?
And you're laughing too.
You're sharing a joke together. You're talking together.
I see it. Good.
You take out a brightly wrapped box,
a gift for her.
Imagine the color and design of the wrapping paper.
And a bow? Oh, yeah, sure. If you see it, yes.
How big is the box?
Well, it's not very big. About, uh
[Paper rustling] About this big.
And you hand it to her proudly.
And she puts her arms around you gratefully.
But she hasn't even opened it.
Oh, she's-she's happy to get it.
It's a sign of your love for her.
And she loves you very much.
Open it. Yes.
Slowly she unfolds the bow, pulls back the tape.
See, she doesn't want to mess up the wrapping paper.
Takes out the little box. Oh!
She sees the name of a jeweler on the top.
Her eyes filled with expectation.
She takes off the top, looks inside.
Great expectation in her eyes.
She pulls out this.
Scar. Yes.
He had a scar.
Who?
The man. The one who shot me.
I-I he took everything I had.
I-I asked him, I said,
"take my wallet, my watch, but please leave me the medal."
I remember.
I remember the scar.
[Chuckling] [Sighs]
[Knocking] Come in.
Dr. Westphall? Uh-huh.
The special chemistry lab completed
the enzyme test on Mr. Heller.
He's got a glucocerebrosidase
level of 220. That's very high.
Not if you've got gaucher's disease. True enough.
I was right. Well, I wouldn't be so happy about it.
It's a chronic disease and you're
still gonna have to tell Mr. Heller
That he's gonna require
medication for the rest of his life.
But I found it. It took me all
day and all night, but I found it.
Maybe next time you'll do what I tell you to do.
What do you mean? What I told you this morning.
Get a complete family history.
Good night, Dr. Westphall. Good night.
Dr. Armstrong?
Congratulations.
[Mews]
- Previously on St. elsewhere.
- This boy's dead and gone.
- He's not dead till I say he's dead.
- I'm here for a sex change.
[Guffaws] - Do you remember what
happened the night you were shot?
I don't even remember being shot.
- You have no right to tamper with my life.
- Who am I?
- I don't know.
- Tonight on St. elsewhere.
No, Peter. Come here.
Don't, Peter, don't. Why not?
[Sighs] I just don't want it right now.
I really got interested in it when I was a woman.
When you were a woman?
Mark, al and I are lovers.
Any operations to the head, nose, ears, throat?
No. Do you pick your nose?
Just enough to keep it respectable.
He's my son! Let me go! Take him out of there!
Keep him away from me! Keep him
away from me! Okay, settle down.
Well, today's the day. Your anniversary?
Bob overland, sex change operation.
You're gonna have to get over this.
You're gonna give yourself an ulcer.
Last night, Ellen and I discussed
it for hours. Didn't do any good.
I seem to be the only one that feels this way.
Mark, why don't you go talk to Hugh beale?
I talked to beale about talking to Bob.
I'm not the crazy one.
Oh, Mark. Uh, I was hoping if you had a few moments,
we could we could talk.
You're busy.
No, that's all right.
What's the problem?
Worried about the operation? No, not at all.
How do you feel? I feel confident, good.
Except for the fact that you've been avoiding me.
Well, I have to tell you, Bob, as much as
I've tried, I can't come to terms with this.
I think you're making a terrible mistake, and
you'll regret it for the rest of your life.
Well, at least, uh
At least it would be my life, huh?
Well, I hope someday, Mark, that we can talk
You know, there's
There's one thing that you can't do,
and that's to make new old friends.
They're a lot like hearts, Mark.
It's not that easy to replace them.
Hmm?
Good morning. Hiya, Dr. Chandler.
You hear anything lately from
the police? They find who shot me?
No, no leads yet. Given any more
thought to what sterling means?
"No, no leads yet." Your parents
will be here in a little while.
What'd you say my name was? David steward?
Yes. I don't like it.
I've gotten used to John Doe number 12.
