Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 8, Episode 24 - The Cutting Edge - full transcript
Kenny Kelso, a young father, is seriously injured in a work accident and loses his arm. His arm is found and the paramedics take both him and his limb to a new place, Experiment Hope, where it may be possible to reattach them.
Ahhh!
Anybody could make
the decision to amputate.
I wanna see that young man walk
out of here with two functioning arms.
Respiratory arrest, Doctor.
Bill, call a neurosurgeon,
stat! We'll have to drill the skull.
This is the form you fill out
and submit to me requesting
permission for the television interview.
And stop saying it won't work
because by God, I'm not gonna let it fail.
You see, when others might
be willing to quit, we won't.
And so, Experiment Hope.
As much as we
can possibly provide.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
Hey! Hey, look who's back!
How's the new daddy?
Give me five, right here!
I'm so fine, I can't
stand it. She's gorgeous!
Big blue eyes, just
like her mommy.
- She's gonna be a knockout!
- Oh, yeah.
- What'd you name her?
- Katherine.
- Katherine?
- That's a pretty
name for a little girl.
- Katherine Kelso,
has a nice ring to it.
- Oh, that's good, that's good.
I guess I forgot
about you, Molly.
You want one of these things?
If I can load pipe with you guys, I
guess I can smoke a cigar with you.
Get down here.
Congratulations, Kenny.
Maybe she'll grow up
to be a teamster. All right!
All right!
Okay, you guys, 7:00 am.
Let's hustle your butts over here!
- Okay, coming in.
- Come on.
Start with the
barrels down here.
Ahhh!
OCD, this is EMS 1
at 952, Athens Street.
We have a multi-casualty
incident involving number of people.
Dispatch four additional ambulances
and two task forces for manpower.
- Have them report to
the rear of the pipe yard.
- Looks pretty bad, Quince.
At the Medical Command Post.
Let's talk to the
Senior Paramedic.
- Hi, Hansen.
- Hi, Doctor.
- Can you use extra hands?
- You bet we can.
We're still rolling
units out here.
- You could help
the triage team.
- Will do. Come on.
Wilson, Doctor Quincy is
assisting the triage team.
Give him a hand over
there, by the fork lift.
Okay, easy.
Looks like he lost an arm.
Help me elevate his legs.
We have to keep blood
running back to his heart.
We can relieve you, Doctor.
His airway is clear.
His breathing is shallow. You
may have to breathe for him.
Get the Ambu bag.
Eddie, his arm, it's got
to be around here close.
If it's not too badly damaged,
maybe it can be reattached.
Right.
Quincy, over here!
I found the arm.
But look how it's
been chewed up.
I don't see how it could
possibly be replanted.
Eddie, take it over
to that coffee truck.
Wrap it in a wet
towel and pack it in ice.
If there's any chance
for it to be reattached,
it has to be cooled
down to slow tissue death.
Okay, right away.
Careful now.
BP is 90 over 50.
Pulse, 130.
Request permission to
transport to Las Manos.
Roger, permission to transport
to Las Manos is granted.
Las Manos? Isn't that
a little out of your way?
A little, sir.
But it's worth it.
Why? What's the difference?
The difference...
Sir, the difference is that Las
Manos has Experiment Hope.
Doctor Amber to CCU.
Doctor Amber to CCU.
Let's go, coming
through, hot stuff here.
We gotta stop meeting like this,
Mary. You understand that, don't you?
Tomorrow same time, same place.
But don't tell your husband, you got it?
Anne, what's up?
Doctor Peterson called from the
robotics lab and needs to see you.
Doctor Wickett wants you
to check the burn patient.
Here's that abstract you wanted.
- And...
- Yeah?
Mr. Muscanni called.
Pete the Weasel's after me? That's what
I get for leaving the office for an hour.
Doctor...
You were supposed to attend the
staff breakfast meeting this morning.
No, no, no. That's
tomorrow. Wednesday.
Today is Wednesday.
Today is... Is it?
Oh, boy! Well,
I better call him.
Wait, Doctor.
Your son is here.
What's he doing here?
I got the feeling
there's a problem.
Yeah?
Hey, son. How's it going?
Hi, Dad.
Are you gonna tell me I got the wrong
day again, did I miss your baseball game?
- No, it's tomorrow.
- Oh, good.
Then how come I get a
visit here at the hospital?
Mom told me to come.
Mom told you to come,
why? Anything wrong?
I was late for dinner.
Yeah? How late?
A few hours.
How many is a few?
- Four.
- Four hours?
What in the world
were you doing?
We went to a movie.
We? "We" who?
A bunch of guys. No big deal.
Oh, I see.
You and the guys
decided to go to a movie
but you didn't bother to
call your mother and tell her.
Okay, so I messed up.
Can I go now?
Sit down, son.
Look, Jay, I...
Believe me, I know it's been tough on
you since your mother and I separated.
But maybe if we could
talk about it, it would help.
Dad...
She cries all the time.
I don't want to go home.
I make up excuses not to go home
because I can't stand it to
see Mom crying all the time.
I'm sorry, Doctor, but the
Emergency Room just called.
They're waiting for an accident
victim who's in pretty bad shape.
One arm is severed,
but they've got the limb.
Jay, I'm sorry,
it's an emergency.
- I'll call you tonight,
all right?
- It's okay.
Doctor, they're waiting,
what shall I tell them?
I'll be right there. And
call Doctor Wickett.
- You understand, don't you?
- Yeah.
What was his last blood
pressure? 90 over 60.
- Pulse, 110.
- Estimate of blood loss?
- Rhythm?
- Sinus tach.
- Did you get his name?
- It was Kenny Kelso.
Kenny? Kenny, do you
know where you are right now?
You're at Las Manos
Medical Center.
- Is X-ray on the way?
- Yes.
I want a full trauma lab workup.
- Jane, set up for
a central venous line, now.
- Okay.
- BP?
- BP's 110 over 72.
Pulse, 108.
- What's his name?
- Kenny.
Kenny, I'm Doctor Jacobs.
Can you hear me okay?
Are you breathing all right?
- Yeah.
- All right, we'll
take care of you, buddy.
We need a stat set of blood
gases and a Foley catheter.
How much fluid
has he had so far?
This is his second
unit of plasma.
Excuse me, please.
Doctor Royce, 726 please.
Doctor Royce, 726 please.
