A Young Doctor's Notebook & Other Stories (2012–2013): Season 1, Episode 2 - Episode #1.2 - full transcript
Slowly but surely, the young doctor abandons his dreams. His ambition to make medical discoveries is thwarted as his effort to fight a syphilis epidemic falters in the face of uneducated, hostile peasants. His spirit and sense of purpose remains unbroken, though, until he discovers how brutal day-to-day surgery can be when confronted with a gruesome and barbaric operation.
Previously
It's nothing.
Just an old notebook.
Trivial ramblings of a
medical student.
I was happy in 1917.
I was sent in the remote village
of Mur'ev to run a hospital.
I just graduated,
top of the class
So you're in safe hands.
What seems to be
the trouble here?
He is young, but he
really is a doctor.
Do I really used to
look like that?
- Give it back!
- No.
Come along, doctor.
This is the dispensary.
- To the sweet shop.
- This is the key.
Don't lose it.
It's just that the old
doctor had a beard.
Leopold Leopoldovic.
Feldsher, you do the chloroform.
I will go and get my cigarettes.
A Young Doctor's Notebook -
Episode 2
www. addic7ed. com
Moscow, 1934.
Prescriptions.
Seriously? Is that all you have?
I am a doctor,
I write a lot of prescriptions.
What do you think?
I just lay my hands on the sick.
And that?
A notebook?
16... 17 years ago I was a boy.
I just graduated.
I was bored. Stuck in
the middle of nowhere.
This is a waste of time.
I have patients to see.
Anna! Pelageya!
Come quickly!
Alright, you as well!
Come on, you have to see this
to believe. It is truly remarkable.
My God, doctor. She is ugly.
What? No, no! Look at her eyes!
- Yes, I see. I see.
- The pupils, are they dilated?
- No.
- No! Stand up!
Sit down!
- You see? No more balance.
- Impressive.
- Yeah. Are you constipated?
- Well, if anything, I am a bit loose...
No. And yet she drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops.
Honest to God. I did, sir.
It was me, sir. No one else, sir.
Well, you see?
Yes, I think I do.
This woman drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops,
yet displays no signs of
belladonna poisoning whatsoever.
How do you explain that?
- Are there two of them?
- You can't.
It's unheard of.
It is unprecedent.
You could read every textbook in the
Imperial Moscow University library,
and never come
across a case like this.
And I know, because I've read every
textbook in the
Moscow University library.
I publish a paper...
in the New Journal of Herbology.
I could even lecture.
And what, pray tell did you have for
breakfast the morning after
the night you drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops?
Stale bread.
Stale bread.
But it would have mold
on it, wouldn't it?
Fascinating.
Don't just stand there, feldscher.
- Let go of me.
- What... what are you doing?
I thought I told you to come and
get me, when he does something stupid.
You can't just take her like that.
I was writing a paper.
- Belladonna drops, is it?
- Yes, how do you know?
Honest to God, sir, I took all the
drops myself. No one else did.
You're a liar!
She's sold those drops in the rest of
the village and come back for more.
You might know how to fool the
doctor, but not us. Honestly.
I'm not cross with you.
You trust too easy.
They can smell this weakness.
- I thought the beard would help.
- Yes.
A beard would help.
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Can you believe it? She walked
for half a day to get here.
And then told lies just for
a flask of belladonna drops.
I know.
It's not the first thing I'd steal.
You're alright?
I'm fine.
Tell me they're not all
going to be like that.
They can't be, can they?
Normal people must
live out here, too.
Right. It's nothing like I expected.
What did you expect?
You're in the middle of nowhere.
No, you took a train
in the middle of nowhere,
and it took you another
day to get here.
Come on.
It's not that bad.
You've been lucky
with the weather.
A patient for you, doctor.
- Can it wait?
- No.
Fine.
Is this going to take much longer?
Perfect.
That's my coat.
It looks much for the beard, don't you?
Do I?
I just have a sore throat.
You also a have a rash on your
chest and a lesion on your genitals.
All I want is a gargle.
I think you'd better sit down.
No, no, no! You can... can pull
your trousers up first, please.
Thank you.
This part of my job is never easy.
I expect... I'm sure
that as a soldier
there have been times
when danger has...
But, you've been in life full of...