Listen. I've seen pictures, fingerprints,
blood type everything matches.
You are David steward from
port dalhousie in Ontario, Canada.
And these people are your parents.
I believe you, it's just that what?
I prayed last night that a miracle would happen.
That somehow when I see them, it will all click into place.
The miracle is that you're still alive.
Now everything else is gonna be a long, slow ride.
I know. When they get here, I'll be ready.
You see him, man? No, I-I don't.
Well, keep lookin', man. He's in there.
No, Mr. Singer, I'm sorry. You have
everything else in your ear but an ant.
When's the last time you used a washcloth?
Pete, your wife's on the phone.
I'll be right there. Okay.
Now don't do that.
It's raw enough in there already.
Hello.
Yeah, yeah.
No, no, no, that's okay. That's okay.
Yeah, he told me. It's just that
I was working late, you know,
and I thought it would be too
late to call you when I got off.
Yeah?
Yeah, listen. I've been thinking the same thing myself.
And, uh mm-hmm.
Okay, uh okay, I can get an
hour off this afternoon sometime.
If that's, you know Yeah. About 2:00.
Okay, that sounds real good.
Okey-dokey. All right. Bye-bye.
[Clears throat] That was Myra.
I gotta go over there to pick up a few things.
I mean, I got, like, two pair of socks and three shirts.
[Siren wailing in distance] It's ridiculous, you know.
I gotta get back in there.
[Woman on P.A.] Mrs. Weller, please report to your room.
Mrs. Weller, to your room.
Okay, let's see how it is.
Oh, there's still a little.
So, I'll bleed to death.
Mr. Heller, in the great majority of
cases, the bleeding contains itself.
So tell my corpuscles.
It's never been this bad before? Has it ever been this bad?
Will you make it stop already?
How's your general health? Okay? Okay? I'm 77 years old.
I pee too much. I sleep too little. What's okay?
Any recent sudden weight loss?
I have been a contractor for 51 years,
and I have never lost one day to a nosebleed.
Now let's get with it, or find somebody who can.
I'm sorry.
Ever since I come in here, I've been gripin' and bleedin'.
I just have no energy.
I don't even have enough to
make a dirty-old-man pass at you.
Any operations to the head, nose, ears, throat?
No. Do you pick your nose?
Just enough to keep it respectable.
What kind of contracting?
Oh, uh, remodeling. You know,
adding on. I like to use my hands.
Anything a plumber, an electrician
or a Mason can do, I can do myself.
I still spend a couple hours a week helping out my kid.
My kid. He's 53 years old.
That's terrific.
Yeah, all I do now is walk around the house
And leave a trail of blood behind me, like a snail.
Well, Mr. Heller, this may be nothing at all.
The only way we can find out for
sure is to run some tests on you.
Is that okay? Oh, sure, sure.
We're gonna find out what's in there, huh? Right.
Two weeks ago, your son was admitted to the emergency room.
Now, he'd had been shot here with a hollow-point bullet,
which splintered through his body.
Now, his heart stopped. His left lung collapsed.
He lost an enormous amount of blood which
cut off the oxygen supply to his brain.
Now, the bullet holes in his heart,
liver and left kidney were sutured.
We had to remove his spleen.
And we put in a temporary colostomy.
Clinically, he was dead.
My god, I had no idea of the extent of his injuries.
Michael, please, sit down.
But you said he's going to be all right.
Yes. Yes, he is. The reason I'm telling you all this
Is so that you'll understand what a
trauma your boy has been through
And what a remarkable recovery he's made.
[Knocking] Yes, come in.
Ah, Dr. Chandler. Mr. and Mrs. Steward.
Dr. Chandler he's been in charge
of David's case since he left surgery.
Oh. How do you do? How are you? Mr. Steward.
Hello. How's he doing? Oh, very well, considering.
He's a great kid.
The major problem, as you know, is he
suffered a complete loss of memory
Of everything prior to his waking up here at the hospital.
How long will it be before my son is cured of this amnesia?
