Previously on The Resident...
Why are you here?
- I'm not here to see you. - I know this is hard,
but I can't have you in my life right now.
What's your beef with Dr. Sutton?
She's my mother.
She gave birth to me
and then wanted nothing to do with me.
The defining experience in your life is abandonment.
Conrad Hawkins, there's been an accident.
Nicolette Nevin. Single-car collision.
Significant intrusion on the driver's side.
Her brain is herniating.
Nic won't recover from this, Conrad.
Open the tunnel.
Open the tunnel. Oh, there it is.
Hey.
Hold still.
You know, you've been visiting the crash site
every morning for the past two weeks.
You never come home feeling better or...
more informed than when you left.
I'm just wondering
if this might be doing you more harm than good.
Just something I need to do, Dad.
There had to have been a medical cause for the accident.
Cops believe she was alone on the road.
It wasn't dark.
No skid marks.
She could have fallen asleep.
Nah, unlikely. When she was driving,
she always had a thermos of coffee with her.
It was her thing.
Maybe she was texting.
She wouldn't do that.
The car could have caused her to swerve.
Kid on a bike.
Deer. Raccoon. Who knows?
Whenever we went on trips, she always wanted to drive.
She hated the way I drove.
She was a great driver.
Just doesn't make sense.
I know the answer's in her medical records.
I know.
I, uh, think I'm gonna take GiGi to the park.
Let ball, please.
Let's take a minute?
You know, Dr. Devi showed me a real slick way
to tack down hernia mesh laparoscopically.
The intern Devi?
Have you managed to get Kit Voss into bed yet?
Next question, Dr. Kranepool.
You're taking instruction from children, for God's sakes.
You can't close on the boss.
I showed you how to be
an unrelenting master of the universe.
- The hell happened? - Serve the ball, tough guy.
They see your confidence is gone, it's over.
Yeah, well, my universe is a little smaller than it once was,
but my confidence...
is fine.
Eh...
Yeah, I'm needed in the OR.
We'll finish this up tonight,
if you're not too bushed.
Now, with all the fibrous tissue removed,
what is the critical anatomical region
we're looking at, Dr. Devi?
- The hepatocystic triangle. - Good.
Now, zoom in with the camera.
More.
Until I tell you to stop, Doctor.
Yes. Finally.
That's good.
Could you talk me through the advantages
of operating at such a high magnification, Dr. Kranepool?
I've only read that the field of view
should be kept at a wide angle.
Well, if you're lucky, you'll reach a point in your career
where you don't need books to remind you
of basic anatomy... though I have my doubts.
I know the location of every structure
in and out of my field of vision.
Blood keeps pooling, and the source is outside
of our field of vision. I'm zooming out, Doctor.
Do not zoom out.
Point the camera inferiorly.
More.
Now to the right.
- I'm losing orientation, Doctor. - Then suction faster.
I have to pull back. I can't see anything.
My way or the highway, Dr. Snowflake.
BP's falling.
Good save, Dr. Devi.
If you'd still like to widen your view, Doctor,
feel free to watch from the hallway.
Hey, thanks for meeting me.
- Why did you call me? - Something you said to me
keeps coming back.
- Yeah? What? - I'm not interested
in that cliché-filled lecture you're itching to deliver
about bad choices and unmet potential served up...
You are dangerously close
to putting me off of my favorite breakfast burrito.
The defining experience of my life is abandonment.
That's what you said.
You disagree?
I don't think that's true.
Let me help you out.
Do you surround yourself with lower companions?
Huh? Half-bright stoners who won't ever leave
because you make them feel special by association?
Do you gravitate toward emotionally withholding women
who reflect your false sense of your own worthlessness?
When you can't draw ego sustenance from your acolytes,
do you have grandiose fantasies about who you might become
to show your bio mom Billie what a mistake she's made?
If you've answered yes to any of those questions,
the defining experience in your life is abandonment.
So, Trevor, what do you know about your birth father?
All she told me about my biological father
was that he was three years older than her,
teenage ladies' man,
- football stud. - Mm.