You faced danger.
You know, a bullett or a
mortal shell or a bayonet.
But the fact is you face a kind
of danger now, which is...
well, it is no less dangerous.
You see, you have a marmorial rash
on the upper torso, a primary lesion
and papules in the esophagus.
So in short...
and I'll not skirt
around the issue...
I'm afraid you have contracted...
syphilis.
All I want is a gargle
for my sore throat
Wi... Did you hear me?
I said you had syphilis.
What's that then? It is an extremely
serious and highly infections disease
- without the immediate
and proper treatment..
- Will I get the gargle,
- because my throat is killing me.
- No it is not!
Syphilis is killing you that is what
I am trying to make you understand.
It is extremely serious
and highly infectious,
eh... hygiene is going to very
important now. Vital.
Black ointment is very good,
but you must rub it in thoroughly.
- Are you out of gargle?
- Forget the sore throat!
If you don't do as I tell you your
symptoms could become a lot worse.
I'll come back and see the proper doctor.
You are going to die!
A slow and painful death...
I mean horrific
Ulcers, pus, your nervous
system shot to pieces...
You will long for the sweet
release of death.
Believe me, you will look back
fondly on the sore throat!
Your nose will fall off!
Stop wait, I need
to give you the ointment!
This is what I am talking about.
I've got a sore throat
and he wants to rub my legs!
- Eh.. ridiculous
- Have you got a wife?
A family? Because they need
to come and see me at once.
Half a day here, half a day back.
No gargle
He's ridiculous.
- No.. but he just...
- Doctor they don't understand
the nuances of syphilis
like we do as men of science.
I doubt that he knows what
'highly contagious' means.
Yeah, we're not in Moscow now.
We are, in fact 978 long versts
north-north-east of Moscow.
Yep, we are in the back
of the back of the Earth.
What else could I have done?
Painting a more graphic picture?
Rectal sores wouldn't planch it?
Actually, you might want to
get the chair a wipe, too.
I...
Why wouldn't he listen to me?
Is it the half beard?
You know it's unbearable to watch
a patient walk out that door
and know they're going
to die a slow and
agonizing death.
But you get used to it.
- How can you say that?
- It's true.
- He's one of hundreds
and it's only syphilis.
- That's terrible.
- It's an epidemic.
- I know.
- But what can you do?
- I'll open a ward.
I'll write a compelling letter to
the Zemstvo.
- I ask for more staff.
I have to fight this.
- Save the world, one peasent at a time.
Yes!
I like your optimism.
It's adorable.
I am a doctor, it is my duty
to help these people.
I believe duty calls.
What are you looking for?
Nothing.
I just noticed the drawer sticks.
I must have fixed it.
Let me go!
I need to see the doctor!
I'm here. What is it?
He's deranged.
What have I done? Tell me!
Nothing, nothing,
it's going to be alright.
Help me, doctor! I give you
money, food, anything!
Yes, but let us calm you down first!
Good.
Good.
Now I can get to the bottom
of his psychological troubles.
Actually, I've got a five on my
public exam for psychiatry.
Yes, this promises to be a
most interesting case.
She fell in the lathe.
She's all I have.
Don't let her die.
In the lathe?
What do you suppose
that could mean?
Right.
An actual lathe.
Anna!
Where was all the blood?
There was barely a
drop left in her.
I thought to myself...
So this is what it looks like,
to watch a girl...
torn to shreds,
slip into the next world.
You know, I think I might
just go back to my room...
No need.
Since you got here, I like to keep
a packet of those in the cupboard.
In case of emergency.
Good idea.
This
doesn't look good.
You said she's their only child.
His only child. He's a widower.
He took me once to
a harvest festival.
He cried.
Excellent.
Don't look down.
- I told you not to look down.
- But if you say not to look down,
- obviously, I'm gonna look down.
- Alright then, look down.
Ahh.
Is she alive?
I'm sorry...
but I'm afraid, she is.
- It's horrific.
- I've seen worse.
But it is up there.
She doesn't have a pulse.
No, it's there.
Hardly.
She is clinging to her life.
- There is absolutely nothing
I can do for her.
- Don't let me hear you say that.
So, what if you've never done
anything like this before?
- Don't forget, you have great grades.
