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Dear Abby

Now What?
The Lost
Dear Abby
Shifts Happen
Out of Africa
The Greater Good
Death and Taxes
Freefall
Missing
Makemba
Touch and Go
nicu
Get Carter
Impulse Control
Blood Relations
Forgive and Forget
The Student
Where There's Smoke
Just a Touch
Abby Normal
Midnight
Drive

[Up]

 

Read the letter
New Posts
from Carter to Abby

A song from this CD was featured in this episode.  Check out more music that was featured on ER on the ER Music page.


Buy the Season 10 DVD

Episode 204 "Dear Abby"
Original Air Date: October 09, 2003
Written by: R. Scott Gemmill
Directed by: Christopher Chulack
Guest Stars:

  • Stephanie Lineburg - Elle Ryser
  • Rhonda Aldrich - ?
  • George Kee Cheung - Mr. Chen
  • Kieu Chinh - Lin Chen
  • Jennifer Jostyn - ?
  • Rhyan Michelle Bathe - Miss Evelyn
  • Alanna Boatright - Mrs. Dunn\
  • Rod Britt - Mr. Helpful
  • Joseph Cellini - Panicky patient
  • Zac Efron - Bobby Neville
  • Jamai Fisher - Little girl
  • Jim Gleason - Little girl's father
  • Melanie Kai - Hostess
  • Danny Le Boyer - Violent patient
  • Lori Lively - Helen
  • Mike Madrical - Granger
  • David J. Partington - Herman
  • Joanne Rubino - Mom
  • John F. Shaffer - Drooling patient
  • Roman Varshavsky - Hand guy

Staff:

  • Abraham Benrubi - Jerry Markovic
  • Conni Marie Brazelton - Conni Oligario
  • Scott Grimes - Morris
  • Susan Ho - Sofun
  • Glenn Howerton - Nick Cooper
  • Ellen Crawford - Lydia Wright Grabarsky
  • Deezer D. - Malik McGrath
  • Troy Evans - Frank Martin
  • Parminder Nagra - Neela Rasgotra
  • Gedde Watanabe - Yosh Takata
  • Bruno Campos - Dr. Dorset
  • Simone-Elise Girard - Gillian
  • Lylian Chauvin - Nurse Edna
  • Albert Owens - Cardiologist Zane


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Abby is showing three of the new residents around the ER.  She shows them the new Triage "cage".  She describes it as a shark cage.  "You can see them circling around, but they can't get to you".  Malik asks her when Dr, Kovac is suppose to get there and she tells him that his flight was suppose to land at 7:30.  He asks about Carter and she shrugs her shoulders.  She introduces Sofun, Morris and Cooper to second-year resident Dr. Pratt.  She then introduces them to Susan Lewis, one of two ER Attendings.  Jerry tells Abby that an ambulance picked Luka up about an hour ago and that there is a bed upstairs already waiting for him.  Lydia and Conni tell Abby about their new and reduced schedules.  They are starting a petition.  Romano is cutting Senior nurses for cheaper labor.  Yosh tells Abby that she has lost the triage lottery and that she has the cage from 9-1.  Luka is wheeled in, but Abby does not get to him before he is put on the elevator.

Romano goes in to get his new prosthesis and is very unhappy with hit.  It is an arm with a hook.  His hospital insurance will not cover a myoelectric device.  He tells the woman that he was working in the hospital helping a patient when he lost his arm and that the insurance should cover the prosthetic arm that he needs.  Abby does her shift in the triage cage.  She sees several patients, even one who brought his own urine sample to save time.  A young woman named Elle Ryser is seen by Abby.  Her mother is with her.  She has a bad cough and she is rundown.  The oxygen level in her blood is low.  She asks Dr. Lewis to take a look at her.  Susan tells Elle that it is probably just pneumonia.  Susan asks Abby how Luka is and she tells her that she hasn't had time to get upstairs to see him yet.  Lydia and Conni want to know if Abby has spoken with Romano yet, they have already given him the petition.  Abby tells them no.  Abby asks Frank where they sent Kovac and he tells her 5 West and that he looks good.  She is surprised that Frank has already been up to see him.  Abby calls up to get an update on him, but Gillian walks up behind Abby and tells her of his condition.  Abby introduces herself and Gilliam tells her that John talked a lot about her.  Gillian hands her the letter from John.  Abby tells Frank that she is taking her break.

