Where There's Smoke

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Episode 219 "Where There's Smoke"
Original Air Date: 04/08/04
Written by: Jacy Young
Directed by: Tawnia McKiernan
Guest Stars:

Oliver Davis - Alex
Cole Hauser - Steve
Danny Mora - Guillermo
Billy Gallo - Captain Hutch
Candice Rose - Firefighter MacPherson
Chris Freeman - Firefighter DeSharo
Jose Zuniga - Eduardo Lopez
Renee Victor - Florina Lopez
Tito Ortiz - Carlos Lopez
Dale Rivera - Cabbie
Andres Delgado - Zeke
Nadine Ellis - Mason's Wife
Armin Shimerman - Levine
Scott Klace - Chris Halpern
Curt Lowens - Bob Jones
Rob McElhenney - Andy Fesh

Staff:

Abraham Benrubi - Jerry
Lisa Vidal - Sandy Lopez
Deezer D. - Malik
Laura Ceron - Chuny
Dinah Lenney - Shirley
John Aylward - Dr. Donald Anspaugh
K. T. Thangavelu - Dr. Subramanian
Joe Wandell - Dr. Dean
Lynn A. Henderson - Paramedic Olbes
Demetrius Navarro - Paramedic Morales

Kerry dresses Henry as Sandy’s mother comes to pickup Henry for the day. Luka drops by Sam’s apartment as Alex leaves for school. Neela is afraid to open her door results. Susan tells Gallant and Neela to be ready for interviews on Louie Sanchez’s death.

With Susan off the floor, Pratt has to present to Chen. Pratt shows her a possible homeless man. He is unconscious until he sits up and pees on Chen. Corday asks Weaver why Surgery salaries are being cut. Weaver is bland about the reasons. Abby treats a man with a slipped disc. He asks for Vicodin and Abby orders a check to see if he has tried to hit up any other hospitals. Gallant agrees. Neela’s meeting with risk management has already started. Susan recommends that Neela check out doing research in the County Labs. The possible homeless man wants to be given a place to stay. Chen asks herself why she is treating him; he is Pratt’s patient. Pratt is on the phone with Mr. Chen’s nurse, who says Mr. Chen scared himself. Chen has to run as a multiple victim trauma from a burning building is coming in. Abby’s meeting with risk management is as bumpy as Neela’s. Jerry interrupts to tell Susan about the trauma. Chen takes the first victim with Pratt, Abby treats the second one, and Gallant, Susan, and Neela rush to treat the third, who turns out to be Sandy Lopez.

Susan wants to intubate Sandy, but she wants to talk to Kerry before she is intubated. The first burn patient is completely covered with burns. Chen and Pratt do a cut down to help him breath. The second patient has smoke-inhalation. He asks about the burn patient, who is one of his buddies. Pratt torques his knee back into the socket. Kerry arrives and does the intubation on Sandy. Abby puts a cast on the smoke-inhalation patient’s leg. Abby and Malik are moving the smoke-inhalation patient upstairs when he starts having trouble breathing. He faints and Abby tries to intubate him as she yells for Pratt to come help her. He is working on the burn victim next door and doesn’t go to help. Abby gets fed up and Crikes him without an attending. Abby comes into the trauma room and Chen asks if she needs help. Abby says she Criked him and Chen says “Now that’s a med student”. Chen calls the code on the burn victim. Corday comes down to consult on Sandy. Kerry comes up to observe the operation. Sandy’s family shows up and Kerry promises to take care of her.

Gallant’s meeting with risk management is ruff and he is told that a deposition is most likely to take place. He says he might not be able to attend it because has been called up to go to Iraq. The Vicodin-seeker’s information comes back. He’s drug-seeking at Chicago hospitals. Neela tells Abby that she passed her boards. Abby walks in on Susan doing an exam on her belly. Sandy’s surgery isn’t going well. Gallant goes to talk to the Vicodin guy. He’s in the ambulance bay smoking a cigarette. Gallant tells him he’s not going to give him the Vicodin. He tells him that he only is drug-seeking because the Army wouldn’t support his medical expenses from migraines from the Gulf War. He tells Gallant to be careful in Iraq. Gallant tells Neela that he is leaving for Iraq. She gets emotional and calls him a coward and a liar. Susan’s meeting with OB doesn’t go well. OB tells her to go on bed-rest. Abby tells Susan that she failed her boards. Sandy is in bad shape. Blood starts to come out of the tube in her throat. Kerry tells them to stop operating.

Kerry is sitting with Sandy when Elizabeth comes to console her. Elizabeth offers to talk to the Lopez’s but Kerry wants to do it instead. Susan says good bye to Gallant. He wishes her to have a healthy baby. Sam leaves for the night and runs into Luka. She tells him that Sandy died. Pratt and Gallant say their goodbyes. Pratt tells him to keep safe in Iraq. Sam returns to her apartment to find Alex’s dad has found them. Abby finds Kerry sitting in the Surgery waiting room. Kerry cries in her lap. Gallant is getting in a cab when Neela comes to see him off. They kiss and then he drives away. Kerry goes to pickup Henry at the Lopez’s house. They want to take him away from her. Eduardo forces her out and she clamors at the door.