- Yes, I know, I know...
but I don't think anyone
can do anything for her.
- So you're saying, you just
want to let her die.
- No, no.
- How could you even...
- Suggest such a thing?
No, no, don't feel bad about it.
I'm just surprised, that's all.
Normally, it takes a lot longer
for a doctor to get like this.
What?
Cinical... numb
by human suffering.
- Hats off to it.
- No, no, I'm not numb...
Eight year old girl. That's cold.
- I like it.
- You misunderstand me.
No, I get it.
You do want to save the world,
one peasant at a time.
- Yes.
- But just not this one.
Yes... I mean, no.
Because you don't want
to do an amputation.
- Yes.
- Because it's foul,
and hideous and barbaric...
and the stench.
It stays within your nostrils for days.
I don't blame you.
- Well, doctor?
- Prepare for amputation.
But, doctor, do you
really want to torment her?
She's going to die.
You heard what I said.
Feldsher, sterilize the knives.
Anna, the tourniquet.
Pelageya, the morphine.
Okay, team! You heard
what the doc said.
Let's get this show on road!
Here come the good times.
- You just said not to bother!
- He said, she said... who cares?
You need to focus. You're strong.
- What did you have for breakfast?
- I don't remember.
We'll soon find out!
Now, where the hell did she go with
that morphine? Gracevka?
Is she still alive?
Mind the...
lamp.
Here we go.
Oh, right, you want
to start on that leg.
Yes.
As you were.
You're sure she's not dead?
I'm sure.
Right.
Yes, right.
Amputation saw.
- Careful!
- It's alright. It's blunt.
- Still alive?
- Yeah.
Why don't you just die?
Right.
Ligatures.
And the other leg?
You know... I think we should
leave it on. And you?
She's... she's lost a lot of blood.
Seven years.
Finest university in all Russia.
All that hard work...
to reach the top of the class.
And for what?
I'm not a doctor.
I'm nothing but a butcher.
And a seamstress.
What am I doing here?
Why did they send me to this
godforsaken backwoods?
But you did a good
job. She's alive.
I know, but look at her.
What's left of her?
What have I done?
You saved her.
You just might have to
settle for saving the world...
three quarters of
a peasant at a time.
I can't do this for 2 years.
I...
I just want be able to cope.
What are you doing?
- It's a bit left.
- A bit of morphine.
You would've throw it away.
You couldn't take it.
- Is that a problem?
- Yes.
It is. Put id down,
you're a doctor.
So I know what I'm doing.
Put it down.
No, you can't make me.
- Clamp?
- Yes.
- And this is an amputation saw.
- No, don't.
Don't worry. It's blunt.
You have no idea,
what you're doing.
You performed many
amputations, doctor?
No.
Not really.
Three?
- It looked like you first.
- Well, it was...
my...
first leg.
- Definitely. - You come to
the right place. You'll have...
plenty of oppurtunities
to improve.
I bid you good night.
In time...
you will be the equal of a...
young and inexperienced...
Leopold Leopoldovic...
and his is the name I
do not mention lightly.
Thank you.
I'm not a doctor.
I'm a butcher.
The ware of choiced cuts
and the finest sausage meat.
And to think I read all
the medical textbooks
in the Imperial Moscow
University library.
What for?
While the only book I really need
is 'Practical Tips for
Jointing a Carcass'.
'Wherever possible,
use a sharpened saw. '
'In case of tiredness
change arms. '
Perhaps I could lecture...
in abattoirs
This is useless.
I'm probably going
to have to operate.
I'll just take the drops.
You can't cut his eye.
What eye? He doesn't
have an eye. Ha has a...
well, a big yellow tumor
or something.
- The drops will be fine.
- The drops can't grow an eye.
He is a child,
you can't just cut bits off.
I'm not going to cut anything off,
I'm going to gouge.
- No.
- Yes.
Give me the infant.
Give him to me!
- Don't be ridiculous.
- Help!
Please, don't hurt him.
I don't want you take out...
What now?
Is that pus?
As I thought.
an abscess.
I'll get you those drops.
But the names...
on the prescriptions, doctor.
Leopold Leopoldovic,
Demyan Lukich...
Pelageya Ivanovna.
- What do they have in common?
- You obviously know the answer.
They are all deceased.
And have been since before
the dates on these prescriptions.