Romano storms in to Kerry's office and interrupts a meeting.  He is upset about the hospital's insurance not covering the prosthetic that he needed to be able to perform surgery.  He knocks things off tables and even scratches one up on his way out of the room.

Abby sets on a bench outside as she reads John's letter.  The nurses come out and tell her that they are staging a walk out and that they will be meeting at the Dunkin Doughnuts to work out a plan.  Lydia tells Abby that if they don't do something, they will replace them with part-time nurses who they will not have to pay benefits.  Abby tells her that they are welcome to replace her.  Frank comes out and tells Abby that according to his watch, her break is over.  She takes the letter and crumples it up and throws it toward the trash.  She misses it and Frank picks it up and starts to read it without Abby seeing him.  Coop runs up behind Pratt and he is out of breath.  He uses an inhaler and tells Pratt that he has just ran down from CT.  Pratt has a stack of charts in his arms and tells Coop that the new residents need to pick up the slack.  Pratt walks up behind Neela and hears her saying a prayer softly in Punjabi.  She is suturing a head laceration on a patient.  He asks her a bout it and she tells him that it was a prayer.  He tells her that the patient isn't dying.  She replies, "It wasn't for him.  It's a private prayer".  Jing-Mei walks up and quickly sends Neela to medical records to get a patient's chart.  Jing-Mei reminds Pratt that they are having dinner at 8:00.  She will be wearing her little black dress and she wants him to dress nice too.  Susan and the three new residents are working on a patient.  Malik brings in an x-ray for Susan to see.  Elle has an enlarged heart and is in failure.

It is now 1:00 and Abby's triage cage shift is over.  Romano comes down with the petition and tells Abby to find the nurses.  He wants them in the lounge in 5 minutes or they are fired.  Abby goes to find them.  On her way out, a boy exits a car as it drives off.  His name is Bobby and he has been shot.

Pratt and Abby are working on Bobby.  He crashes and Abby tells Pratt that he needs to crack open his chest.  Pratt wants to intubate him first and Susan walks in.  Susan tells Abby to get Corday on the phone.  "What were you going to do, crack him by yourself?", she asks Abby.  Romano asks his young patient to follow his finger, but she can't quit staring at his hook.  He walks away and tells Morris to tend to her.  Corday arrives and starts to work on Bobby.  The new students are there to observe.  She ends up cracking his chest, as Abby had suggested earlier.  Malik is reading the letter from John to Abby and he asks Frank and Jerry what he meant by the word "unfettered".  "It means she's been dumped", is Frank's reply.  Romano asks if the got the nurses back and Jerry tells him that they went up to Nursing Administrations.  "Hell hath no fury like an R.N. scorned", Frank comments.  Coop asks Romano to sign off on a wound infection, but Romano tells him no.  He introduces himself to Romano and Romano smarts off to him, "Do me a favor would you, Coop?  Air Rescue's bringing in a bad MVA.  Would you go up on the roof and wave in the chopper and make sure you stand right in the middle of the landing pad so they see you".  Coop right away realizes who he is, "You're Rocket Romano, you were a surgeon, use to be Chief of Staff".  Romano tells him that he is still a surgeon.  "Yeah, you got scalpel attachments for that bad boy?", Coop remarks.  Romano turns around and chews him out in front of everyone.  He tells him to "Stay out of my face!"

Bobby has been down for 35 minutes and Elizabeth, Pratt and Susan have done all they can do.  Abby is not ready to give up.  She tells them that the boy walked in to the ER and was talking to her.  Elizabeth tells her that he has been down too long and Susan replies that they are fatal wounds.  Pratt calls it, "Time of death: 13:36".  Susan asks Abby to try and locate the family.  They all walk out of the room and Abby stays to clean him up.