Well, Mr. Steward, I think we should tell you that, uh,
David may never recover his memory.
Or if he does, it may be just a
partial recovery. We don't know.
But we are working together
every day to try and get it back.
I see.
I think you should know that
the entire hospital is behind David.
We all feel we have a personal stake in him.
He's a tremendous kid, and we're
doing everything that we can.
I know this is an awful lot of
information to absorb so quickly,
so if you wanna just think about
things before you go see David
He's been gone 13 months. It's a long time.
I don't wanna wait any longer. Right.
I'll show you the way.
Now, if there's anything you
wanna know about his medical care,
or if there's anything at all I
can do for you, please let me know.
Thank you very much, doctor.
Thank you. Certainly.
Dr. Chandler, are you aware that I'm David's stepmother?
Yes. I read that in the police report.
Lizzie, David's mother, died about four years ago.
Of what? Botulism.
Well, we're right in here.
Michael and I were married
nine months after Lizzie's death.
I don't think David fully accepted our marriage ever.
As a matter of fact, I think he
thought that we betrayed his mother.
That's not true. Not true.
We've talked about this before. I
don't think he has any problem with that.
All right. Maybe you're right.
Maybe it's just a feeling that I have.
David's always been very sweet to me.
It's just well, his mother's
death was quite a blow to him.
And to me too. We were great friends.
Well, um, while David was in deep relaxation,
he remembered one word: Sterling.
Does that mean anything to either one of you?
- No. Kate?
- Sterling? No.
Well, if anything comes to mind, no matter
how insignificant, please let me know.
[Michael] All right. I'll go get David.
Oh, by the way, don't expect
him to recognize you right off.
Don't push too fast. Go easy.
He's still very disoriented, weak and still traumatized.
- We understand.
- Good.
That's him.
Can I? Sure. Go right ahead.
[Chuckles] You look fine. How do you feel?
When they told me what you've been through
Hello, David.
I don't know you, you know.
I told you it would take some time, David.
Come on, come on. We've got a lot to talk about.
Yes, well, I'll see you in a little while. Dr. Chandler.
Yes, David. When am I due in physical therapy?
Not for a couple of hours. You take all the time you want.
Dr. Westphall? Can I have a second?
Sure. Come on in.
I've got a patient in the E.R Chronic
nose bleeder but I can't find anything to treat.
What's the platelet count? Adequate, 250,000.
The function is near 100%.
Did you order a coagulation profile?
It showed a p.T./p.P.T. Less than
one point off the standard control.
I also did a blood smear. Normal differential.
The cells were mature, normal in shape, size and color.
Hmm. That's interesting, isn't it?
What about his family? He's a widower.
No, no, I mean any of his
relatives have the same complaint?
I don't know. Why don't you know?
I didn't check.
Wendy, diagnosis is less of a
gamble if you start at the beginning.
You didn't take an adequate
history, right? I thought I did.
You should know by now
How important it is to get a
complete family medical history.
You ask him: Mother and father alive or
dead? If they're dead, what did they die of?
Brothers and sisters did any
of them die? Also, why? Of what?
You've got to delve into this
thing as far as you have to go.
Well, I used what we had on him. He wasn't
my patient the first time he came in.
Well, that's just fine. Why don't you
tell him that? I'm sure he'll understand.
But I suggest you get that history and work from it.
Otherwise both you and your patient
are in for a pretty rough time, right?
Right.
[Beale] I'm preparing for a lecture
that I'm doing tomorrow at Harvard
For some young medical students who
are thinking about going into psychiatry.
You see, the whole idea is to get a
fix on the hypnagogic hallucinations.
Look, look, you see? Each one of
these represents the last image
That some prisoners at walpole correctional had
Just before they fell asleep each night.
Oh, that's interesting, Hugh. Yeah.
But all I wanna know is did you talk to Bob overland?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, I did.
He's feeling fragged, right?
It's a midlife crisis. Does he think he's the only one?