- How's he doing?
- He's doing all right.
- What's his name?
- Kenny.
Kenny?
- Kenny, can you hear me?
- Yeah.
You're gonna be all right.
We're just checking
you over now.
Check him.
Remove the bandages. I
wanna examine his arm.
Yeah, Jill, would
you unwrap the arm?
Doctor McDonald to
the surgical waiting room.
Doctor McDonald to
the surgical waiting room.
Katherine.
Doctor?
Doctor?
Yes.
When can I go back to work?
We can't tell for sure, yet.
Doctor, I gotta
get back to work.
I got a brand new
baby girl to take care of.
Got it? I gotta
get back to work.
We'll do our best.
Doctor Egan, please
call the operator.
Is my husband in there?
- Who is your husband?
- Kenny.
They told me he
was in an accident.
Kenny Kelso, he was
hurt in the supply yard.
- He's here.
- Oh, I wanna see him.
- I just have to talk to him.
- Take it easy now.
The doctors and nurses
need time to be with him.
God.
There's a waiting room just down
the hall. If you could wait there...
- Come on.
- No, no, wait.
What happened?
I mean, is he going to die?
We just had a baby.
He's not going to die. He's
conscious, I talked with him.
He told me about the baby.
He did?
Are you a relative?
No, I'm a friend.
Why don't you just
take her down to the...
Judy, come on with me.
Come on, the doctors will
tell us when we can see him.
He's gonna be okay.
Come on.
What do you think about the arm?
You saw that severed limb?
A piece of hamburger
with fingers.
But can you do it?
It looks like the nerves and
tendons have been avulsed.
Even if I can replant
the arm and it survives,
I doubt that it will have
sensibility and function.
He could end up with a flipper.
Will you give it a try?
I would recommend amputating.
Now, I can clean up the
stump with no difficulty
and we can fit him
with a prosthetic device.
Look, we've got the arm!
It was iced down and the
tissue death was minimal.
I mean, what is the
harm in trying to replant?
Months of waiting for
full sensibility to return,
months of physical therapy,
maybe all for nothing.
He'll be out of
here a lot faster
if we amputate and
fit him with a device.
You gonna tell
his wife that, huh?
Look, he's just got a new baby.
Maybe he'd rather hold her in
his arms, Ted, not in his hooks.
Excuse me, Gabe,
but I have to say this.
I think this whole thing about
Experiment Hope has gone to your head.
We are not gods, after
all. We are ordinary mortals
and we can only
do what we can do.
We cannot accomplish miracles.
When I put this group together, it was
not for the purpose of playing it safe.
Anybody could make the decision to
amputate, that's not why we're here.
Ted, I want you to replant.
I wanna see that young man walk
out of here with two functioning arms.
And you're the only man I know
who can give him that chance.
Don't you take it away from him.
There's a little drainage here.
- Jane, give me that sponge.
- Here it is.
Check the oxygen.
- Do you need the forceps?
- Yeah.
- Doctor McCracken?
- Hmm?
I'm Doctor Quincy, I'm
with the coroner's office.
I was at the scene
of the accident.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- My wife, Dr. Hanover.
- Nice to meet you.
- How do you do?
Yeah, I heard what you
did down on that yard today,
I just wanna say
thanks to you that
we have a shot at replanting
that young man's arm.
This is incredible.
That arm was lying in the dirt this
morning. We couldn't even find it at first!
How far along is this surgery?
Well, the bones, tendons,
and veins have been connected.
You see, right now, Doctor
Wickett is suturing the ulnar artery.
As soon as he's done, we can
return blood flow to the hand.
It's fascinating.
It's a miracle. That's the
only way I can describe it.
When you consider that
he's stitching with sutures
that are one-tenth the
size of a human hair...
Connecting nerves
and blood vessels
which he can only see
through a microscope.
What are the chances of him
regaining full function of his hand?
Our plastic surgeon, Doctor
Wickett, is one of the best in the world.
And if anyone can do
this operation, he can.
Would you care for some coffee?
- No, thanks.
- I'd love some.
When that paramedic insisted on bringing
his victim here to Experiment Hope,
I have to admit,
I'd never heard of it.
He sure knew what he was doing.
We're pretty new. I've been
planning this project for years,
but we started officially
only two months ago.
- Careful, it's hot.
- Well,
there's our wandering boy!
I've left 20 messages for you.
Doctor Quincy and Doctor Hanover.
The hospital administrator, Peter Muscanni.
- How do you do?
- How do you do? Excuse me just a minute.
I need to see you before
you leave today. Stop by?
First free minute, Peter.
- That's definite?
- Yeah, it sure is.
- Nice meeting you.
- Oh, thank you.
Same here.
Yeah, it's a definite maybe.
Pete and I have a
bit of a contest going.
He'd love for me to get mired up
in that administrative bureaucracy,
but as my kid says,
it's not my bag.
I mean, I love being
a doctor and all that,
but I am not much
of an administrator.
Experiment Hope is a dream
I've had ever since medical school.
To bring together the
finest specialists in the world,
give them the best equipment
technology can provide
and assemble them
all under one roof.
That's quite a dream.
Almost an impossible one,
but fate stepped in
and sent me a patient, by
the name of Patterson Kighter.
- The computer manufacturer?
- Exactly.
You know, a cantankerous,
eccentric old codger.
But I must say, a visionary.
And lucky for us, a
billionaire several times over.
So, for a couple of years I
badgered and pleaded with him
and he finally came up with
a grant to fund our specialists.
Are you talking about researchers
or practicing physicians?
I'm talking about
both, Doctor Hanover.
Men and women who function
on the cutting edge of medicine.
Working with cases that
many would consider hopeless.
Trying to find solutions
where they don't seem to exist.
What I wanted here
was a commitment.
I wanted a determination
to keep trying
and keep trying, even in
the face of impossible odds.
When others might be
willing to quit, we won't.
And so, Experiment Hope.
As much as we
can possibly provide.
Richard! For God's sake.
Just trying to see if you
can tell the difference
between one of these
and the real thing.
What happened to that
blonde discus thrower
from pediatrics you've
been chasing all week?
The one who looks like she
could wet nurse the whole floor.
You're more my type.
You've got class.
What's the matter? Don't you
have a PhD in your trophy case yet?
Why can't you accept the fact
that you turn me on?
