S07.E14: All the Things That Could Have Been

[DanaK]

Quote

03/02/2022 (08:00PM - 09:00PM) (Wednesday) : Goodwin assigns Med's new compliance officer to a patient with a long-hauler Covid condition. Maggie helps Will treat a patient who's been in an iron lung for 60 years. Stevie learns hard truths about her mother. Terrell returns to Med under dire circumstances.
 

I liked most of the stories tonight, with probably Maggie and the polio patient the best. Goodwin really got one over on the compliance officer. And it was good that Stevie’s mom seems to have finally turned a corner. Terrell being dyslexic was also interesting

[preeya]

Iron Lung Man is  Det. Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz from Barney Miller.

[mommalib]

Terrell being dyslexic is what most peaked my interest tonight. The way it possibly effected his life and him not even knowing what was wrong with him because he Black and under the poverty line. I also continue to love Dr. Scott I would want somebody like him to be my doc if I was rolled into the ER.

Glad Maggie is okay and she dodged that bullet. 

Goodwin has been awesome the last two weeks. First with the STD mom and this week with the compliance officer. 

I didn't see Maggie's daughter and the compliance officer coming. Kind of out of left field. 

[preeya]

Isn't there a big difference between guidelines and rules? I'm of the opinion that guidelines are just suggested ways of doing something as opposed to a hard and fast rule or mandatory procedure.

Is Dr. Compliance Officer going to be Dr. Choi's replacement?  If so, I can foresee many combative situations between him and Archer.

Edited March 3, 2022 by preeya

[Dave66]

The actor who played Ellis is sooo familiar. Someone please tell me who it is. 

[LittleIggy]

The compliance officer is hot! 
Any medical people here? Can people in iron lungs not be put on some other kind of respiration device and be able to be in a wheelchair? 

42 minutes ago, preeya said:

Iron Lung Man is  Det. Stan "Wojo" Wojciehowicz from Barney Miller.

No kidding? Wow! Max Gail is 78.  Just looked him up.

[LydiaMoon1]

I haven't watched this show for a long time, but i did catch it last night (mostly because there was nothing else on). What's with the blonde doctor who was working with the dyslexic patient and had the homeless mom? She looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown the entire hour. Her face was scrunched up in almost every scene, like she was two seconds away from hysterics. I found it really uncomfortable.  Was that just her style of "acting" or was her behavior due to storyline?

[izabella]

She's almost always like that, but especially when it's about her mother.  Her face is perpetually stressed out, regardless of what's happening.

[LittleIggy]

Stevie shouldn’t have jumped all over Dr. Charles like that. She knows about confidentiality rules. Anyway, I like the actress (since Being Human) and the character so I hope she doesn’t leave or is just gone temporarily.

[SunnyBeBe]

I put this on other thread before this one opened.  The iron lung patient is based on a real person.  
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/texas-man-lives-70-years-in-an-iron-lung-i-never-gave-up-180979008/

I wondered the same thing about why they couldn’t go on ventilator, but from what I read about vents during covid, they are not designed for long term use.  I know little about an iron lung.  
 

Is Stevie really leaving and why?  I thought she was fitting in well.  She annoyed me at times with her entitlement to know stuff that is legally protected, but she was still better than the former female doctors.  
 

 

[mrsbagnet]

Good on Goodwin for slyly showing Dr. Shentu why his policies don't work. I love how Archer tries to flex Shentu and mock his performance as if he's never thoroughly fucked up a patient's care. Has he forgotten that his actions led to Ethan being shot? 

[Frisky Wig]

16 hours ago, LydiaMoon1 said:

I haven't watched this show for a long time, but i did catch it last night (mostly because there was nothing else on). What's with the blonde doctor who was working with the dyslexic patient and had the homeless mom? She looked like she was on the verge of a breakdown the entire hour. Her face was scrunched up in almost every scene, like she was two seconds away from hysterics. I found it really uncomfortable.  Was that just her style of "acting" or was her behavior due to storyline?

Yeah, that’s just her over-emotive, exaggerated face. 
 

The story with Terrell and his dyslexia hit me in the feels. I grew up believing I was inarguably stupid and it led to awful self-esteem and serious mental health issues. It wasn’t until a surprise autism diagnosis when I was 27 that I realized that the traits I thought were stupidity (I’m awful with directions, often miss social cues and sarcasm, etc) are very common autism traits. The knowledge that there’s an actual diagnosis to explain how my brain works, that I’m smart but just neurodivergent, completely changed my life for the better. The relief was immense. When Terrell cried in his hospital bed, I felt that. 

[SunnyBeBe]

I was impressed with the small apt Stevie’s mom had moved into.  I’ve read about   those type of structures that are designed for the homeless.  She mentioned a community shower, but I wondered if they each had a bathroom.  

[LittleIggy]

On 3/3/2022 at 7:51 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

I put this on other thread before this one opened.  The iron lung patient is based on a real person.  
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/texas-man-lives-70-years-in-an-iron-lung-i-never-gave-up-180979008/

I wondered the same thing about why they couldn’t go on ventilator, but from what I read about vents during covid, they are not designed for long term use.  I know little about an iron lung.  
 