In my opinion, Bob is handling the situation very well.
[Scoffs] I think you're the one with the problem, Mark.
Me? Yeah.
I do not have a problem.
You and Bob are very old friends.
You have similar backgrounds, similar families,
similar educations, similar mind-sets.
But I'm not about to get my thing cut off.
There is that one difference, yes.
I think you have to admit, however, that
what he's doing takes a whole lot of courage.
Yes, I admit that. Bob's always had a lot of courage,
integrity, strength.
Like those guys up there: Daniel Boone,
natty bumppo, hawkeye.
What the hell am I talking about?
Will you turn this damn thing off?
I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation,
and you keep showing me these stupid slides.
All right. All right.
Look.
Bob is one of your oldest and best friends.
You want what's best in life for
him, what'll bring him happiness, right?
Of course. All right.
Then try and separate. Just try and separate the two facts.
Number one: You are personally offended by this operation.
Now that is a fact.
Number two:
Bob has lived his whole life as a man,
and it has not brought him happiness.
This may just do it for him.
Separate the two?
So, we were raised with three different cultures.
We spoke yiddish at home. German,
we knew. And American, right?
Does anyone else in your family have nosebleeds?
Sure. Yes?
Doesn't everybody have nosebleeds?
Many people do, but not everybody does.
Oh. Yeah, my grandpa Nathan.
That was my mother's father.
I remember him with a big handkerchief,
holding it over his face and it was all bloody.
We'd just got off the boat from danzig. I was five.
What did the doctors have to
say about his condition? Doctors?
This is 1910, Ellis island. What doctors?
We'll help you to the wheelchair, okay, Mr. Heller?
Look, my legs are fine. I can walk.
It's my nose. Believe me, this will be much faster.
[Groans] No, you know
Now, you know, that name Armstrong?
What are you, Chinese?
Japanese.
How did your grandfather die?
Oh, the dybbuk got him.
Pardon? The dybbuk.
Did you ever see the exorcist? Yes.
Well, the dybbuk is a Jewish demon.
He ever gets ahold of you, it's good-bye, Charlie.
Old grandpa Nathan he was sure the dybbuk was after him.
The dybbuk used to yell and holler
in his ear and squeeze his heart.
And the dybbuk would turn around
so fast in his head, make him fall down.
One day, he didn't get up again.
He was sitting on the can at the time.
This isn't exactly what I'm after. I know that.
He had an infection of the inner ear.
Well, now, let's talk about your family.
Your dad's American, right?
Hot dogs and apple pie down the line.
Uh-oh, it started again. Let me see.
I wanna know what you're gonna do to help me.
Tell me that. Don't keep asking me about dead people.
Mr. Heller, these tests, along
with your family's medical history,
may give us the answer to your problem.
That guy you sent up for delousing, Mr. Singer?
He just pigeonholed me for 45 minutes
On how his ears bleed every August 28th if it's sunny.
It's your basic ear fetish. It's unbelievable.
I'm seeing Myra today.
Oh, really? Well, she's been calling, you know.
And I figured now is as good a
time as any to sit down and talk.
Well, that's terrific, Peter.
Don't go readin' anything more into this than is there.
All we're gonna do is sit down and talk.
Well, it's a start, right?
Right? I mean, reconciliations
Possible reconciliations
Do usually begin with a couple of
sentences thrown back and forth.
Oh, is that how it works? Yeah.
Just remember to shave.
Good luck.
♪[Whistling]
You're feeling better.
Well, sure. Listen. Hmm?
Bob has his life to live, and I have mine.
I mean, if he wants to screw his up, fine.
It's got nothing to do with me. Right. I think.
Just on my way to tell him how I feel.
Good, Mark. I'm happy for you.
[Woman on P.A.] Security to nurse's station six.
Security to nurse's station six.
[Chattering] Oh. I'm disturbing you.
No. Mark, please. This is al Kinley.
Come in, Mark. This is Mark
Craig, one of my oldest friends.