So, two careless high school kids, huh?
- No, no, put that back. - Are you kidding?
- We got to record what happens. - Trevor, listen to me. Stop.
Okay, this is how it's gonna go.
You only speak when spoken to.
It's only "Yes, sir" or "No, sir",
and keep your hands in plain sight at all times.
This is not a request.
Morning, Officer.
Sir, are you aware that your right taillight is out?
Yes, sir. I'm sorry about that, Officer.
I ordered the part from Germany.
It should be here tomorrow. You know, it's kind of hard
to track down European vintage car parts locally.
- License and registration, please? - Sure.
And then I'm gonna need you both
to step out of the car, gentlemen.
Easy, all right?
Just easy.
Keep your hands on the car where I can see 'em, gentlemen.
Oh, I cannot wait till your pasty ass finds out
- what he does for a living. - Hey, Trevor, chill.
What was that?
I mean, all you see is two Black men in a car
that's a little too nice, so it must be stolen, right?
Or we must be into something illegal.
- Trevor, easy. Trevor... - And once you run the plates,
- Trevor! Trevor! - and they're clean,
suddenly you'll remember that we fit
the description of a wanted Black man
wearing a shirt and pants,
- between five-one and six-eight. - You might want to calm down, son.
- Oh, I'm not your son. - Son, put your hands on that vehicle.
- Stop calling me "son". - Officer... - Get your hands on the car!
Trevor, back up!
Call 911.
911. What's your emergency?
A cop got hit by a scooter.
We're on Rose, just west of Nelson Boulevard.
- Ambulance is five minutes out. - He won't make it that long.
His airway's flooded with blood.
In my glove box, there's a black bag with a scalpel and pen.
Grab it.
You just helped save a man's life.
- Synced and corrected by Firefly - - www.addic7ed.com -
I've been able to rule out a lot of things based on these labs.
- They're, they're all normal. - Okay. That's progress.
Yeah, but a problem with her heart
is still a distinct possibility.
Well, what exactly are you looking for?
I need to know why she crashed.
Telemetry strip gives me a window
into her cardiac rhythm while she was in the hospital, but...
maybe we missed an underlying arrhythmia.
- Sure, that is a possibility, but... - But...
what?
But it is unlikely, right?
"Unlikely" is not definitive.
We'll have a better sense of things
if I measure every peak and valley
on this damn strip.
We find a run of PVCs, we're onto something.
I have another pair of calipers in the box.
You want to grab a strip?
Sure. Yeah.
Conrad said he wants everything in here.
Yeah, I'll bring it to him when I do my check-in.
Well, he is deep down a rabbit hole right now.
A medical mystery tour.
I'm not sure I like it.
Nic's dead. Nothing's gonna change that.
So let him tilt at windmills.
It's not hurting you.
If he doesn't find what he wants, then what?
You'll be there for him.
We all will.
Are we absolutely sure that Nic couldn't have...
Are we absolutely sure that Nic couldn't have had a seizure
or an ischemic stroke?
I know by the time we did the scan,
her brain was swollen, so...
it might have been hard to see something like that.
You know, we've been through all of her labs and her tox screen.
Nothing suggests she was predisposed
to a seizure or a stroke.
You're absolutely certain?
Having a hard time connecting the dots here.
Yeah, I get that.
And you are a very formidable diagnostician...
Oh, don't humor me, Billie.
Listen, but whatever you're looking for,
it didn't happen in Nic's brain.
I'm sorry.
Nic was mine.
I was hers. It was us.
There was no me.
Now the only thing I recognize about myself
is that I'm a doctor.
After my mom died,
my dad was finally able to remember to hang up his towel
instead of tossing it on the bed,
which drove her crazy.
I just kept telling him how proud she'd be.
And I'll say the same to you.
Did Nic ever feel faint or pass out as a kid,
like when you guys were playing sports or something?
Not that I can remember.
Sorry.
He could have lost the patient.
He would have lost the patient
if it weren't for Dr. Devi.
And then he told me to go stand in the hallway.
What would you do?
You know that Kranepool and Bell are super tight, right?