Is Stevie really leaving and why?  I thought she was fitting in well.  She annoyed me at times with her entitlement to know stuff that is legally protected, but she was still better than the former female doctors.  
 

 

Paralyzed people (like Christopher Reeves) use external respirators. 
Stevie is far better than Natalie!

 

Maggie’s daughter had a crush on Dr. Marcel. Now she apparently has one on Dr. Shentu. They are both hot, but she shouldn’t be getting into workplace romances

[SunnyBeBe]

Apparently, the iron lung lost in popularity with invention of the modern ventilator, however, due to some physical conditions, the iron lung may still be necessary for some patients.  There are even different variations.  Some are short and just cover the torso.  Others large as a room!  
 

This piece says the iron lung replicates normal breathing better than the vent.  It’s amazing how long many iron lung users have lived.  I’m glad they covered the story.  I actually learned something from it.  
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_lung

 

[Court]

Had some time and checked back into this show after giving it up. To my shock and delight, there was no April and Natalie. I wondered where Choi was but he had been insufferable so bye too. I enjoyed this episode. 

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Court said:

Had some time and checked back into this show after giving it up. To my shock and delight, there was no April and Natalie. I wondered where Choi was but he had been insufferable so bye too. I enjoyed this episode. 

Glad you gave it another chance. The absence of the two you named and the addition of new characters have greatly improved the series. Plus more Dr. Charles!

[dogdays2]

Add me to those who are so happy that Natalie and April are gone.  I'm not in love with the Stevie character, but she's an upgrade.  I love the Dr. Scott character.  Lots of balance and great acting.  

I too wondered if the iron lung story was based on a real person and found the same link.  Think he's one of maybe 2 people still alive on iron lungs after polio.  For a moment, I wondered if they'd used the real life person instead of the actor.  

Why is it that NO ONE on this show can have a stable marital or family relationship?  I understand it's TV, but there can be a lot of drama in having to balance life in surgery / the ER / a hospital with a spouse and kids.  All we ever see are people hitting on each other or breaking up with each other in the workplace.  It's not normal and, when done endlessly season after season, loses any impact.  

I assume they have decided to ignore COVID for filming purposes.  I'm sort of fine with that but, since I have to wear a hospital-grade mask any time I'm in any type of medical facility (even today), a short disclaimer at the beginning would be nice.  Maybe it's there and I missed it . . .

 

 

[greyhorse]

On 3/3/2022 at 6:44 PM, mrsbagnet said:

Good on Goodwin for slyly showing Dr. Shentu why his policies don't work. I love how Archer tries to flex Shentu and mock his performance as if he's never thoroughly fucked up a patient's care. Has he forgotten that his actions led to Ethan being shot? 

I must have blinked a lot during the episode because I didn't really understand the Goodwin machination with Shentu.  From context after the discussion with Archer, I'm guessing Shentu had some really strict ivory towerish type policy that prevented doctors from doing their job?  What policy was it specifically? And when he somehow was asked to put on scrubs (why was that exactly?  He happened to be in the ER and they were short so he actually had to Doctor again and not just be some corporate puppet?) that he now discovered how corporate policies made by people who don't practice actual medicine can be shockingly prohibitive?  

On 3/5/2022 at 7:12 PM, Court said:

Had some time and checked back into this show after giving it up. To my shock and delight, there was no April and Natalie. I wondered where Choi was but he had been insufferable so bye too. I enjoyed this episode. 

The lack of April is really enjoyable.  Also her brother seems to be gone because of that as well.  Don't miss Nat, although Stevie has replaced her as the new Halstead love interest.  Don't mind that Choi is gone as well because he's gotten a big head since he became chief, but then now with the injury recovery he always appeared constipated.

Don't care for the Charles and his psychiatrist story.

So Terrell is dyslexic, but he never was able to get help.  Did the wife/Scott's ex know that he couldn't read?

6 minutes ago, dogdays2 said:

I assume they have decided to ignore COVID for filming purposes.  I'm sort of fine with that but, since I have to wear a hospital-grade mask any time I'm in any type of medical facility (even today), a short disclaimer at the beginning would be nice.  Maybe it's there and I missed it . . .

I think when Terrel got brought in unresponsive, the EMT was wearing a mask while nobody else was.  Which just appeared odd.  Yes, a little disclaimer at the beginning would be nice, but I think the producers probably think we are smart enough to separate fiction from reality.  Heck, we have to suspend disbelief for probably at least 50% of these medical scenarios anyway.  Seems like we could just conveniently forget that doctors would be wearing masks in these situations during a pandemic.

[yourdreamer]

My mother was the last person in Dallas County to get polio right before the vaccine came out. She was very affected by this episode and rewatched it immediately. She knows of the guy in the article. It was pretty cool. 
 

I really like Dr Scott. 

[awaken]

This show is incredibly fake, but I must admit I had the tiniest bit of real feelings when Terrell was dx with dyslexia. Not that an ER dr would actually do that IRL, but thinking of many people who have had difficulties in life due to undiagnosed learning disorders.