Would you care to explain them?
I know morphine is
a powerful drug, but...
surely cannot raise the dead.
English Transcription:
merthin, markos988, junio_tk2, robmck
www. subsfactory. it
www. addic7ed. com
It's nothing.
Just an old notebook.
Trivial ramblings of a
medical student.
I was happy in 1917.
I was sent in the remote village
of Mur'ev to run a hospital.
I just graduated,
top of the class
So you're in safe hands.
What seems to be
the trouble here?
He is young, but he
really is a doctor.
Do I really used to
look like that?
- Give it back!
- No.
Come along, doctor.
This is the dispensary.
- To the sweet shop.
- This is the key.
Don't lose it.
It's just that the old
doctor had a beard.
Leopold Leopoldovic.
Feldsher, you do the chloroform.
I will go and get my cigarettes.
A Young Doctor's Notebook -
Episode 2
www. addic7ed. com
Moscow, 1934.
Prescriptions.
Seriously? Is that all you have?
I am a doctor,
I write a lot of prescriptions.
What do you think?
I just lay my hands on the sick.
And that?
A notebook?
16... 17 years ago I was a boy.
I just graduated.
I was bored. Stuck in
the middle of nowhere.
This is a waste of time.
I have patients to see.
Anna! Pelageya!
Come quickly!
Alright, you as well!
Come on, you have to see this
to believe. It is truly remarkable.
My God, doctor. She is ugly.
What? No, no! Look at her eyes!
- Yes, I see. I see.
- The pupils, are they dilated?
- No.
- No! Stand up!
Sit down!
- You see? No more balance.
- Impressive.
- Yeah. Are you constipated?
- Well, if anything, I am a bit loose...
No. And yet she drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops.
Honest to God. I did, sir.
It was me, sir. No one else, sir.
Well, you see?
Yes, I think I do.
This woman drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops,
yet displays no signs of
belladonna poisoning whatsoever.
How do you explain that?
- Are there two of them?
- You can't.
It's unheard of.
It is unprecedent.
You could read every textbook in the
Imperial Moscow University library,
and never come
across a case like this.
And I know, because I've read every
textbook in the
Moscow University library.
I publish a paper...
in the New Journal of Herbology.
I could even lecture.
And what, pray tell did you have for
breakfast the morning after
the night you drank an entire
flask of belladonna drops?
Stale bread.
Stale bread.
But it would have mold
on it, wouldn't it?
Fascinating.
Don't just stand there, feldscher.
- Let go of me.
- What... what are you doing?
I thought I told you to come and
get me, when he does something stupid.
You can't just take her like that.
I was writing a paper.
- Belladonna drops, is it?
- Yes, how do you know?
Honest to God, sir, I took all the
drops myself. No one else did.
You're a liar!
She's sold those drops in the rest of
the village and come back for more.
You might know how to fool the
doctor, but not us. Honestly.
I'm not cross with you.
You trust too easy.
They can smell this weakness.
- I thought the beard would help.
- Yes.
A beard would help.
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Can you believe it? She walked
for half a day to get here.
And then told lies just for
a flask of belladonna drops.
I know.
It's not the first thing I'd steal.
You're alright?
I'm fine.
Tell me they're not all
going to be like that.
They can't be, can they?
Normal people must
live out here, too.
Right. It's nothing like I expected.
What did you expect?
You're in the middle of nowhere.
No, you took a train
in the middle of nowhere,
and it took you another
day to get here.
Come on.
It's not that bad.
You've been lucky
with the weather.
A patient for you, doctor.
- Can it wait?
- No.
Fine.
Is this going to take much longer?
Perfect.
That's my coat.
It looks much for the beard, don't you?
Do I?
I just have a sore throat.
You also a have a rash on your
chest and a lesion on your genitals.
All I want is a gargle.
I think you'd better sit down.
No, no, no! You can... can pull
your trousers up first, please.
Thank you.
This part of my job is never easy.
I expect... I'm sure
that as a soldier
there have been times
when danger has...
But, you've been in life full of...
You faced danger.
You know, a bullett or a
mortal shell or a bayonet.
But the fact is you face a kind
of danger now, which is...
well, it is no less dangerous.
You see, you have a marmorial rash
on the upper torso, a primary lesion
and papules in the esophagus.
