Chicago Med presents another perplexing yet amazing episode entitled, “Brother’s Keeper”. It starts off with Dr. Manning and Dr. Halstead dropping off their love interests Jeff Clarke and Dr. Nina Shore.
Dr. Choi handles Mr. Hall, an 82-year old man with dementia, who passes out in his apartment and is diagnosed with thymoma (a tumor of the thymus). You’ll see how his son and his girlfriend argue regarding the treatment for Mr. Hall, thus making it difficult for the ED staff to handle his case.
Dr. Manning on the other hand is handling a cancer patient named Haley Cline, who is having an infection after her chemotherapy. Meanwhile, Nurse April is caring for a patient named Danny who has bowel obstruction. His odd behavior leads Dr. Reese and Dr. Charles to his real problem. Watch out for some revelations about this patient and let’s see if the ED staff can save him.
On the other hand, Nurse Maggie brings Jeff Clarke to the “farm” in the hospital, where comatose patients can be found. Something about Maggie’s past will be revealed in this episode. Eric Tillman is brought to the ED due to an infection. You’ll see how this man and Haley Cline are connected. Sharon Goodwin introduces Robin Charles, an epidemiologist who will help Dr. Halstead and Dr. Manning to find the real cause of the outbreak.
Characters To Watch For:
- Robin Charles, the newest member of Chicago Med’s epidemiology department and a DuPont scholar. Robin is Dr. Charles’ daughter. Let’s see if working in the same hospital is an advantage for Robin and her father.
Real Or Not Rating: ★★★★ (1 Being the Worst, 5 Being the Best.)
REAL– How the real world works:
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Decision-making power goes to the next kin if an incapable patient has no advance directive. Mr.
Eddie Hall has dementia and is incapable of making health care decision for himself. He is rushed to the ED without advance directive (a written statement of person’s wishes with regard to his/her medical treatment). Chicago Med’s lawyer is right when he says that decision-making power goes to Mr. Hall’s son and not to his girlfriend. In reality, there are states that have “default surrogate consent laws” or family consent laws that provide hierarchy of authorized family decision-makers starting from spouse, next to children, then to the parents. -
Cancer medications can knock down immune system. Haley Cline is a cancer patient who gets an infection after her last dose of chemotherapy. It’s true that cancer medications can weaken immune system because it lowers white blood cells (cells that help fight infection in the body). That’s why Haley gets an infection easily.
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Heroin withdrawal can mimic symptoms of some diseases. Danny is diagnosed as having bowel obstruction, causing nausea and vomiting. At first, doctors thought that it was just a simple bowel condition until Danny told Dr. Reese that he’s using heroin. In this case, without having thorough history taking, there’s a great chance of misdiagnosing. Drug withdrawal symptoms can sometimes be misinterpreted as another condition.
FAKE– Cringe worthy scenes that would never happen:
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When Haley Cline can’t breathe because of abscess obstructing her pharynx, Dr. Manning and Dr. Halsted attend to her without wearing protective gown. In real life, doctors should wear proper personal protective equipment especially when handling an immunocompromised patient.