Neela and Coop tend to a man who had a fall.  He is covered in fiberglass dust and this causes Coop's asthma to act up.  Susan walks up and asks Coop if he is ready to present some cases with her and Neela tells her that Coop's asthma is acting up.  Susan tells her to give him albuterol treatment and then to come find her when they are done to clear the board.  A doctor has been in to check on Elle.  He tells Susan that she has primary pulmonary hypertension.  Susan can't believe it.  Pratt gives Abby a bunch of orders and she asks him if she is the only nurse working.  He tells her that Romano already fired six.  She tells him that leaves four nurses for thirty-five patients.  Pratt then apologizes about the kid.  He tells her as he walks away, "For what it's worth, I think it's Carter's loss".   She says "What?", but Elle comes up and she doesn't get a reply from Pratt.  Elle is looking for her parents and Abby tells her to hop back into bed and she will find them for her.  Morris and Neela are working with Coop and his albuterol treatment.  Neela pushes over three times the dose and causes Coop to go into V-tach.  She wants to get an Attending, but Morris tells her that Coop can handle it.  Abby walks up as they are getting a crash cart.  Coop is still alert and Abby asks him if he wants some Valium before they shock him.  He tells her no and to just do it.  They shock him at fifty, but it doesn't do anything but hurt him.  He then asks for the Valium as they charge to one hundred, but they do not hear him.  They shock him back into rhythm.  Abby says, "Congratulations.  You just saved your first resident".

Abby tries to get the nurses to start working, but they will not.  The union steward told them they had to sit there for the remainder of their shift.  Malik comes to get Abby and tells her that Lewis is yelling for her.  Abby asks Malik why he is still working and he tells her that he is an LVN and it doesn't get any cheaper than him.  Abby asks if he can cover for five minutes while she runs upstairs to see about the nursing situation and to check on Luka, but he can't.  Malik apologizes to her for the Carter letter.  He tells her that it was harsh.  She asks how he heard about the letter and he tells her Jerry.  Romano tells her that they will be sending some help, but Edna is down from Geriatrics to assist now.  Abby meets Edna and she tells her that the Carter boy is a putz.  "Too bad you didn't dump him first", she replies.  The big man let her read the letter.  Susan walks up and Abby asks her if she has seen the letter.  Susan tells her no and then tells her about Elle's condition.  She won't live to see her 21st birthday she tells her.  Her parents don't want her to know until after her tests.  Abby can't believe that they are not going to tell her until after three days.  Susan tells Abby to stay out of it, that it is the parent's decision.  A woman with some children got turned around while they were trying to visit a classmate.  They ask Abby for some help.  Abby offers to show them how to get to the third floor.  One of the little girls asks Abby if she is a nurse.  Abby tells her yes and the teacher asks them who would like to be a nurse and none of them raise their hands.  They all want to be doctors.  Kerry gets off of the elevator and begins to argue with Romano about his inappropriate behavior earlier in her office.  She then asks about the firing of six nurses and wants to know how he would like it if she fired him.  Abby has the children and their teacher with her as they listen to the argument.  Abby tries to tell them that they have an audience, but they are too busy to listen.  Kerry tells him that if he fires anyone else, he is going with them.  "Consider this an official reprimand", she tells him.  She tells him to get back to work.  Abby asks Jerry to show the class how to get to the pedes playroom.  He has his arms full of stuff and one of the little girls asks him what it is.  He tells her that it is human blood and they all start screaming.  Abby goes in to see Elle.  She asks Abby about the heart doctor, but Abby can't tell her anything.

Pratt arrives at the restaurant, where he is meeting Jing-Mei.  He finds that her parents are their to join them.  Neela walks in to where Dr. Lewis is with Elle.  Elle hears something about her heart and Lewis takes Neela outside of the room.  Neela can believe they haven't told Elle about her condition yet.  Lewis sees Morris attempting to eat a patient's sandwich.  The patient is Forest Herman and Susan sees that he has a faint pulse.  Morris thought he was just "snoozing off some pain meds for his back pain".  Susan tells someone to page Dr. Corday.  "While you were stealing his tuna fish, he was bleeding out from a triple-A".  Corday arrives and they need to page Dr. Dorsett.  Abby gets Elle ready to go to a room.  She knows that something is really wrong.  Abby starts to tell her, but Susan comes in to get Abby.  Susan knows that Abby was going to tell Elle what her problem was.  She can't understand what is going on with Abby.  "Your not a doctor your a nurse", she tells her.  Then she comments that when she tells her not to do something, "Don't do it!".