So in short...
and I'll not skirt
around the issue...
I'm afraid you have contracted...
syphilis.
All I want is a gargle
for my sore throat
Wi... Did you hear me?
I said you had syphilis.
What's that then? It is an extremely
serious and highly infections disease
- without the immediate
and proper treatment..
- Will I get the gargle,
- because my throat is killing me.
- No it is not!
Syphilis is killing you that is what
I am trying to make you understand.
It is extremely serious
and highly infectious,
eh... hygiene is going to very
important now. Vital.
Black ointment is very good,
but you must rub it in thoroughly.
- Are you out of gargle?
- Forget the sore throat!
If you don't do as I tell you your
symptoms could become a lot worse.
I'll come back and see the proper doctor.
You are going to die!
A slow and painful death...
I mean horrific
Ulcers, pus, your nervous
system shot to pieces...
You will long for the sweet
release of death.
Believe me, you will look back
fondly on the sore throat!
Your nose will fall off!
Stop wait, I need
to give you the ointment!
This is what I am talking about.
I've got a sore throat
and he wants to rub my legs!
- Eh.. ridiculous
- Have you got a wife?
A family? Because they need
to come and see me at once.
Half a day here, half a day back.
No gargle
He's ridiculous.
- No.. but he just...
- Doctor they don't understand
the nuances of syphilis
like we do as men of science.
I doubt that he knows what
'highly contagious' means.
Yeah, we're not in Moscow now.
We are, in fact 978 long versts
north-north-east of Moscow.
Yep, we are in the back
of the back of the Earth.
What else could I have done?
Painting a more graphic picture?
Rectal sores wouldn't planch it?
Actually, you might want to
get the chair a wipe, too.
I...
Why wouldn't he listen to me?
Is it the half beard?
You know it's unbearable to watch
a patient walk out that door
and know they're going
to die a slow and
agonizing death.
But you get used to it.
- How can you say that?
- It's true.
- He's one of hundreds
and it's only syphilis.
- That's terrible.
- It's an epidemic.
- I know.
- But what can you do?
- I'll open a ward.
I'll write a compelling letter to
the Zemstvo.
- I ask for more staff.
I have to fight this.
- Save the world, one peasent at a time.
Yes!
I like your optimism.
It's adorable.
I am a doctor, it is my duty
to help these people.
I believe duty calls.
What are you looking for?
Nothing.
I just noticed the drawer sticks.
I must have fixed it.
Let me go!
I need to see the doctor!
I'm here. What is it?
He's deranged.
What have I done? Tell me!
Nothing, nothing,
it's going to be alright.
Help me, doctor! I give you
money, food, anything!
Yes, but let us calm you down first!
Good.
Good.
Now I can get to the bottom
of his psychological troubles.
Actually, I've got a five on my
public exam for psychiatry.
Yes, this promises to be a
most interesting case.
She fell in the lathe.
She's all I have.
Don't let her die.
In the lathe?
What do you suppose
that could mean?
Right.
An actual lathe.
Anna!
Where was all the blood?
There was barely a
drop left in her.
I thought to myself...
So this is what it looks like,
to watch a girl...
torn to shreds,
slip into the next world.
You know, I think I might
just go back to my room...
No need.
Since you got here, I like to keep
a packet of those in the cupboard.
In case of emergency.
Good idea.
This
doesn't look good.
You said she's their only child.
His only child. He's a widower.
He took me once to
a harvest festival.
He cried.
Excellent.
Don't look down.
- I told you not to look down.
- But if you say not to look down,
- obviously, I'm gonna look down.
- Alright then, look down.
Ahh.
Is she alive?
I'm sorry...
but I'm afraid, she is.
- It's horrific.
- I've seen worse.
But it is up there.
She doesn't have a pulse.
No, it's there.
Hardly.
She is clinging to her life.
- There is absolutely nothing
I can do for her.
- Don't let me hear you say that.
So, what if you've never done
anything like this before?
- Don't forget, you have great grades.
- Yes, I know, I know...
but I don't think anyone
can do anything for her.
- So you're saying, you just
want to let her die.
- No, no.
- How could you even...
- Suggest such a thing?
No, no, don't feel bad about it.
I'm just surprised, that's all.