They've been besties since we used leeches.
I'm aware of that.
Also, the Hippocratic oath is: "Do no harm".
"Stop an old white guy who could destroy your career
from maybe doing harm".
I'm also aware of that.
But if his skills are diminished and he wrecks a patient,
I would never forgive myself for doing nothing.
I get that.
If you do decide to make your concerns known,
just find a way to do it without leaving a paper trail
or saying anything that could be quoted, all right?
What am I supposed to do?
Communicate them with an interpretive dance?
I would pay to see that.
You're not being helpful.
All right, I'm sorry. I'm just...
I'm just too tired to think right now.
Well, maybe Conrad will be back soon,
and you won't have to keep covering his shifts.
He is on his own schedule.
But I miss you.
I miss you, too.
I'm gonna have to force myself to eat
before my next surgery with Kranepool.
40-ish male versus scooter. High speed.
Airway secured during the field. Level-1 trauma now.
Bay Ten.
Let's go, fellas.
All right, on my count.
One, two, three.
All right, I'm starting the primary survey.
Crackles bilaterally.
He's tachy to the 150s. Let's get him on a vent.
Let's get a vent in here!
The field cric is perfectly done.
- This your work? - Me and the kid.
Aortic regurgitation due to severely damaged valve.
He's in rapid heart failure.
Call to the OR. Book an emergency sternotomy.
- Hey, AJ. - Yeah?
- Were you at the scene of the accident? - Oh, yeah.
Officer Winnaker pulled us over and out of the car
for driving-while-Black, then he pulled his gun out
and he got hit by the scooter.
- His gun? - Yeah.
Are you sure you're in the right headspace to work on him?
Pravesh, I saved the guy's life once already.
I am not gonna lower my batting average to .500,
patient's bad intentions notwithstanding.
Thank you.
Hello, Dr. Devi.
I have cried twice this morning
trying to choose a replacement for Nic.
Are you all right?
Say something, dear.
There's something you need to communicate to me?
Oh... you wish to remain anonymous.
Clever girl.
So, uh, does this concern another doctor at the hospital?
A surgeon you've worked with?
Someone in whose OR you've recently been?
Dr. Kranepool?
Oh.
Crunch no more. I'll look into it.
Oh, one more question.
Can I have one of those?
Aaron Kranepool?
- That's ridiculous. - I've poked around.
- His stats are declining precipitously. - Oh, come on, Kit,
the guy's a machine.
He's only a couple of years older than me...
- he still beats me at squash. - You told me he cheats.
Well, no, I think what I said was he's highly competitive.
I understand he's a good friend and he's important to you.
No, it's-it's more than that.
He was a resident when I was an intern,
and an attending when I was a resident,
and he was... he was my example.
I'm sure he was a damn good one,
but it appears things have changed.
Now, wasn't he just down at Hopkins
for their in-depth skills assessment?
You know self-reporting poor results
for the Hopkins assessment is optional.
The only person who sees it is the doctor being tested.
Yeah, okay, okay. So somebody reported him.
I don't need to know who, just...
what exactly was said.
I couldn't possibly repeat verbatim what was told to me.
Why not?
You are an exemplary surgeon.
I know you can't imagine entering an OR
without being in perfect mental and physical shape.
It would be anathema to you.
Uh... well, exemplary, I don't know.
I need to know
if there's even a small chance
that Kranepool could injure a patient.
What do you need me to do?
He has a surgery this afternoon.
I'd like you to observe.
Fine. I'm-I'm sure whatever was said is overblown.
Let's hope so.
And you're absolutely sure your hands were visible
the entire time?
Oh, my God, for the third time, yes...
sir.
We just want to make sure we have an accurate account.
Now, it's a natural reaction to be angry
when you're pulled over.
Maybe you raised your voice, took a step
- towards Officer Winnaker... - How do you guys do this with a straight face, huh?
I mean, if we were white, we'd never be hands on the hood
- for a damn taillight. - Easy, now. That's a serious accusation.
Okay, I'm done answering your transparent,
- insulting questions. - Excuse me, officers.
