Taking
care of her father, Deb hears a crashing sound coming from the living room.
She talks with him in Chinese and as they are arguing he says something to her
and she becomes very serious and sad. He begs her ‘Please’ but Chen begins to
cry and she whispers to him ‘I promise’.
John and Wendall sit on a model couch in
an Ikea type store, talking about her brother who has returned from the Peace
Corps. John asks her why he is staying with her and not their parents since
they live so close. Wendall explains she is the oldest in her family that her
little sister works with their father as a junior partner in his law firm.
When the sales associate comes back to tell Wendall that it only comes in one
colour, she finds that suitable and asks if they can deliver it that night.
The associate tells her that it wasn’t likely since it was Christmas Eve. John
believes they could tie it to the roof of the car and Wendall goes to pay.
John notices a little girl choking. After trying to dislodge it by hitting her
back he notices that she can’t talk or breath. He does the Heimlich manoeuvre
and it shoots out of her mouth. She cries for her parents, who are foreign and
don’t seem to understand that John was actually helping her.
Sam and Luka are standing outside the
ambulance bay with scads of homeless people. Sam amusingly argues with Luka
about allowing Alex to open one gift on Christmas Eve. Wendall announced that
the homeless people they were loading into the bus were going to the library,
and they would return for more. Sam continues by saying that letting Alex open
a gift would lessen the thrills for the next morning, and they would be able
to sleep in a bit. Luka agrees and asks Sam if this was her way of letting her
open one of her gifts that night.
Paramedics bring in a patient named Mr.
Sanders who fell and hit his head on a chair. The EMT gives Abby Mr. Sanders
vitals and Luka joins in on his treatment. The EMT also notified them that
Mrs. Sanders was well on her way. Sam makes a mention that the temperature
would dip down to 10 below. Abby receives Mr. Sanders medical history and they
find his is dialysis dependant and in renal failure, and also has a coronary
artery disease.
Luka tells Morris to quit eating. Luka
asks Pratt if Trauma 1 is open and he tells him yes. Lewis tells Abby that she
has 6 charts on the go and Abby tells her she hasn’t even had time to take off
her jacket.
John is on the phone with DHS and Susan
tells him to stay on the phone, because they need to have the rest of the
homeless people removed. Kerry is standing at admit unwrapping a corner of a
gift, she peeks inside and then reseals it. Kerry asks Susan if she is
planning on being home the next day. Susan says yes but only till 3 because
she has to work, but tells Kerry to come by. Kerry agrees because she wants to
show off Henry in his Santa suit and she has something for Cosmo.
Susan notices John popping some pills.
She asks if he has a headache but John tells her it was for a backache to
which he got from helping a friend move a couch. Susan says Deb should be in
any minute and that she was running late. Kerry says that Deb being late was
becoming a habit. Kerry hands the gift over to Carter. Carter laughs asking
her if she just rewrapped it in front of him. Kerry wishes him a Merry
Christmas and leaves.
Abby tries to get in touch with Mr.
Sanders doctors. Mrs. Sanders arrives and hands over her husbands medical
folder. Sam says they can just order them. Mrs. Sanders explains hers are more
accurate.
Abby gets off the phone with Mr. Sanders
rheumatology doctor and says he is not coming in because he thinks it sounds
more cardiac origin. Mrs. Sander supplies the name of their cardiac doctor,
but gets angry when no one will take down the name.
Ray tries to rally more homeless people
out. Neela tells Ray to order a chest film on a homeless patient. A new 4th
year med student named Jake Scanlon is helping. Ray says that the patient just
wants food, and warmth. Ray announces to all that they are going to the
Holiday Inn per the Mayor’s orders and some get up to leave. Neela is angry
that Ray would lie like that.
Sam and Luka are about to leave and Sam
asks if Luka called cardiology about Mr. Sanders. Abby sys that she is doing
it and they can leave and she will present to Deb or John. Luka asks Abby if
she is sure and she says yes. Luka tells Abby that Alex is really excited and
Abby smiles asking ‘Alex or you?’ Abby encourages him to leave and just as he
does Deb arrives asking Abby if Luka is still around. Abby points in his
direction and Deb chases him down.