Because I'm smarter
than you are, Richard.
And don't forget it.
- Hi, Wendy.
- Oh, Gabe.
I've been leaving messages
for you all over the place.
- I've gotta talk to you.
- It's been a rough one, huh?
Doctor Peterson, this is Doctor
Hanover and Doctor Quincy.
- Hello.
- How do you do?
Wendy Peterson is
our biomedical engineer.
She's doing a lot of
experimentation with robotics,
you know, motor-assisted devices that help
disabled people live more normal lives.
Believe me, some of the
most exciting developments
in modern medicine are
happening right here in this lab.
Channel Six thinks so too. They want
me to do a taped interview with them.
Great.
Great, except that Pete
the Weasel, heard that.
Oh! I believe you met Peter
Muscanni in the viewing room.
"Pete the Weasel"?
A less-than-affectionate
nickname.
What's his problem?
What else? Rules.
The man is an
obsessive compulsive.
I mean, he can't do
anything without the rules.
Okay, I'll field this one.
- Thanks, Wendy.
- Very nice to have met you.
- Nice to have met you.
- So long.
Doctor McCracken,
I know the kind of toll that
devastating injuries can take on people.
How do you deal with the emotional
damage that this kind of trauma causes?
We usually rely on the
psychological staff at Las Manos.
But I'm trying to push through
a full-time staff psychologist.
That kind of situation would
certainly be appealing to me.
Okay. Excuse me.
McCracken.
Pushy, pushy.
It sounds interesting.
When did it start?
Okay, get them to CAT
scan stat. I'll be right there.
I'm sorry, it's Kenny
Kelso. It's an emergency.
- Where's Doctor Wickett?
- He's already
left the premises.
I had him paged.
What do you see here?
Looks like a subdural
hematoma. There's a lot of blood.
A subdural? We didn't
see any indication of it.
Well, there's plenty now.
We administered
anticoagulants for the arm replant.
That might've triggered it.
Doctor, he's stopped breathing!
Respiratory arrest.
Bill, call a neurosurgeon,
stat! We'll have to drill the skull.
I'll breathe for him.
Get the crash cart over
here so I can intubate.
Yes, Doctor.
Come on, move it.
Here we go.
Hold this.
Come on, kid. Breathe.
Come on, breathe, Kenny.
Breathe for me, Kenny. Come on.
Okay, we're into the blood.
Pan.
Drain.
We're getting
respiration, Doctor.
We'll take him
down to OR to close.
Gabe, what happened?
Subdural hematoma.
Probably exacerbated by the anticoagulants.
Threw him into respiratory arrest.
We drilled the skull,
he's breathing again.
Damn! Where did a
subdural come from?
He had head trauma.
But we didn't see any
fracture. Must've been minute.
Glad you were here.
And check security at all of
the gates. Particularly gate one...
- Maybe we were just lucky.
- Doctors!
Too late to go out
the service exit.
- I've been waiting for you.
- I got hit by an emergency.
No problem, no problem.
- We can talk right now.
- See you later, Gabe. Peter.
- Actually, I'm on my way home.
- Just take a second.
It's about that interview
you set up with Channel Six.
No, you've got it wrong. I
didn't set up any interview.
Now, now, no need to get
defensive, we're all family here.
I know you're new to this facility
and don't know all the procedures.
It's quite simple.
All dealings with the media
have to go through my office.
We've set up certain guidelines
and the only way I can make sure
they're followed is if
everything is cleared through me.
Okay, can you consider
yourself notified?
Oh, I wish it were that
easy, I do indeed. But...
It's an enormous
burden to run a hospital.
I've spent years developing procedures
to help everything work smoothly.
A well-oiled machine, you know?
Now.
This is the form you fill out
and submit to me, requesting
permission for the television interview.
- Form?
- When I've read
and approved it,
I will send you another
form with my signature.
That is the form you give
to the television station.
They fill it out
and send it to me.
I will study it,
approve or disapprove,
and send you a
memo with my decision.
And of course, I'll send
a copy to the TV station.
- Of course.
- Well, then.
Sooner you fill that out and get it
to me, the sooner we roll. Right?
Right, Peter.
- No problem.
- No, no problem.
Anybody calls, give them a good
story. I'm going to a ball game.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, big fella!
You're not out of the starting gate yet.
What about that request
for the television interview?
Muscanni and his damn
rules. I lost the form.
Can you get another one?
Sure, but they want to
do the interview on Friday.
That gives us plenty of time.
That's day after tomorrow.
That's tomorrow.
Today is Thursday.
I'm late now. Look,
I'll take care of it later.
I have to be back to check
on Kenny Kelso. I'll do it then.
Fine by me. Bye, boss.
Oh, yeah, by the way, Anne.
- Make sure you say
it's the Red Sox game.
- Yeah, got it.
Hey, Billy. How are you?
Getting out tomorrow, huh?
I'll see you, champ, take care.
One little hit, baby!
Brings him home.
Come on now.
- Hang in there. Let's go. Come on.
- Go, Greg! Throw a strike.
Man at first and
second base, get ready.
It's okay, it's all right.
Just hang in there.
Let's go hustle it
up, guys. Move it.
It's a barn burner, tied
two-two in the ninth.
All he's gotta do is
hold 'em right now.
You don't remember
me, do you, Gabe?
Hilary Barron, Danny's mother.
The right fielder.
Of course I do, how are you?
- Good to see you again.
- Fine, thank you.
I heard that you and
Gwen had separated.
Yes, three weeks ago.
Oh, come on, pitch.
You're grooving it, you're
grooving it. Bend down, will ya?
Oh, come on now.
- Base hit.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
I always thought you two
had a good thing going.
So did I.
You know, I went
through this a year ago
- when I got divorced.
- Oh.
I know how rough it can be.
Aw! Come on, you should
have been looking for that, guys.
Winning run in second
base, unbelievable.
If you'd ever like
to get together...
Talk.
Sure. Thanks.
I'll give you a week.
Then I'll call you.
Oh, right through his legs.
- It isn't his fault.
- That's all she wrote?
So, it wasn't his fault, huh?
Jay just lost the game for them.
Hi, Dad. Nice show, huh?
Look, Jay. I told you,
you gotta charge the ball.
Remember how I showed you?
You gotta get down nice and low...
Then why don't you go
out there and do it yourself?
You'd be better at it than me,
just like you're better at everything!