I'm pretty sure you have all you need.
You have our phone numbers.
If you need any more information,
you know how to contact us.
We'll be in touch.
- Thank you. - Mm-hmm.
You want to watch me operate on Officer Winnaker?
Yeah, I'm a little busy, so...
I'll pass.
Oh, yeah?
What, you got to go home and cook up some Molly?
Go to the admin office on the second floor.
You have to fill out some paperwork.
What is going on with you and Trevor?
He called me this morning and we had breakfast.
Okay, I told you, this is very complicated for me.
And with Nic gone, I'm already pretty ragged.
- I don't need this, AJ. - I get it, I get it. I'm sorry.
Bringing him here was not part of the plan.
But then there seemed to be a lesson in there
- that the kid could learn... - Wait, who asked you to give life lessons
to the kid I gave up?
Why are you so angry with him?
Huh?
He's curious about his genes.
He has a suspicion that nature has a bigger hand in who he is
than nurture, and those kind of questions
can torture a kid.
They tortured me.
You're overstepping,
and you need to stop.
What did I tell you?
Look at this run of PVCs.
Yeah, but it's...
I know she had a significant brain injury at the time,
but before you say anything else, look at this.
From when Nic got stabbed. Her EKGs.
Okay.
Multiple PVCs.
This could be the answer to something, but...
I don't know what.
Uh, she could have had a genetic heart condition.
Her mother died young... maybe that's what happened to Nic.
Did GiGi inherit it?
If I know, I can address it.
When my father died, you let me do what I needed to do,
and I want to repay that kindness to you.
But what you found
are a few premature ventricular contractions,
all when Nic was sick, post-stabbing,
or with, ultimately, a fatal brain injury.
Do you honestly...
find this significant?
Because...
I know it's not meaningful, and I know that
because of what you taught me.
Bearing the Unbearable.
The Other Side of Sadness.
How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies.
Those books don't have the answer I need
when GiGi asks me how her mother died.
The heart is exposed.
Prepare the bypass catheters.
Oh.
- Well, that could be a problem. - Dr. Austin?
The proximal aorta was damaged in the trauma.
People, we have to work quickly if we don't want...
Ruptured aorta.
All right, everybody, listen up, there's a new plan.
All eyes on me.
We're gonna have to crash on pump.
You two cannulate the femoral artery.
I will cannulate the IVC through the right atrium.
Be ready to start bypass on my order.
We are against the clock, people,
so let's move fast.
All right, clamp number one.
Scalpel.
Catheter.
BP 87/48 and dropping.
Let's start the bypass. Cool the blood to 18 degrees Celsius.
Did we do it, Dr. Austin?
You did great. But don't get too excited.
That was just step one in keeping this man alive.
Once his temperature cools to 18 degrees,
we will drain all the blood out of his body.
- The hell? - And then we will perform
a two-hour repair in 20 minutes to give him his blood back
before he goes brain-dead.
Devi, where you headed?
OR One, Kranepool.
Hear he's a disaster.
It's our second dance of the day.
He almost killed a patient and then threatened to exile me.
I've been anxious all morning
at the thought of returning to his OR.
I'm about to do battle with a wicked spinal GBM.
- Love to have you with me. - I wish I could.
Now let's hope I don't pass out from the stress.
- Hey. - Hey.
You asked me if Nic ever passed out playing sports...
and she didn't... but she did faint a few times at school.
Mm, when and what were the circumstances?
Like, right before a big test.
You know, midterm or a final.
It's probably nothing, but I thought you should know.
- Can you do me a favor? - Name it.
I-I need you to call Kyle.
He's-he's not speaking to me.
Just, you can make up some excuse why you're calling him,
and then, I don't know, I just...
I need you to ask him if Nic's mom had a history of fainting.
Will do.
Did your med school teach you to assist the attending
or get in his way?
To assist, Dr. Kranepool.
Are you deaf and blind?
No. I don't have either of those disabilities.
I've had enough. You need to scrub out,
get your eyes and ears checked. Now.
- I'm sorry, Dr. Kranepool. - Get out!