Deb finds Luka and he tells her about
Mr. Sanders. Deb says she can’t stay, that she was only there to pick up more
medication for her father. She asks him to cover for her, to which Luka
reminds her it’s Christmas Eve. She understands it’s a lot to ask and offers
to take New Years. Sam overhears and is shocked. Luka apologizes to Deb and
says he can’t cover her this time. Deb pleads with him saying it’s a family
emergency. Luka explains it is his first Christmas with Sam and Alex and that
he just can’t help her.
Jerry shows temp clerk Margaret around
who isn’t exactly filled with the Christmas spirit. Deb asks Jerry if Susan is
still there and he tells her she is on her way out as is he.
Abby is still on the phone and asks the
person on the other end to at least come look at Mr. Sanders. She says in a
rather nasty tone ‘Happy Holidays to you too’ and slams down the phone. Abby
asks Jake if he called psych, and he says yes. She says he can leave because
med students don’t have to work holidays and he tells her he is volunteering
to stay. She finds this amusing and tells him she is going to invent a family
so she can stay home for the holidays next year. Abby returns to Mr. Sanders
saying that cardiology thinks it may be a kidney problem.
Susan tells Deb that she is sorry for
her father’s illness but explains to Deb that she has been cutting her breaks
for a long time. Deb appreciates Susan’s thought and tells her it will be the
last time. Lewis explains to Deb she can’t get anyone to cover her this time
and Deb asks her to stay. Susan tells her she has a baby and a husband and she
just finished a 14-hour shift. Deb says that John can handle it with Abby and
Morris. But Susan tells her they were overcome with homeless people. Deb cries
and tells Susan it’s ok. Susan misunderstands and thanks her, but Deb tells
Susan she quits and walks out.
Ray prepares to leave. EMT’s bring in a
little boy who was the victim of a hit and run. The mother tells John that the
boy’s name is Harry. John calls Ray for backup, and Ray tells him he is off
and has a plane to catch and will get Neela to back him up. John tells him he
wasn’t asking and Ray follows him to trauma.
The mother explains that she was parking
her car, and Harry got out only to be hit. Harry’s sister, Maddie tries to
explain also but the mother quiets her. Ray finds tenderness in the chest area
and John says Harry probably has multiple rib fractures. Harry tells Maddie
‘it’s ok’. They ask the mother and sister to leave but mom pleads to allow her
to stay. Chuny takes Maddie to the family room.
Abby calls Mr. Sanders kidney doctor.
She leaves a message saying Mrs. Sanders can be a real pain in the ***. She
turns to see that Mrs. Sanders was standing there and heard what she had just
said. When she hung up the phone. Mrs. Sander didn’t say anything and walked
away.
Pratt hands off a chart to Abby, saying
that he has a party to go to. An attractive lady comes to admit asking for a
doctor. Pratt tells her he’s a doctor and starts making the moves on her.
Morris sees Pratt and the young lady and comes in to rescue his girlfriend.
Susan announces Deb just quit and starts
to panic. Susan asks where John is and Pratt asks Susan, ‘Quit what?’ Susan
explains that Deb was burned out, and that they were screwed and she raced off
to find John. Neela asks what is going on so Abby filled her in. Pratt tries
phoning Deb. Neela hands Abby a gift. Abby takes it and asks her if she is her
secret Santa. Neela says no, that she found the gift in the lounge with her
name on it. Abby opens it to find a book entitled ‘Rats, Lice and History’.
Neela pokes fun at her friend, saying she only got a pez dispenser. Pratt
hangs up the phone and leaves County.
Abby asks Margaret, the admit temp what
she is doing. Margaret, holding a Christmas angel decoration tells her the
hospital is publicly funded and the angel was an ‘illegal religious artefact’.