Kenny...
Hey, come on, sleepy head.
It's time to wake up.
Yeah?
There's somebody
here to see you.
Hiya, handsome.
Hi, baby.
Somebody else wanted to say hello,
but she couldn't come. So I brought this.
Katherine wanted me to tell her
daddy that she loves him every much.
I'm supposed to
give you a big kiss.
That one's from me.
I'm...
I'm never gonna hold her.
Oh, no, no, baby.
Listen, everything's gonna
be okay. Really, I promise.
Everything's gonna be just fine.
The doctors are
here to check you.
Mrs. Kelso, do you mind?
I'll be back
tomorrow, sweetheart.
And remember, I love you.
I love you too.
Hello, Kenny.
Kenny, how are you feeling?
It hurts like hell.
We'll give you
something for that.
The surgery went very well.
Everything seems to
be hooked up all right.
I want you to try
something, Kenny.
I want you to try to
wiggle those fingers.
I don't know.
I can't feel anything.
That's to be
expected at this point.
But if you try to wiggle,
we might get some movement
even though you can't feel it.
All right?
All right! They're
moving, Kenny!
They're moving.
Then it's gonna be okay?
We can't really tell for sure whether this
replant has taken for another week or so.
Doctor, am I gonna be
able to hold my baby again?
Kenny...
Kenny, I promise you one thing.
We're gonna do whatever it takes
to make sure that you'll hold
that baby in your arms again.
Doctor McCracken, can
I see you for a minute?
Gabe, you know better than to make
promises like that about an arm replant.
I've told you, I don't know
if he'll ever regain function.
You're like a broken record.
You keep telling me how
this isn't going to work.
How about the
chances that it will work?
My policy is never to be too
encouraging in these cases.
No kidding.
Don't you see that you may be setting
him up for a tremendous disappointment?
I don't want this man wallowing
in dejection and defeat.
I want him to believe
that he can tough it out!
I want you to believe
that he can tough it out.
Great, Gabe. And if
the replant doesn't take?
It will.
And we're gonna keep believing that until
it's impossible to believe anything else.
If I see that boy's muscles
shrivel and atrophy from disuse,
then I will admit
that I was wrong.
But until then,
let's give the guy a good arm.
Hey, sunshine. How you doing?
What's he faking it again, huh?
Yeah, figures.
Okay, you know the routine.
Put this on.
The hearts not beating, right?
Do you have a heart?
Still got one.
Okay, Kenny. Are
you ready to sit up?
Yeah, I think so.
Okay, I.V's unhooked.
All right now, easy does it.
Here we go.
You okay?
I'm a little light-headed.
That's from sitting up.
Just wait till you feel
like you're okay to stand.
We'll try to make
it to the bathroom.
If that means no more
bedpans, I'm ready.
Okay, let's give it a try.
Okay.
- Ready?
- Uh-huh.
Just hold on to me.
- I'm trying.
- What's wrong?
I can't lift my arm!
Kenny, it's just stiff from
being tied to the IV board.
No, look. I can move the hand.
But when I try to
lift it, it won't move.
Call Doctor McCracken.
Let's lie down again, okay?
My arm's paralyzed!
It's paralyzed, isn't it?
There it is. The damaged area.
The contusion from
that subdural bleed.
The tissue changes are
apparent there, and there.
The brain can't send a signal to the
muscles in his arm, so he can't move it.
You're taking this all
on yourself, aren't you?
Oh, hell! How am
I supposed to feel?
I should have seen that
subdural before we ever operated.
Come off it, would you?
If there had been any evidence of a
subdural, I'd have seen it. No one did.
The fracture was too slight.
You don't walk on water, Gabe.
Oh, boy.
You are not responsible
for every single circumstance
that occurs to the
patients in this project.
Look, Ted.
I pushed you to replant his arm
because I wanted to send
him out of here with two arms.
We gave him one arm
but we've lost the other.
I don't want to settle
for a lousy trade off!
Oh, boy.
Listen to me.
You know, I...
I hear myself
talking like that and...
I understand what my wife means.
Every case a crusade, right?
I know it's messed
up my marriage.
Being a doctor takes a
heavy toll on any marriage.
- We all fight that one.
- Yeah.
But I know this.
Without a scrapper like you,
this project would never
have gotten off the ground.
Without you, it wouldn't
survive a month.
And I'll tell you something
else, my good Doctor.
If I were that
young man in there,
I wouldn't want anybody
but you handling my case.
Thanks, Ted.
Hey, looking good,
Bobby. Looking real good.
Thanks, Doc.
Why not?
Why not?
You can't beat me. I made you.
I've been thinking of some
interesting games we could play.
And you don't need a
computer to play them.
Richard, have you thought of having
your testosterone level checked?
You seem to be running
at full throttle all the time.
- Would you want
me any other way?
- Mmm-hmm.
Gone.
Hi, Wendy,
this is Kenny Kelso.
Kenny, Doctor Peterson.
Hi, Doctor.
Kenny, show Doctor Peterson the
motion you have with your right arm.
It isn't much.
Now, lift your arm.
You know I can't.
The bicep is affected.
The brain damage affected
control of his right arm.
It's a little unusual, because
the other muscles are weakened,
but only the bicep
has lost all function.
That's a big only, Doctor.
You know what I do for a living?
I drive a forklift.
Guys used to say I handle that baby
like a musician plays an instrument.
Smooth and silky.
Now, I can't even
push a baby stroller.
Kenny, I have an idea.
I need to talk to
Doctor Peterson,
and then I'll come up
and tell you about it. Okay?
Okay by me.
Bye.
Wendy.
I want you to come up with something
that will help him bend his elbow.
- Like what?
- Electrical stimulation.
I saw one of the spinal cord
patients walking with a therapist.
His quadriceps were
wired to electrodes
which gave him a stimulus
with every step he took.
It gave him the use of muscles
he can't control by himself.
Right.
Can't we work out
something like that for Kenny?
Yeah. Yeah, I could. Sure.
I'll put an electrode on his
bicep and then he'd wear
- a battery pack
around his waist.
- No, no, no.
Too much gadgetry. I
mean, you have to hook it up,
you'd have to carry it around.
After a while, the
hassle isn't worth it.
What are you after, Gabe?
I want something
that we can implant.
Something contained within the body
that will allow that man to use his arm.