Reviewed by Taylor Shull on August 10, 2004

Pratt is telling Gallant about a girl with nice legs and Dr. Corday comes by to tell Gallant that he did well on an operation.
Dr. Susan Lewis is wheeled in to a busy ER frustrated but supportive. There is a meeting scheduled in which Dr. John Carter, the attending, must go last. Student Neela Rasgotra has to go first. She is nervous. Michael Gallant is sent in shortly afterward and defends but Neela and Carter. He is being deported to Iraq.

Dr. Elizabeth Corday has been made associate chief of surgery without knowing it and Sandy Lopez calls Dr. Weaver about what to have for dinner. Kerry however can't talk to her because she has a meeting.

Dr. Jing-Mei Chen's father tries to fry a steak while his nurse is changing his sheets and sets off the smoke detectors scaring himself. However before Dr. Chen can call to see how he is, three people arrive in an ambulance. All three are firefighters. One of them is Dr. Weaver's wife Sandy Lopez. Susan Lewis is her doctor. Sandy insists upon talking to Kerry before being intubated. While she is talking to Kerry she crashes. Kerry intubates even though Dr. Lewis says to let her do it. Sandy is taken up to the O.R.

Abby is treating a drug seeking patient. He is looking for Vicodin to pay for Immitrex. Up in the O.R. Elizabeth realizes that it's Sandy. She allows Kerry to sit in on the operation. Anspaugh is operating with Dr. Corday. Shirley is circulating. Kerry tells the Lopez's that she will inform them as to how Sandy does after the operation. In the O.R. Sandy isn't doing well. Elizabeth tries to make conversation with Kerry as she cuts and Anspaugh asks if Kerry should really be observing. Sandy is dying on the table but Dr. Corday keeps trying. Finally Kerry says "You can stop. She's gone." And Sandy Lopez is dead.

Susan Lewis is experiencing early labor. She hopes they are just Braxton Hicks. She is ordered bed rest for 5 weeks. Abby failed her boards.

Luka comes to get Sam and Sam tells him of Sandy's death. Pratt and Gallant are talking.
Pratt talks to Gallant about his leaving and tells him that he is an honorable man and that he doesn't think he has ever met one before.

Kerry is sitting with Sandy's body and Elizabeth comes in. Kerry asks Elizabeth to take out the tube in Sandy's throat. Elizabeth protests but when Kerry says please she takes it out. She apologizes quietly and Weaver starts to speak. She talks about Sandy's family and how all she had was her and Henry. They wanted more kids. "What am I supposed to do now?" She asks. Elizabeth offers to tell the family but Kerry says she will do it. All Kerry has to do is walk out looking they way she does and the Lopez's know. Kerry sits down with Sandy's helmet on the sofa. Abby walks in and offers to help. Kerry says that Henry is with Sandy's family. Abby sits down next to her and Kerry breaks down. Abby just holds her and rocks her.

Michael Gallant is being deported to Iraq and Neela Rasgotra comes to see him off. She brings him a rabbit's foot for luck. He tells her that when he comes back she had better be a "damn good doctor". They kiss and Neela cries as he leaves.
Kerry is going to one of Sandy's brother's houses to pick up Henry. He answers but won't give Henry to Kerry. He says that because they are the blood relatives that they are keeping him. Kerry says she doesn't understand and Henry starts crying. She says she knows the sound of her own son but he closes the door on her.
Very sad episode but it's my favorite. I like a vulnerable Kerry Weaver.

Reviewed by Norma903 on July 29, 2004

NBC Review

DR. WEAVER DESPERATELY BATTLES FOR THE LIFE OF HER INJURED FIREFIGHTER PARTNER -- Dr. Weaver (Laura Innes) rushes to the aid of her female partner Sandy Lopez (guest star Lisa Vidal ) when the firefighter is severely injured on the job and must fight for her life -- as a frightened Weaver offers whispered hope by reminding the victim of their newborn child. A pregnant Dr. Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) suffers labor pains and is confined to bed rest, while tension remains between Dr. Gallant (Sharif Atkins) and Neela (Parminder Nagra) as an investigation begins into the suspicious death. In addition, Dr. Corday (Alex Kingston) gets a pleasant surprise. Neela and Abby (Maura Tierney) get the news about their board scores and Dr. Chen (Ming-Na) and Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) treat a frustrated senior citizen who does not want to burden his family with his care. Goran Visnjic and Linda Cardellini also star.

TV Guide Review

April 8, 2004: Where There's Smoke: A warehouse blaze brings a flood of wounded firefighters into the ER, including a case that hits all-too-close to home for Kerry and Corday; Gallant proves worth his name by taking the fall for Neela's bad call that killed a patient; Lewis is forced to face the facts about her troubled pregnancy; a familiar — but unfriendly — face from Sam's past resurfaces; and County loses one of their own to the ongoing strife in Iraq.