Dr. Craig. Look, this can wait for another time.
Mark, please. Perhaps I should go.
No, it's all right. Al's an old friend of mine, Mark.
Will you please get in here? All right.
Uh, well, all I wanted to say was, uh,
I've been in the wrong here, butting into your business.
And I wanted to apologize for that.
There's no need for that, Mark, believe me.
Yes, there is.
I have no right to add to your problems.
Well, that's really all I wanted to say.
Thank you, Mark. I appreciate it. I really do.
No big megillah. Al Kinley.
Any relation to big babe Kinley?
He's a pediatrician, from west somerville.
I don't think so. Al's my sex therapist.
He specializes in transsexuals.
Sex therapist?
Let me ask you a question.
How does a fellow become qualified to do that kind of work?
Well, you have to go to school for it, of course,
but I really got interested in it when I was a woman.
When you were a woman?
Mm-hmm.
How do you mean?
When I was Allison Kinley,
before I had my sex change operation.
Mark, al and I are lovers.
Let me get this straight.
You were a woman before you were a man.
Yeah.
And you're a man, and you're gonna be a woman.
And the two of you are that's right.
My dear god.
We were in sarasota, Florida.
This is you with the beach ball.
And, uh this is you too.
Just after your mother died.
Do you have any pictures of her? Oh, sure. Of course.
This is her.
David. David?
Please, could you not call me that.
[Michael] What? David.
- It's your name, son.
- I don't know who you are.
Do you understand that?
[Michael] You will. When we get
you home I can't go home with you.
You're just strangers to me. Just like any of them.
How can I go home with you? You're just faces.
In time that'll change. You can't help me.
No matter how many old pictures you have.
I know you don't remember. You've got to know we love you.
I love you, David. You say you're
my father, but I feel nothing for you.
Do you understand? I'm all alone.
You're not alone! Please. Could you go away?
I'm sorry. I know that this means a lot to you,
and I know that it's hard for you too, but I
I don't wanna see you anymore.
It's all right, David.
Listen. We'll, uh, leave the
pictures just in case, all right?
Come on, Michael.
So the whole town was following our wagon, waving good-bye.
We had to get to danzig to catch the boat.
Which boat? To Ellis island.
So then we moved to Chicago, lived in a tenement there,
right near the grain elevators, great big cranes.
We had a stove there. Boy, do I remember that stove.
My sister, Irene, she still lives
in the same old neighborhood.
Is that the last one? No, we have to
do one more for the nine-minute sample.
Isn't it enough I got blood coming out of
my nose, you gotta take it out of both arms?
We have to find out if your bleeding and
clotting times are within normal limits.
[Exhales]
Now you say your sister Irene bruises easily?
Oh, yeah. Just like me.
Look there. I got that just backing into a pile of bricks.
What am I doing sitting here
telling you the story of my life?
It's all relevant, Mr. Heller. Relevant?
I've been wondering, young lady, if you know
the difference between a nose and an elbow.
There may be a connection.
Some diseases are hereditary.
It's important for me, and hopefully for you,
I find out as much as I can, as quickly as I can.
So, go ahead.
Anyone in your family die of cancer? No.
Any alcoholics in the family? No.
[Sighs] Okay.
After this, I wanna have them do a
liver/spleen scan and get some liver enzymes.
I'm sorry, but we're looking for a zebra.
A zebra?
It's what we call a case that
we can't find an easy answer to.
We start with a nosebleed and
now we're looking for a zebra?
[Chuckles]
[White] This last month hasn't been
particularly good for any of us.
Jack and Nina included.
Friends are friends, but they've got their own lives too.
I know.
Well, so I was thinking that, uh,
we should try it again Just for a little bit.
And maybe we can work things out.
God, you look good. You do.
Thank you.
No, Peter. Come here.
Don't, Peter, don't. Why not?
[Sighs] I just don't want it right now.
I feel relaxed and I'm content,
and I just don't want it right now.