I don't think that's
ever been done.
Then maybe this is the time.
Well, we could
take a controller.
- And implant it
under the clavicle.
- Mmm-hmm.
It's the interface to control
the muscle that's tough.
Let's see.
Here we go.
Shoulder controller.
We can do it with a
shoulder-controller.
Look, shoulder controller.
- Here,
the implant is in the chest.
- Yeah.
A wire runs the
musculocutaneous nerve.
Now, the transducer is external
and controlled by this mechanism.
As Kenny lifts his
shoulder, it bends this rod,
sending a message to
the implanted receiver.
The nerve is stimulated.
And the bicep responds,
under his own control.
If that works, Wendy... Wow!
- You said it,
it's about time we tried.
- Then let's go for it.
Thanks, but no thanks, Doctor.
Sorry you went
to all that trouble.
- Kenny, what are you saying?
- That I've had it.
Judy, I've been cut on
and stitched and wired
and CAT scanned and probed
and poked and I'm calling a halt to it.
I don't want you to
think I'm not grateful,
but enough is enough.
This hand barely works.
Maybe it'll get
better, maybe it won't.
The other arm
I can't use at all.
I've got a plug in my skull
from where I almost died.
Now you want to
try something else?
Something that's never
even been tried before.
No way.
I'm not a laboratory rat.
I'll get by the way I am.
Okay, Kenny, I understand.
I just ask you to
think about it first.
Kenny.
If you change your mind,
let us know.
Can't even look me
in the eye, can you?
What do you mean?
I never figured you
for a quitter, KK.
That's pretty damn
easy for you to say!
You're not sitting
here a cripple!
Do you listen to yourself?
You're talking the way you did
when you were out of work last year.
Sat around the house
feeling sorry for yourself,
blaming everybody else
because it was so tough on you.
It was tough on me! I was sick!
And you know
when you got better?
When you picked yourself up
and stopped pointing the
finger at the rest of the world
and decided to do something!
You stopped sleeping all
day and you went hustling jobs.
Honey, look at me.
You made the choices,
you decided to take action.
It's time to go home
and feed the baby.
She gets her milk from me.
I hope she gets her
guts from me as well.
- Hello, Doctor.
- Oh, Peter.
How's it going?
The Kelso operation?
Very well.
They're almost finished.
I heard all about that operation
on the Channel Six news last night.
A fascinating interview
with Doctor Peterson.
Oh, yes.
An interview I had
absolutely no knowledge of.
Peter, I slipped up, I lost the form.
I meant to get another one, but...
You think my forms
are ridiculous, don't you?
My rules are absurd.
- Of course not.
- Come on, Doctor.
Do you think I don't know how
people laugh at me behind my back,
the pet names they have for me?
And that doesn't
bother me in the least,
because I don't give a good
flying fit what people think of me.
But I do care when someone like
you tries to set up his own little empire
in the middle of my hospital.
Keep this in mind, Doctor.
You and your Experiment Hope
need these facilities a
lot more than we need you.
So, if you expect to
play in my ballpark,
you had damn well better
learn to play my game.
Because if you don't,
you and your hot-shot doctors are
gonna be tossed out on the street.
If they don't fix that
piece of equipment,
we'll get it out of
here and we'll order it
from someone else, you
understand? Tell them that.
I'm sorry.
- You can bump into
me any time, Doctor.
- Well...
Dad! Wait up!
Jay, what brings you here?
Late for dinner again?
No.
Well, about the other day, I...
Oh, come on, come on.
I brought you this stuff.
It's mail that came to the
house. I thought you might want it.
Yeah. Thanks.
I guess I should file a
change of address form.
- Maybe so.
- Anyway, that was nice of you.
You wanna get a soft
drink or something?
No, thanks.
Dad, there's another
reason I came.
I have to ask you something.
Sure, shoot.
Playoffs for the city baseball
championships are starting.
- The first game is Thursday.
- That's great. I'll try to be there.
Well, that's the thing, Dad.
I was gonna ask you if
you would mind not coming.
Not coming?
I don't want to hurt your
feelings or anything, but...
Whenever you come
to a game, I mess up.
I play a lot better when
you're not there, honest.
And these games
are pretty important.
Jay, let me ask you something.
Why do you mess
up when I'm there?
Well, you're always
on me, you know?
You hang on the fence by
the dugout and you never let up.
"Keep your bat back, lean
into it, play in a little closer..."
I feel like no matter
what I do, it's wrong.
Do you understand what I mean?
Yes. Yes, I do, son.
It's exactly what my father
used to do to me. And I...
I guess I never realized it, but
I'm doing the same thing to you.
I don't want to
make you feel bad.
You're not making
me feel bad, Jay.
You've made me feel good.
Because you had the
courage to be honest with me.
That means you care enough about
our relationship to try to make it better,
and that means a lot to me.
Look, can you give me a chance?
Give me a chance to...
To try to change things.
A chance to be a
better father to you.
I love you very much, Jay.
Don't shut me out.
Okay, Kenny. I know
it's still a little sore,
but that shouldn't
affect the function.
Doctor Peterson will tell
you just what to do. Okay?
- Feel this muscle, Kenny?
- Mmm-hmm.
It's the one you use to lift your
shoulder. It's just like shrugging.
So what you have to do is
concentrate on tightening it.
Concentrate on tightening that muscle, that
should trigger the electrical stimulus.
Now, stand up. Come on.
Okay, now concentrate
on tightening it.
Come on.
Nothing happened.
Try it again.
All right, concentrate.
I knew the damn
thing wouldn't work!
Kenny, you listen to me.
If you think you're gonna quit on
this, you've got another thing coming.
If I have to sit here all night with
you until you get that arm working,
that's what I'm
going to do. Got that?
So stop whining
and stop complaining
and stop saying
it's not gonna work,
because by God I'm
not gonna let it fail!
Okay.
Let's try it again.
Stand up.
Close your eyes,
just concentrate,
just focus on that muscle.
Just don't rush at it,
sneak up on it slowly.
Just like clamping down
on the gears of your forklift.
Remember what
you told me, Kenny?
Like a musician plays
the fiddle, soft and silky.
Okay, now.
Try to lift it now.
All right, slowly.
Slowly.
That's it, now lift.
Slowly.
Lift it. Come on,
squeeze it. Lift it.
Oh, boy.