Now.
Patient is tachy to the 170s.
I need suction over here.
Gloves, please.
Thank you.
Randolph, what the hell?
I was watching upstairs.
Just looked like you could use a hand.
You were babysitting me?
Suction.
Lap pad.
And clamp.
You crossed a line.
Look, you shouldn't even have been in the neighborhood
of the right hepatic, then you blew through it
and you couldn't find it while your patient was bleeding out.
You didn't leave me any choice.
You've got a set of balls on you.
Hey, we need to have an honest conversation
about your fitness for surgery.
- Are you for real? - Oh, come on, Aaron,
what happened in there was very problematic.
Oh, please. You put on your cape
and flew in for a minor miscue.
You're a nervous Nellie.
You should be embarrassed.
Will you show me the results of your Hopkins tests?
When did you become so sanctimonious?
Surgery is rarely flawless.
- There are always complications. - You used to be
the closest thing to flawless I've ever seen.
I recall an appendectomy you performed a few years back.
Your patient died on your table.
I didn't come knocking on your door, did I?
But you should have.
I'm not the same man I was four years ago.
- You got that right. - It's the greatest regret of my life,
putting my own self-interest ahead of my patients'.
And if you want to hold me accountable
for the appendectomy, I will take what comes.
Good God, you've lost your way.
For the sake of our friendship,
don't mention my surgical skills again.
I'll see you on the squash court tonight.
A good, old-fashioned drubbing
will put your feet back on the ground where they belong.
Right now he's an enormous liability.
I wish I could fire him, but we both know
- how difficult that is. - That's like firing a tenured professor.
Plus, he's an icon.
And he's entitled to due process.
Well, it's a moot point.
We don't have the necessary documentation
- to prove he's dangerous. - True.
And most of his patients' complications
fall under "acceptable" risks of surgery.
Oh, the system doesn't work.
Yeah, well...
we've been allowed to build too high a wall
to protect ourselves.
Bottom line, Kranepool is a time bomb,
and I don't want him exploding on my watch.
Yeah.
We're getting close, kiddo.
Grandpa Kyle told Aunt Billie
that Mama and her mama both fainted
a few times over the years.
Yeah. Yeah.
Always in the summer.
I know.
Always in the summer, when it's hot
and they were dehydrated.
They didn't think it was significant back then,
but now...
I think... it is very...
very significant.
We got a couple more things we need to do.
Okay? Oh?
Yeah, you like that?
Couple more pieces to complete our puzzle.
But I promise you,
I promise you I won't stop until we have all the answers we need.
Hey, Conrad.
- Listen, about today... - Ah, forget it.
I think I've figured it out.
- Okay. - Nic has a family history of early death,
starting with her mom.
They both had fainting spells.
Nic had PVCs on the monitor.
Yes, but she had a normal echo and a normal EKG.
Which proves my point.
Everything we're talking about is characteristic
of catecholaminergic polymorphic VT.
Listen.
Are you serious?
Do you know how rare that is?
But it makes perfect sense.
A genetic form of sudden cardiac failure.
Conrad...
You can have a normal resting heart function.
But stress and physical exertion can cause serious arrhythmia.
You can pass out, even die.
Fine. I mean, that is possible.
All the panic attacks Nic had,
everything that we thought was the thyroid,
that could have been CPVT.
Yes, it's a compelling theory...
She's stressed out on the drive home,
rushing to get back to us.
That could have sparked the arrhythmia.
Wait a second.
But it is a theory without evidence.
That's why I brought GiGi in.
I'm gonna have her tested for the CPVT gene.
Then I'll know.
So, um, how many times did that cop almost die in there?
- Mm, by my count, three. - Right, right.
So, um, why'd you go above and beyond
and give this guy the chance to destroy
a few more brothers down the road?
Look, the best I can do
in the face of ignorance is be better.
My excellence is the best revenge.
So you think this guy is gonna change his worldview
because a Black doctor saved his life with his "excellence"?
Come on, man, that's naive.
Whoa, hold up, slow your roll.
