Chicago Med Review: Who Died and Why?

Before the cast of Chicago Med even hinted that there would be a staff death this season, there were signs that it was coming. A few characters have had a rough time of it lately, but there was one who stood out because he was invisible. It’s not hard to be invisible in a busy trauma center. To be invisible is one of the most dangerous emotional ledges to be on, especially when you work in a high stress job. Everyone starts questioning if there was something else they could have done, re-imagining and replaying every moment.

For weeks ER resident Dr. Wheeler has been stressed. Drinking didn’t help, he couldn’t talk to anyone, and being around so much death everyday was taxing. You knew exactly what he was going to do within the first two minutes, but that didn’t make the moment any less horrifying. Everyone in the ER copes with Wheeler’s death in different ways while Ms. Goodwin and Maggie try to get to the bottom of why Dr. Wheeler took his own life.

Dr. Choi reacts the way any military man would after the death of one of his own. He keeps his focus on keeping his team moving, making sure every patient is tended to quickly and thoroughly. The problem is that in his hyperfocus, Dr. Chin mistakes his patient’s Conversion Disorder for a stroke. The boy simply didn’t want to move away because of a boy he liked, so his body responded to that instinct. Chin was very lucky that Dr. Charles put the pieces together before they went through an endless series of tests.

Dr. Manning, Dr. Clarke, April, and Noah work to keep a hypothermic child alive while Dr. Rhodes and Dr. Reese try to help the good samaritan who had a heart attack pulling the kid out of a frozen lake. Because Dr. Wheeler’s death was such a tragedy, perhaps fate decided that a the ER was due for a miracle or two. April and Tate don’t get a miracle, but come to an impasse regarding her job. April is her job at her core, and she can’t be with someone who wants to deny that part of her. Once back to work April sees those miracles up close. Not only does the boy stay alive for hours until a bypass machine becomes available, and Dr. Rhodes catches a condition in the good samaritan he wouldn’t have otherwise be able to see.

Reese is deeply affected because she realizes Dr. Wheeler did reach out to her several times and she didn’t realize how badly he needed the help. She’s not the only one who blames themselves. Dr. Halstead was Wheeler’s supervisor, and he had idea this was coming. Dr. Charles is a psychiatrist and he didn’t suspect either. More than anyone Ms. Goodwin feels disheartened that she and everyone else let Wheeler down. No one saw his suicide coming because no one actually knew him. The longest moments Dr. Chin has with him are at the end of the episode staring Wheeler’s corpse. Everyone learns that they need to take the time to talk to each other. If you ask about someone’s day, the hope is that they feel a little less alone.

Everyone do yourself a favor and take the time to ask about a person’s day.