Oh, yes.
Attaboy!
Open your eyes, Kenny.
Look what you did.
- It worked!
- You bet it did!
Let's try it again!
Yeah! All right!
Thanks for calling. You know,
I never saw Kenny conscious.
That's why I thought you might
like to see him leave the hospital.
Well, there he is.
Kenny!
Kenny, this is Doctor Quincy.
Kenny Kelso, his wife,
Judy, and baby Katherine.
Hi, Doctor Quincy, I never got a
chance to thank you. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Doctor Quincy.
I owe you a lot.
It looks like my left arm
is going to work just fine.
And the other one...
Well, now I can shake
your hand to say thank you.
The best thanks I could get.
Doctor McCracken,
it's not enough
to say thank you.
I don't know what to say to you.
You don't have to say anything.
Just enjoy your wife and your baby.
- You wanna take her?
- Yeah.
Get her.
- Sweetie...
- All set.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
It must make you feel very
proud, seeing him walk out like that.
Proud?
Yeah, I suppose so.
Although that seems to imply that
I had more to do with it than I did.
Come on! You did.
You brought that man back from a
mangled wreck to a functioning man.
The Gods were with us, Quincy.
You know as well as I, we
win some, we lose some.
I still think you're
being too modest.
I will take credit
for one thing.
Just for offering that man a
continuing hope that he would get well.
I mean, he got a lot of help from
modern medicine, Quincy. But...
Beyond that, what he had going
for him was the greatest healer of all.
The human spirit.
Anybody could make
the decision to amputate.
I wanna see that young man walk
out of here with two functioning arms.
Respiratory arrest, Doctor.
Bill, call a neurosurgeon,
stat! We'll have to drill the skull.
This is the form you fill out
and submit to me requesting
permission for the television interview.
And stop saying it won't work
because by God, I'm not gonna let it fail.
You see, when others might
be willing to quit, we won't.
And so, Experiment Hope.
As much as we
can possibly provide.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
Hey! Hey, look who's back!
How's the new daddy?
Give me five, right here!
I'm so fine, I can't
stand it. She's gorgeous!
Big blue eyes, just
like her mommy.
- She's gonna be a knockout!
- Oh, yeah.
- What'd you name her?
- Katherine.
- Katherine?
- That's a pretty
name for a little girl.
- Katherine Kelso,
has a nice ring to it.
- Oh, that's good, that's good.
I guess I forgot
about you, Molly.
You want one of these things?
If I can load pipe with you guys, I
guess I can smoke a cigar with you.
Get down here.
Congratulations, Kenny.
Maybe she'll grow up
to be a teamster. All right!
All right!
Okay, you guys, 7:00 am.
Let's hustle your butts over here!
- Okay, coming in.
- Come on.
Start with the
barrels down here.
Ahhh!
OCD, this is EMS 1
at 952, Athens Street.
We have a multi-casualty
incident involving number of people.
Dispatch four additional ambulances
and two task forces for manpower.
- Have them report to
the rear of the pipe yard.
- Looks pretty bad, Quince.
At the Medical Command Post.
Let's talk to the
Senior Paramedic.
- Hi, Hansen.
- Hi, Doctor.
- Can you use extra hands?
- You bet we can.
We're still rolling
units out here.
- You could help
the triage team.
- Will do. Come on.
Wilson, Doctor Quincy is
assisting the triage team.
Give him a hand over
there, by the fork lift.
Okay, easy.
Looks like he lost an arm.
Help me elevate his legs.
We have to keep blood
running back to his heart.
We can relieve you, Doctor.
His airway is clear.
His breathing is shallow. You
may have to breathe for him.
Get the Ambu bag.
Eddie, his arm, it's got
to be around here close.
If it's not too badly damaged,
maybe it can be reattached.
Right.
Quincy, over here!
I found the arm.
But look how it's
been chewed up.
I don't see how it could
possibly be replanted.
Eddie, take it over
to that coffee truck.
Wrap it in a wet
towel and pack it in ice.
If there's any chance
for it to be reattached,
it has to be cooled
down to slow tissue death.
Okay, right away.
Careful now.
BP is 90 over 50.
Pulse, 130.
Request permission to
transport to Las Manos.
Roger, permission to transport
to Las Manos is granted.
Las Manos? Isn't that
a little out of your way?
A little, sir.
But it's worth it.
Why? What's the difference?
The difference...
Sir, the difference is that Las
Manos has Experiment Hope.
Doctor Amber to CCU.
Doctor Amber to CCU.
Let's go, coming
through, hot stuff here.
We gotta stop meeting like this,
Mary. You understand that, don't you?
Tomorrow same time, same place.
But don't tell your husband, you got it?
Anne, what's up?
Doctor Peterson called from the
robotics lab and needs to see you.
Doctor Wickett wants you
to check the burn patient.
Here's that abstract you wanted.
- And...
- Yeah?
Mr. Muscanni called.
Pete the Weasel's after me? That's what
I get for leaving the office for an hour.
Doctor...
You were supposed to attend the
staff breakfast meeting this morning.
No, no, no. That's
tomorrow. Wednesday.
Today is Wednesday.
Today is... Is it?
Oh, boy! Well,
I better call him.
Wait, Doctor.
Your son is here.
What's he doing here?
I got the feeling
there's a problem.
Yeah?
Hey, son. How's it going?
Hi, Dad.
Are you gonna tell me I got the wrong
day again, did I miss your baseball game?
- No, it's tomorrow.
- Oh, good.
Then how come I get a
visit here at the hospital?
Mom told me to come.
Mom told you to come,
why? Anything wrong?
I was late for dinner.
Yeah? How late?
A few hours.
How many is a few?
- Four.
- Four hours?
What in the world
were you doing?
We went to a movie.
We? "We" who?
A bunch of guys. No big deal.
Oh, I see.
You and the guys
decided to go to a movie
but you didn't bother to
call your mother and tell her.
Okay, so I messed up.
Can I go now?
Sit down, son.
Look, Jay, I...
Believe me, I know it's been tough on
you since your mother and I separated.
But maybe if we could
talk about it, it would help.
Dad...
She cries all the time.
I don't want to go home.
I make up excuses not to go home
because I can't stand it to
see Mom crying all the time.
I'm sorry, Doctor, but the
Emergency Room just called.
They're waiting for an accident
victim who's in pretty bad shape.
