For every person, whether you like school or not, there is always that one teacher who made an invaluable impact on you. That one teacher who said something or taught something at the right time that set their student on a course to who they would become. It’s that one teacher who made such an impact, you want to be able to pay them back in any way you can. When Chicago Med‘s Dr. Halstead faces his former mentor, he has to deal with the awful realization that he might not be able to be of any help at all.
Dr. Manning recognizes the transfer from a long-term care facility as Dr. Bella Rowan, Halstead’s mentor. Once Halstead realizes how far Dr. Rowan has deteriorated, he is furious with the facility for allowing it to happen. Will no family around, Dr. Halstead takes up that responsibility. The problem is we all know how well doctors do taking care of family members. He puts Dr. Rowan through more than her body can take. It is only by listening to Dr. Rowan’s most important lesson, ‘treat the patient, not the disease’, that he realizes he needs to let Dr. Rowan go the way she would want to. That doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult, which is why Dr. Manning is the one who provides some comfort (to the unwelcome surprise of Halstead’s girlfriend). It seems right that as the old wisdom whisks into the building one last time, Maggie trains a new nursing student. The girl has some trouble at first, but Maggie is a patient teacher. We all need those.
Dr. Rhodes does what is supposed to be a standard surgery on a teenager, only to have a minor complication turn into a nightmare. Rhodes has two options to treat his patient. One will require the loss of his arm, and the other will save the arm but is 20-30% riskier. Dr. Rhodes makes the decision not to give both options to the boy’s father since he sees something of his own father there. Rhodes seeing this man as a father who wants to mold his son in his image clouds the doctor’s judgment. He realizes he can’t transfer his feelings onto his patient, and just rely on his skill to help this father and son through.
Reese is having a tougher time after Dr. Wheeler’s suicide than she thought she would. To help Dr. Charles keeps Reese focused on the work. The problem is that she is off her game. She’s been working in psychiatry long enough to know she needs to be subtle, and she’s hyper-focusing on the symptoms of depression because she missed it in Wheeler. The naval commander she, Dr. Charles, and Dr. Choi treat is in fact hiding something. It’s just not depression. Tests reveal a combination of noxious chemicals in his system which aren’t there by accident. The man has been ingesting gasoline, a symptom of the psychiatric disease Pica. Dr. Charles has to say something to the FAA about this, because putting other people’s lives at risk in addition to one’s own is unacceptable. More to the point, allowing it to happen when you know you could save someone is unacceptable.
The lesson of the week is help where you can, and know when you can’t anymore.
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