It's not about the cop, Sherlock.
It's about me.
Saint or sinner,
they all get treated the same underneath my knife.
In the sanctity of my OR,
there is no place for moral relativism.
When the world around me is irredeemable,
I am a righteous man.
What kind of man do you want to be?
I have an early surgery tomorrow, so let's not dawdle.
I believe it's my serve.
You served the ball out of bounds this morning,
so it's actually my serve.
No.
If we're gonna settle this on the court,
we got to play by the same rules.
The hell is that supposed to mean?
One-zero.
Seven-nothing.
I've been letting you win for the past year.
You're not good enough.
Look, you taught me how to play the game.
I could see how unbearable it was for you to lose,
so I've just been ignoring the bad calls.
Serve the damn ball.
No, I'm all right... fine.
It's your peripheral vision. We both know that.
I can put the ball where you can't find it every time.
Serve the ball.
I take no joy in this, A.K.
People are getting hurt.
This is your exit ramp. Just-just take it.
Rest on your laurels before you destroy them.
I have no hobbies and three alimonies.
What the hell am I supposed to do with the rest of my life?
I don't know.
But you got to find a new game.
To answer your question,
I'm not angry at him.
I'm trying to protect him.
From you?
He's not the product of first love.
I was raped.
By our neighbor.
I was 13. He was a grown man.
Billie...
Trevor wants to know who his father is.
Is that an answer anyone needs?
Damn.
I can't even...
begin to understand that kind of pain.
And I can only imagine how hard it is to even say those words.
So I'm honored that you shared that with me.
- And, Billie, I am so... - AJ,
don't say you're sorry.
You're a good man.
Just stay in your lane.
You get the results?
Uh...
negative.
She doesn't have it.
And...
Nic probably didn't, either.
A million things happen every second
to every single person on the planet.
Some are joyful,
most are inconsequential,
and a few...
Are unbearable.
Those are the hardest ones to explain.
Can you make peace with that?
You've been talking at me nonstop all day.
What happened, you, uh, you run out of words or something?
Not possible.
Yeah, I didn't think so.
Hey, so would it be cool if I come back to watch
some more of your surgeries?
Look, Trevor, um...
Look, we can keep meeting up, right?
You know, grab something to eat, chop it up.
- Yeah. - But, um...
we're gonna have to steer clear of Chastain.
She, uh, she told you not to bring me around?
Yeah.
What the hell did I ever do to her?
Nothing.
Now, this is not on you.
This is no reflection of your worth, Trevor.
This is about Billie.
All right? You haven't done anything wrong.
Yeah, it doesn't feel like that, man.
I know. I know, man.
And I know in the moment you may feel... disposable.
But you are not.
Billie's got her own story, man.
She... she's got her own damage.
You're just caught up in the crossfire.
You hear me?
Yeah.
Yeah, I hear you.
All right.
I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I'm still not even sure
I did the right thing reporting Kranepool.
Look, Kranepool almost killed someone
after he banned you from his OR.
If you hadn't told Kit, Bell wouldn't have been in there
to save the patient's life.
Thank you.
For what?
For confirming what I believe.
That people deserve the truth,
no matter how complicated or painful it can be.
To friends, old and new.
Everything hurts.
Well, not to minimize your discomfort...
but it was worth it.
Aaron Kranepool has retired.
Well...
I'm relieved, but...
maybe a little heartbroken.
You've saved who knows how many lives.
I lost an old friend in the bargain.
You've done him a great service as well.
Perhaps one day he'll figure that out.
Oh, come on, look,
your posture cannot be helping your discomfort. Scooch down.
Wait, wait, wait.
- How does that feel? - Good, really...
That's good.
Just promise me
when it's time for me to hang up my squash racket, you'll...
just-just tell me
- in no uncertain terms. - Oh, you know I will.
No, I do know that.
It gives me great comfort.
Should we have that dinner we've been trying to have?
I'd like that.
You know, Kit, apropos of so many things,
there's-there's no one's opinion of me that matters more...
... than yours.
- Synced and corrected by Firefly - - www.addic7ed.com -