One arm is severed,
but they've got the limb.
Jay, I'm sorry,
it's an emergency.
- I'll call you tonight,
all right?
- It's okay.
Doctor, they're waiting,
what shall I tell them?
I'll be right there. And
call Doctor Wickett.
- You understand, don't you?
- Yeah.
What was his last blood
pressure? 90 over 60.
- Pulse, 110.
- Estimate of blood loss?
- Rhythm?
- Sinus tach.
- Did you get his name?
- It was Kenny Kelso.
Kenny? Kenny, do you
know where you are right now?
You're at Las Manos
Medical Center.
- Is X-ray on the way?
- Yes.
I want a full trauma lab workup.
- Jane, set up for
a central venous line, now.
- Okay.
- BP?
- BP's 110 over 72.
Pulse, 108.
- What's his name?
- Kenny.
Kenny, I'm Doctor Jacobs.
Can you hear me okay?
Are you breathing all right?
- Yeah.
- All right, we'll
take care of you, buddy.
We need a stat set of blood
gases and a Foley catheter.
How much fluid
has he had so far?
This is his second
unit of plasma.
Excuse me, please.
Doctor Royce, 726 please.
Doctor Royce, 726 please.
- How's he doing?
- He's doing all right.
- What's his name?
- Kenny.
Kenny?
- Kenny, can you hear me?
- Yeah.
You're gonna be all right.
We're just checking
you over now.
Check him.
Remove the bandages. I
wanna examine his arm.
Yeah, Jill, would
you unwrap the arm?
Doctor McDonald to
the surgical waiting room.
Doctor McDonald to
the surgical waiting room.
Katherine.
Doctor?
Doctor?
Yes.
When can I go back to work?
We can't tell for sure, yet.
Doctor, I gotta
get back to work.
I got a brand new
baby girl to take care of.
Got it? I gotta
get back to work.
We'll do our best.
Doctor Egan, please
call the operator.
Is my husband in there?
- Who is your husband?
- Kenny.
They told me he
was in an accident.
Kenny Kelso, he was
hurt in the supply yard.
- He's here.
- Oh, I wanna see him.
- I just have to talk to him.
- Take it easy now.
The doctors and nurses
need time to be with him.
God.
There's a waiting room just down
the hall. If you could wait there...
- Come on.
- No, no, wait.
What happened?
I mean, is he going to die?
We just had a baby.
He's not going to die. He's
conscious, I talked with him.
He told me about the baby.
He did?
Are you a relative?
No, I'm a friend.
Why don't you just
take her down to the...
Judy, come on with me.
Come on, the doctors will
tell us when we can see him.
He's gonna be okay.
Come on.
What do you think about the arm?
You saw that severed limb?
A piece of hamburger
with fingers.
But can you do it?
It looks like the nerves and
tendons have been avulsed.
Even if I can replant
the arm and it survives,
I doubt that it will have
sensibility and function.
He could end up with a flipper.
Will you give it a try?
I would recommend amputating.
Now, I can clean up the
stump with no difficulty
and we can fit him
with a prosthetic device.
Look, we've got the arm!
It was iced down and the
tissue death was minimal.
I mean, what is the
harm in trying to replant?
Months of waiting for
full sensibility to return,
months of physical therapy,
maybe all for nothing.
He'll be out of
here a lot faster
if we amputate and
fit him with a device.
You gonna tell
his wife that, huh?
Look, he's just got a new baby.
Maybe he'd rather hold her in
his arms, Ted, not in his hooks.
Excuse me, Gabe,
but I have to say this.
I think this whole thing about
Experiment Hope has gone to your head.
We are not gods, after
all. We are ordinary mortals
and we can only
do what we can do.
We cannot accomplish miracles.
When I put this group together, it was
not for the purpose of playing it safe.
Anybody could make the decision to
amputate, that's not why we're here.
Ted, I want you to replant.
I wanna see that young man walk
out of here with two functioning arms.
And you're the only man I know
who can give him that chance.
Don't you take it away from him.
There's a little drainage here.
- Jane, give me that sponge.
- Here it is.
Check the oxygen.
- Do you need the forceps?
- Yeah.
- Doctor McCracken?
- Hmm?
I'm Doctor Quincy, I'm
with the coroner's office.
I was at the scene
of the accident.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- My wife, Dr. Hanover.
- Nice to meet you.
- How do you do?
Yeah, I heard what you
did down on that yard today,
I just wanna say
thanks to you that
we have a shot at replanting
that young man's arm.
This is incredible.
That arm was lying in the dirt this
morning. We couldn't even find it at first!
How far along is this surgery?
Well, the bones, tendons,
and veins have been connected.
You see, right now, Doctor
Wickett is suturing the ulnar artery.
As soon as he's done, we can
return blood flow to the hand.
It's fascinating.
It's a miracle. That's the
only way I can describe it.
When you consider that
he's stitching with sutures
that are one-tenth the
size of a human hair...
Connecting nerves
and blood vessels
which he can only see
through a microscope.
What are the chances of him
regaining full function of his hand?
Our plastic surgeon, Doctor
Wickett, is one of the best in the world.
And if anyone can do
this operation, he can.
Would you care for some coffee?
- No, thanks.
- I'd love some.
When that paramedic insisted on bringing
his victim here to Experiment Hope,
I have to admit,
I'd never heard of it.
He sure knew what he was doing.
We're pretty new. I've been
planning this project for years,
but we started officially
only two months ago.
- Careful, it's hot.
- Well,
there's our wandering boy!
I've left 20 messages for you.
Doctor Quincy and Doctor Hanover.
The hospital administrator, Peter Muscanni.
- How do you do?
- How do you do? Excuse me just a minute.
I need to see you before
you leave today. Stop by?
First free minute, Peter.
- That's definite?
- Yeah, it sure is.
- Nice meeting you.
- Oh, thank you.
Same here.
Yeah, it's a definite maybe.
Pete and I have a
bit of a contest going.
He'd love for me to get mired up
in that administrative bureaucracy,
but as my kid says,
it's not my bag.
I mean, I love being
a doctor and all that,
but I am not much
of an administrator.
Experiment Hope is a dream
I've had ever since medical school.
To bring together the
finest specialists in the world,
give them the best equipment
technology can provide
and assemble them
all under one roof.
That's quite a dream.