Dorsett arrives and they begin to work on the man with the triple-A.  Dorsett is cocky and jokes around a lot.  Corday tells him to do more teaching and less stand-up.  "You boys remember the Law of Laplace?", Dr. Dorsett asks Coop and Morris.  They do not answer, but Abby does.  "You two have just been nurse-slapped", he replies to them after Abby is able to answer the question.  Dorsett takes the patient and wheels him upstairs as Corday and Lewis watch on as he leaves the room.  Gallant comes in for his shift and rescues Neela from Jerry and Frank.  He asks how things are going and they tell him about Abby's "Dear John" letter from Carter.  Romano asks what it said and Jerry starts to read it.  Before he can read the letter, Abby walks up and snatches it out of his hands.  "Your not the only one who got a letter today", Lydia tells her.  "We all got 90-days suspensions", Conni replies, as she, Lydia and Yosh walk out.

Pratt's dinner is not going so well with Jing-Mei's parents.  They ask about his family and then tell him that Jing-Mei is going with them to China to learn more about her ancestry.  She quickly tells them that she is not.  Elizabeth is working on her charts and Robert walks up.  As they start to talk, Dr. Dorsett walks up.  Romano steps aside and listens to their conversation.  Dr, Dorsett asks Elizabeth for a foot rub, but they end up deciding on coffee.  She tells him that she has to be home in an hour.  She tells Robert goodnight and they leave.  Robert walks into another room and angrily removes his new prosthetic arm.  He then throws it through the window.  Jing-Mei and Pratt are outside of the restaurant trying to get a taxi and all excited about surviving the dinner with her parents.  She tells him that they were just wanting her to find someone more traditional.  All the talk about going to China was about them wanting her to find a husband.  He tells her to tell them to relax.  It isn't like they are trying to get married or anything.  Jing-Mei doesn't take this well.  He can see that she is upset.  "What are we doing?", she asks.  "We're dating, having fun", he tells her.  Jing-Mei is able to get a cab, but she is not willing to share it with Pratt.  "I'm sure you'll find yourself a new bang buddy", she tells him as she rides off.  Elizabeth and Dorsett get closer in the back seat of a car.  Abby finally makes it up to see Luka.  He is up and looking better.  Abby tells him that she met Gillian.  "Must be nice having a private nurse", she tells him.  He asks her if she got Carter's letter.  He had not read it.  "He saved my life", he tells her.  "It's different over there, it changes you", he explains.  "I think Carter found himself over there", Luka tells her.  Abby replies, "I didn't know that he was missing" and then they laugh.  She quickly tells him that she doesn't want to talk about Carter any more.  Luka tells her that he thinks he has changed too.  She tells him that change is good and that she is overdue herself.  Gillian walks in and tells Luka that he needs to get back in bed.  Abby tells him that she will stop by tomorrow and that she is glad that he is back.  She walks away and removes the letter from her coat pocket and then throws it into the trash.  She heads back downstairs to see Elle and explain to her what her condition is.

Reviewed by Tony Conner on October 11, 2003

NBC Review

ALL IN ONE DAY, BESIEGED ABBY GETS A LETTER, A LECTURE -- AND A LESSON IN EXASPERATION -- Abby's (Maura Tierney) frustrating day gets worse when she gets a special "Dear John" letter from Dr. Carter in the Congo while her fellow nurses threaten a walkout and her opinions are ignored -- especially when she is chastised as she seeks to inform a teenaged girl (as Ellie, Stephanie Lineburg), with failing lungs and heart, that her life is in grave danger. Elsewhere, Dr. Romano's (Paul McCrane) mood gets nastier when he is fitted with an antiquated hook for his missing arm and he takes out his rage by firing several much-needed nurses. In addition, three new second-year residents join the staff -- including the self-assured Dr. "Coop" (guest star Glenn Howerton). Dr. Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) uneasily meets Dr. Chen's (Ming-Na) old-fashioned parents for dinner, and the playful Dr. Dorset (guest star Bruno Campos) makes an impression with his style and substantial skills. Laura Innes, Alex Kingston, Sherry Stringfield, Sharif Atkins, Goran Visnjic and Parminder Nagra also star.

TV Guide Review

October 10, 2003: Dear Abby: Abby gets a Dear John letter from Carter that makes the rounds faster than the hyper new resident (Glenn Howerton).