After struggling to get it back she tells the temp to put it back.
John performs a procedure on Harry.
Susan walks in and informs John that Deb just quit. Susan sees that Harry has
blood around his heart and explains this to the mother. She tells her that
John will fix the problem. Ray complains of the smell coming from the homeless
people, which cause Harry’s mother to look up. Susan tells him to use oil of
wintergreen and a mask.
John says there is definitely blood
around Harry’s heart but that he cannot relieve it. Ray announces that if he
leaves now he will still be able to catch his flight. John tells him to forget
it. Ray tells him that he told his mother he would be there for Christmas.
Susan is surprised. John tells him someone has to stay, and Ray agreed
non-enthusiastically.
Abby comes in and asks John if he has a
minute. John goes with Abby to look over Mr. Sanders chest x-rays. Abby
explains to Mr. Sanders that the pulmonary edema is getting worse and his
blood pressure is rather bad. John asks Susan what they will do about Deb
quitting. Susan told him she would have dinner with her family, sing some
carols and come back. Carter tells her to just go home, and he will page her
if he needs her. Susan is thrilled and thanks him again and again.
Jake works on Mr. Sanders when Abby
walks in to see he is having trouble breathing. John voices his concerns over
Abby giving Mr. Sanders 2 vasodilators, which in the end caused his blood
pressure to drop. He asks her if renal is coming down to draw off the fluid.
She responds with a no because Mr. Sanders had just received dialysis the day
before. Abby thought that Sanders didn’t receive the full 4-hour dialysis.
Ray announces the surgeon arrived and John had never heard of him.
Abby walks out of the room and is
greeted by Mrs. Sanders dropping a box full of records at Abby’s feet. Abby
apologized for what she had heard on the phone earlier and Mrs. Sanders told
her she walked her husbands records down herself and if she hadn’t Abby
wouldn’t have received them until the next day. Abby looked at the box and
took the files from Sanders wife.
Pratt
gets to Deb’s house and she answers by asking him what he is doing there. He
tells her he heard a rumour that she quit. Deb lets him in, but is called to
her father. Pratt helps her with her father by grabbing some ativan to calm
her father down, he discovers that she has a lot of potassium and asks her
what is going on.
The new surgeon Dr. Agbo performs the
procedure to remove the blood around Harry’s heart, and it doesn’t look good.
John takes over after Agbo says he might have nicked a vessel. Maddie enters
and tells everyone that it was her fault. The mother yells at her to be quiet
and John asks her to take Maddie out. Neela comes in and John asks her to take
Maddie back to the family room and page Wendall.
Abby comes in to check on Sanders. She
asks him if he’s ever had lupus cerebritis. Sanders’ wife states he did. Abby
tells them she would like to do a CT to rule out any possibility of it coming
back. Jake offers to take him up immediately and Abby agrees.
Neela talks with Maddie. Ray joins them.
Maddie tells them both what really happened with Harry. That she was mad at
him for not playing with him so she threw his book out the window. She
explains that they lived in the car, and they had to get away from their
father. Mom was at work when Harry got hit.
Pratt
and Deb argue over her euthanizing her father. Pratt tells her that she looks
tired and that she should put her father in a home for a month so she can
rest. She disagrees.
Margaret unplugs the Christmas lights
around the admit desk, saying its passed midnight. Abby threatens her that if
she touches the lights again she would beat her to death with a fruitcake. Ray
emerges saying he has John’s blessing to leave. Neela tells him she thought
what he said to Maddie was cool. Ray asks if he can sign Harry over to her.
Abby comes to CT and sees Jake
performing CPR. She asks what happened and he replies that his central line
must have snagged on something and ripped out. Mrs. Sanders worries that
tonight her husband will die. Abby intubates him and he improves.
John escorts Harry to a room while they
wait for an ICU bed to open. They question the mother and it comes out that
the father was abusive and they ran to stay safe. Wendall says she can get
them into a shelter and the mother is thankful. She hugs her daughter and
apologizes for yelling at her.