Why did you ask me to come over here today?
[Dog barking in distance]
I need more money.
The three of us can't make it on a hundred dollars a week.
That's what you got before I moved out. It's not enough.
Look, Myra, I make $18,000 a year.
After rent, taxes and student loans,
that leaves $600 a month.
You get $400 of that. It's not enough.
It's all there is.
I promise you.
Look, Peter, I'm not trying to kill you. I'm really not.
You should have married a plumber.
Well, as long as I'm here,
I guess I'll go upstairs and get my things.
[David] Get out! Get away from
me! Listen, get a hold of yourself!
He's my son. Let me go. Take it easy.
I'm taking him out of here! Just stay away from me!
Okay, settle down. Settle down. Keep him away from me!
Settle down. What's going on? I don't know.
It started out as a nice father and son chat.
All right, it's over. Okay. Okay. Okay.
Okay.
Get out! What are you doing?
I thought we agreed you
can't keep me from seeing my son.
I had to talk to him to remind him
of things only he and I know about.
Get away from me! Keep him away from me! I thought
I thought maybe he'd remember me then.
Well, you see what you've done now?
I'm sorry.
Look, please,
do not come back until I tell you to, okay?
- Keep him away from me! Keep him
- I will. I will. Just relax.
All right, all right. Why can't he just leave me alone?
He's gone now. He won't be back.
Let's get something to calm him
down. Diazepam 10 milligrams, I.M.
I knew it. I knew it.
I shouldn't have let myself hope that I'd
remember them as soon as I saw their faces.
Why did you let me hope?
Why didn't you let me die? Why
didn't you just leave me on the street?
I wanna die. No, you don't.
Now, if you wanted to die, you would
have checked out in E.R. two weeks ago.
Now, you have an incredible will to live
And a heart to match it, beat by beat.
Samuels told me when you were in E.R., he grabbed
you by the heart, he knew you wouldn't die.
"The heart of a lion," he said.
Now, come on. You're gonna make it.
Hello again.
Al Kinley. I know.
Bob tells me you're a surgeon.
Heart. My father recently had open-heart surgery.
He had to this thing was all your idea, wasn't it?
Hardly. You should have left well enough alone.
When I first met Bob four years ago,
he had everything that was supposed to make him happy.
And nobody knew who he was.
Not his family, not his friends, not himself.
I don't wanna hear all this. I think you need to.
We're talking about a man who tortured himself,
knowing that he had to make love with his wife.
He loved Anne. He tried to.
He tried to live the kind of life you'd want him to.
But he's decided he can't live
a lie anymore, and it's cost him.
[Scoffs] As soon as his company
found out about it, they fired him.
No pension, no benefits.
His friends discreetly disappeared.
One son won't talk to him at all.
When the other one does, it's to make
a verbal attack. He's lost everything.
And all he wanted from you was a little understanding.
For whatever reason, he needed
it. You could have given it to him.
It wouldn't have cost you a thing.
You really should have, you know, for old times' sake.
It was nice to meet you, Dr. Craig.
I got it. Take some tetracycline,
it'll be gone in five days.
I know what he's got. Who?
Charlie Heller, my nose bleeder.
Let me read you something. My
mother had a cure for nosebleeds.
She'd put ice cubes underneath our armpits.
"Isaiah Berlin. Essays in the history of ideas."
This is a hospital, Wendy. Modern
medicine has no place for ideas.
Listen. "In this age of the self-conscious
solidarity" Wendy, it's our lunchtime.
Would you give us a break? Be like reader's
digest, give us the condensed version.
Or read something interesting like tubby the tuba.
You guys just can't see anything beyond your stethoscopes.
I think Berlin is saying it's important for each of us
To be aware of all the individual elements
Class, language, ethnic
background that are a part of us.
I mean, he's talking philosophy and
history, but he could be talking medicine.
When's the last time you had hot, sweaty sex?
Come on, fiscus. Let her make her point.