Normally, it takes a lot longer
for a doctor to get like this.
What?
Cinical... numb
by human suffering.
- Hats off to it.
- No, no, I'm not numb...
Eight year old girl. That's cold.
- I like it.
- You misunderstand me.
No, I get it.
You do want to save the world,
one peasant at a time.
- Yes.
- But just not this one.
Yes... I mean, no.
Because you don't want
to do an amputation.
- Yes.
- Because it's foul,
and hideous and barbaric...
and the stench.
It stays within your nostrils for days.
I don't blame you.
- Well, doctor?
- Prepare for amputation.
But, doctor, do you
really want to torment her?
She's going to die.
You heard what I said.
Feldsher, sterilize the knives.
Anna, the tourniquet.
Pelageya, the morphine.
Okay, team! You heard
what the doc said.
Let's get this show on road!
Here come the good times.
- You just said not to bother!
- He said, she said... who cares?
You need to focus. You're strong.
- What did you have for breakfast?
- I don't remember.
We'll soon find out!
Now, where the hell did she go with
that morphine? Gracevka?
Is she still alive?
Mind the...
lamp.
Here we go.
Oh, right, you want
to start on that leg.
Yes.
As you were.
You're sure she's not dead?
I'm sure.
Right.
Yes, right.
Amputation saw.
- Careful!
- It's alright. It's blunt.
- Still alive?
- Yeah.
Why don't you just die?
Right.
Ligatures.
And the other leg?
You know... I think we should
leave it on. And you?
She's... she's lost a lot of blood.
Seven years.
Finest university in all Russia.
All that hard work...
to reach the top of the class.
And for what?
I'm not a doctor.
I'm nothing but a butcher.
And a seamstress.
What am I doing here?
Why did they send me to this
godforsaken backwoods?
But you did a good
job. She's alive.
I know, but look at her.
What's left of her?
What have I done?
You saved her.
You just might have to
settle for saving the world...
three quarters of
a peasant at a time.
I can't do this for 2 years.
I...
I just want be able to cope.
What are you doing?
- It's a bit left.
- A bit of morphine.
You would've throw it away.
You couldn't take it.
- Is that a problem?
- Yes.
It is. Put id down,
you're a doctor.
So I know what I'm doing.
Put it down.
No, you can't make me.
- Clamp?
- Yes.
- And this is an amputation saw.
- No, don't.
Don't worry. It's blunt.
You have no idea,
what you're doing.
You performed many
amputations, doctor?
No.
Not really.
Three?
- It looked like you first.
- Well, it was...
my...
first leg.
- Definitely. - You come to
the right place. You'll have...
plenty of oppurtunities
to improve.
I bid you good night.
In time...
you will be the equal of a...
young and inexperienced...
Leopold Leopoldovic...
and his is the name I
do not mention lightly.
Thank you.
I'm not a doctor.
I'm a butcher.
The ware of choiced cuts
and the finest sausage meat.
And to think I read all
the medical textbooks
in the Imperial Moscow
University library.
What for?
While the only book I really need
is 'Practical Tips for
Jointing a Carcass'.
'Wherever possible,
use a sharpened saw. '
'In case of tiredness
change arms. '
Perhaps I could lecture...
in abattoirs
This is useless.
I'm probably going
to have to operate.
I'll just take the drops.
You can't cut his eye.
What eye? He doesn't
have an eye. Ha has a...
well, a big yellow tumor
or something.
- The drops will be fine.
- The drops can't grow an eye.
He is a child,
you can't just cut bits off.
I'm not going to cut anything off,
I'm going to gouge.
- No.
- Yes.
Give me the infant.
Give him to me!
- Don't be ridiculous.
- Help!
Please, don't hurt him.
I don't want you take out...
What now?
Is that pus?
As I thought.
an abscess.
I'll get you those drops.
But the names...
on the prescriptions, doctor.
Leopold Leopoldovic,
Demyan Lukich...
Pelageya Ivanovna.
- What do they have in common?
- You obviously know the answer.
They are all deceased.
And have been since before
the dates on these prescriptions.
Would you care to explain them?
I know morphine is
a powerful drug, but...
surely cannot raise the dead.
English Transcription:
merthin, markos988, junio_tk2, robmck
www. subsfactory. it
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