Morris and his girlfriend go to the
cafeteria and bring back food. John shows them that you can tip the contents
and they don’t fall out. John asks Wendall if she wants to get something to
eat and she admits she’s lost her appetite. Margaret tells John that he has a
call from Africa, it’s Kem. He seems happy to hear from her.
Pratt gets waken up by Deb’s father and
as he goes to see what the problem is, Deb’s father sees him and raises a fuss
over the stranger. Deb hears her father and grabs more ativan.
Neela sees Morris letting his girlfriend
staple a laceration on a passed out drunk Santa. She tells them it’s a
malpractice suit waiting to happen. Neela follows up a loud crash and Morris
allows his girlfriend to continue on the Santa.
Abby puts in a new central line on
Sanders as Jake and Dr. Dubenko watch on. Abby find out that Dubenko is her
secret Santa and he would like to talk over the book he gave her once she is
finished reading it. Abby gets on the phone
with a dialysis tech.
Deb
listens to her father speaking to her in Chinese. Deb prepares to give her
father a final injection. Pratt offers to do it. Deb shakes her head no. She
injects the medication into his central line and he passes away after a few
short breaths.
The dialysis tech arrives and Abby
greets him. He tells her he did dialysis on Sanders the day before but Abby
replied that Sanders was in fluid overload. The tech asks if the renal
attending called in the order and she tells him she spoke to him on the phone.
He tells her that he will call him to make sure it was ok, but Abby asks him
to start dialysis first then call him. He agrees.
Carter begins to suture a patient who
cut his arm. Wendall pops in and asks for a minute with Carter. Wendall hands
him a present. He opens to find a miners hat light. He puts it on and she
tells him he looks old fashion. He tells her he is an old fashion doctor and
kisses her. Wendall left immediately.
Neela and Abby talk over a child and his
father. Neela tells him to go to sleep so Santa can come.
Deb tells Pratt that she will call the
mortuary in the morning and Pratt asks her what she will do next. She tells
him she will take her father back to China and bury him next to her mother,
visit some family and see her parents village they grew up in.
Abby and Neela sneak into the peds ward
and steal the toys in the playroom. They use decorations from the cafeteria to
decorate them and silently drop them off to children. Wendall and John put
blankets over the homeless people. Pratt comforts Deb.
Ray returns to the ER. Abby announces
she thought he would be in Miami by now. Neela states she thought she
remembered Ray’s mother living in Philadelphia and he avoids her comment and
tells everyone it’s snowing outside. Neela asks Abby if she knew he was going
to Miami and Abby states that Ray has a girlfriend there.
John, Wendall, Abby, Ray and Neela head
outside. Neela tries to catch snowflakes on her tongue. A man approaches
asking for Abby and she gets into an argument with him about her approving the
dialysis. He said he would report her for working the system and she replied
that she would report him for abandoning his patient. Neela throws a snowball
at Ray for lying to her about visiting his mother.
Deb calls the mortuary and tells them
that she woke up to find her father had passed. She looks up at Pratt and
tells the mortuary that her father’s physician was there and could sign the
death certificate.
Reviewed by Kristyna on December
20,
2004
NBC Review
CHRISTMAS IN THE ER IS ALWAYS TOUGH - It's Christmas Eve, and
the ER staff scrambles to leave for the holiday. Abby (Maura Tierney) receives a
dialysis patient who is in critical condition, but she can't reach his physician
because he doesn't want to be disturbed during the holidays. After much effort a
distraught Chen (Ming-Na) finally finds someone to cover her shift so she can
attend to her ailing father. Concerned for her, Pratt (Mekhi Phifer) stops by
her house to find her struggling with her father's worsening health. Carter
(Noah Wyle) and Wendall (Madchen Amick) grow closer and share an awkward kiss as
they wish each other a Merry Christmas. Also starring Shane West, Linda
Cardellini, Sherry Stringfield.