No matter how stupid it is?
Mr. Heller is Jewish. He's a German
Jew. A member of the ashkenazim.
Oh, well, that clears it up for me.
The ashkenazim are particularly
susceptible to gaucher's disease.
Never heard of it. It's a racially associated disease.
- [Ehrlich] Like sickle cell anemia?
- Without glucocerebrosidase
To break down the enzymes, you're gonna get
Fatty cells. You get a big belly,
aches, pains. And a bloody nose.
Is this just a guess or did you order a
glucocerebrosidase deficiency assay?
Do you know how much those things cost?
Well, that's why I haven't done it yet.
You better not, not till you get westphall's permission.
Forget it. [Ehrlich] yeah. He's not gonna go for it.
There's a one in a million chance you're right.
I'm looking to you guys for
some encouragement on this, okay?
Well, personally, I think you're crazy.
Look, if westphall says no, you can always read to him.
Essays in the history of ideas.
How do you climb into a person's mind?
Just try to put yourself in their place.
Yeah, I know, but I've never been amnestic.
I mean, sure, I've read books about it,
but I'd be lying if I told that kid I
know everything he's going through.
Did you ever have appendicitis? No.
Do you know that when someone
has it, they have a hell of a lot of pain?
You know, I was so busy telling David and his parents
Not to expect too much on the
first visit, I-I forgot to tell myself.
I guess now I'm feeling his depression and disappointment.
You know, Phil,
the mind can play dangerous tricks.
Your conscious self knows that you're
doing the best you can to treat this boy.
But the subconscious? Ah, the
subconscious is like a computer.
It can't make judgments about
right or wrong. It just stores facts.
And the fact is
That no matter how hard it gets,
David steward is trying to find himself through you.
Yeah. That's pretty good, beale.
Just common sense.
You know, I didn't realize I'm David's chance for recovery.
I just thought I was another spoke in the wheel.
You would have reached the same
conclusion on your own eventually.
Even if you did go to Yale.
Dr. Chandler? Oh, hello. How are you?
I might have some information about the word sterling.
I don't know if it's too valuable, but
you did say to let you know anything,
no matter how insignificant it might be.
Yes, please, go ahead. Well, I
talked to David's grandmother,
and it seems that when David was about 10 or 11,
he bought his mother a sterling
silver St. Christopher medal.
Well, was that a big thing to him? It was.
It seems that he worked at the corner
grocery store for about a month,
just running errands so that
he'd have enough money to pay for it.
What happened to it? After his mother died,
Michael gave it back to him so
that he could have it as a keepsake.
Oh, okay. Well, thank you. Thank you. Maybe that'll help.
Get up.
Wake up. I gotta ask you a few questions. I'm tired.
Look, you slept all afternoon. You missed physical therapy.
Come on, let's go. It's that drug you gave me.
Baloney. Low-dose sedatives don't make you that sleepy.
Okay. Now.
You bought your mother a
sterling silver St. Christopher medal.
And when she died, your father
gave it back to you. Do you remember?
Nope. Try. It was five or six years ago.
You saved up the money by getting
a job at a local grocery store.
Sorry, I can't. Think.
I am. No, you're not.
I said I can't remember. You're not trying.
Think. Try. Remember. Talk, talk, talk.
I'm tired of it. I've had enough. Just concentrate.
I'm tired of it!
Look, David, I can't help you if you won't let me.
I don't want your help. It won't do any good.
I'm gonna be this way forever,
so stop wasting your time, okay?
I know what's wrong with Mr. Heller.
Heller? Oh, the nosebleed? Gaucher's disease.
Go-shay's. Yeah.
Well, you've gone from a basic
nosebleed to a rare, chronic disease.
One of probably 30 possibilities for a
bleeding disorder and splenomegaly.
Listen. This is Arnold toynbee on
the migration of the ashkenazim.
Toynbee? The historian? "The latter day Jewish herodians"
"Seized the opportunity that western liberalism offered,
by carrying forward the policy of assimilation."
If you're gonna tell me that gaucher's
Is as common among the ashkenazim
as tay-sachs, I already know it.
Now, Wendy, I think your speculation is very interesting.
I really do. But toynbee isn't medical fact, is it?
What's your diagnosis? Heavy and
spontaneous bleeding from the nose.
Pain of varying severity in the knees, hips and shoulders.
Bruises. A protruding abdomen
because of an enlarged spleen and liver.
Member of a racial group prone to a particular disease.
I want to order a glucocerebrosidase.
That's a very expensive test.
It's the only way I'll find out for sure.
It costs $250. I realize that.
You do? Well, then why don't you go ahead and try it.
- [Knocking]
- What can I do for you?
I do wanna remember.
Hi, Bob. Mm.
Oh, Mark. Shh.
You were right, you know.
You can't make new old friends.
You're a good person, Bob.
You always were, and I know you always will be.
So, I just wanted to say, um, good luck, buddy.
I don't know how
You can drink cold beer when it is freezing outside.
You know, it's gonna get down to zero tonight?
Yeah, I heard. Why don't you put it over here?
I have an electric blanket if you'd like.
No, this is fine.
I've always needed someone like you.
I've dreamed of someone like you.
When you went to see Myra today
I just went to pick up a few things.
Feel my heart, Peter.
Feel it.
Valium and everything, it still won't stop.
Sandy, you have nothing to worry about.
Move in with me.
I'll make you the happiest man on the face of the earth.
Please. Come here.
[David] They said she was my mother.
[Chandler] What do you say? I think she was.
When I was supposedly dead,
and I could see fiscus and the others
working on me in the emergency room?
Yes?
When I floated up into the light,
this is the woman who held out
her arms and asked me if I was ready.
Do you have any other memories of her?
I've been trying to. [Elevator bell dings]
Look at the photograph.
Concentrate on her face.
Study it.
Sit back, relax.
See her face smiling.
Imagine the smile getting wider and wider,
until it breaks into a laugh.
Can you see her laughing?
Yeah. Okay.
Good.
Imagine yourself in the photograph,
standing right next to her, okay?
And you're laughing too.
You're sharing a joke together. You're talking together.
I see it. Good.
You take out a brightly wrapped box,
a gift for her.
Imagine the color and design of the wrapping paper.
And a bow? Oh, yeah, sure. If you see it, yes.
How big is the box?
Well, it's not very big. About, uh
[Paper rustling] About this big.
And you hand it to her proudly.
And she puts her arms around you gratefully.
But she hasn't even opened it.
Oh, she's-she's happy to get it.
It's a sign of your love for her.
And she loves you very much.
Open it. Yes.
Slowly she unfolds the bow, pulls back the tape.
See, she doesn't want to mess up the wrapping paper.
Takes out the little box. Oh!
She sees the name of a jeweler on the top.
Her eyes filled with expectation.
She takes off the top, looks inside.
Great expectation in her eyes.
She pulls out this.
Scar. Yes.
He had a scar.
Who?
The man. The one who shot me.
I-I he took everything I had.
I-I asked him, I said,
"take my wallet, my watch, but please leave me the medal."
I remember.
I remember the scar.
[Chuckling] [Sighs]
[Knocking] Come in.
Dr. Westphall? Uh-huh.
The special chemistry lab completed
the enzyme test on Mr. Heller.
He's got a glucocerebrosidase
level of 220. That's very high.
Not if you've got gaucher's disease. True enough.
I was right. Well, I wouldn't be so happy about it.
It's a chronic disease and you're
still gonna have to tell Mr. Heller
That he's gonna require
medication for the rest of his life.
But I found it. It took me all
day and all night, but I found it.
Maybe next time you'll do what I tell you to do.
What do you mean? What I told you this morning.
Get a complete family history.
Good night, Dr. Westphall. Good night.
Dr. Armstrong?
Congratulations.
[Mews]