Almost an impossible one,
but fate stepped in
and sent me a patient, by
the name of Patterson Kighter.
- The computer manufacturer?
- Exactly.
You know, a cantankerous,
eccentric old codger.
But I must say, a visionary.
And lucky for us, a
billionaire several times over.
So, for a couple of years I
badgered and pleaded with him
and he finally came up with
a grant to fund our specialists.
Are you talking about researchers
or practicing physicians?
I'm talking about
both, Doctor Hanover.
Men and women who function
on the cutting edge of medicine.
Working with cases that
many would consider hopeless.
Trying to find solutions
where they don't seem to exist.
What I wanted here
was a commitment.
I wanted a determination
to keep trying
and keep trying, even in
the face of impossible odds.
When others might be
willing to quit, we won't.
And so, Experiment Hope.
As much as we
can possibly provide.
Richard! For God's sake.
Just trying to see if you
can tell the difference
between one of these
and the real thing.
What happened to that
blonde discus thrower
from pediatrics you've
been chasing all week?
The one who looks like she
could wet nurse the whole floor.
You're more my type.
You've got class.
What's the matter? Don't you
have a PhD in your trophy case yet?
Why can't you accept the fact
that you turn me on?
Because I'm smarter
than you are, Richard.
And don't forget it.
- Hi, Wendy.
- Oh, Gabe.
I've been leaving messages
for you all over the place.
- I've gotta talk to you.
- It's been a rough one, huh?
Doctor Peterson, this is Doctor
Hanover and Doctor Quincy.
- Hello.
- How do you do?
Wendy Peterson is
our biomedical engineer.
She's doing a lot of
experimentation with robotics,
you know, motor-assisted devices that help
disabled people live more normal lives.
Believe me, some of the
most exciting developments
in modern medicine are
happening right here in this lab.
Channel Six thinks so too. They want
me to do a taped interview with them.
Great.
Great, except that Pete
the Weasel, heard that.
Oh! I believe you met Peter
Muscanni in the viewing room.
"Pete the Weasel"?
A less-than-affectionate
nickname.
What's his problem?
What else? Rules.
The man is an
obsessive compulsive.
I mean, he can't do
anything without the rules.
Okay, I'll field this one.
- Thanks, Wendy.
- Very nice to have met you.
- Nice to have met you.
- So long.
Doctor McCracken,
I know the kind of toll that
devastating injuries can take on people.
How do you deal with the emotional
damage that this kind of trauma causes?
We usually rely on the
psychological staff at Las Manos.
But I'm trying to push through
a full-time staff psychologist.
That kind of situation would
certainly be appealing to me.
Okay. Excuse me.
McCracken.
Pushy, pushy.
It sounds interesting.
When did it start?
Okay, get them to CAT
scan stat. I'll be right there.
I'm sorry, it's Kenny
Kelso. It's an emergency.
- Where's Doctor Wickett?
- He's already
left the premises.
I had him paged.
What do you see here?
Looks like a subdural
hematoma. There's a lot of blood.
A subdural? We didn't
see any indication of it.
Well, there's plenty now.
We administered
anticoagulants for the arm replant.
That might've triggered it.
Doctor, he's stopped breathing!
Respiratory arrest.
Bill, call a neurosurgeon,
stat! We'll have to drill the skull.
I'll breathe for him.
Get the crash cart over
here so I can intubate.
Yes, Doctor.
Come on, move it.
Here we go.
Hold this.
Come on, kid. Breathe.
Come on, breathe, Kenny.
Breathe for me, Kenny. Come on.
Okay, we're into the blood.
Pan.
Drain.
We're getting
respiration, Doctor.
We'll take him
down to OR to close.
Gabe, what happened?
Subdural hematoma.
Probably exacerbated by the anticoagulants.
Threw him into respiratory arrest.
We drilled the skull,
he's breathing again.
Damn! Where did a
subdural come from?
He had head trauma.
But we didn't see any
fracture. Must've been minute.
Glad you were here.
And check security at all of
the gates. Particularly gate one...
- Maybe we were just lucky.
- Doctors!
Too late to go out
the service exit.
- I've been waiting for you.
- I got hit by an emergency.
No problem, no problem.
- We can talk right now.
- See you later, Gabe. Peter.
- Actually, I'm on my way home.
- Just take a second.
It's about that interview
you set up with Channel Six.
No, you've got it wrong. I
didn't set up any interview.
Now, now, no need to get
defensive, we're all family here.
I know you're new to this facility
and don't know all the procedures.
It's quite simple.
All dealings with the media
have to go through my office.
We've set up certain guidelines
and the only way I can make sure
they're followed is if
everything is cleared through me.
Okay, can you consider
yourself notified?
Oh, I wish it were that
easy, I do indeed. But...
It's an enormous
burden to run a hospital.
I've spent years developing procedures
to help everything work smoothly.
A well-oiled machine, you know?
Now.
This is the form you fill out
and submit to me, requesting
permission for the television interview.
- Form?
- When I've read
and approved it,
I will send you another
form with my signature.
That is the form you give
to the television station.
They fill it out
and send it to me.
I will study it,
approve or disapprove,
and send you a
memo with my decision.
And of course, I'll send
a copy to the TV station.
- Of course.
- Well, then.
Sooner you fill that out and get it
to me, the sooner we roll. Right?
Right, Peter.
- No problem.
- No, no problem.
Anybody calls, give them a good
story. I'm going to a ball game.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, big fella!
You're not out of the starting gate yet.
What about that request
for the television interview?
Muscanni and his damn
rules. I lost the form.
Can you get another one?
Sure, but they want to
do the interview on Friday.
That gives us plenty of time.
That's day after tomorrow.
That's tomorrow.
Today is Thursday.
I'm late now. Look,
I'll take care of it later.
I have to be back to check
on Kenny Kelso. I'll do it then.
Fine by me. Bye, boss.
Oh, yeah, by the way, Anne.
- Make sure you say
it's the Red Sox game.
- Yeah, got it.
Hey, Billy. How are you?
Getting out tomorrow, huh?
I'll see you, champ, take care.
One little hit, baby!
Brings him home.
Come on now.
- Hang in there. Let's go. Come on.
- Go, Greg! Throw a strike.
Man at first and
second base, get ready.
It's okay, it's all right.
Just hang in there.
Let's go hustle it
up, guys. Move it.
It's a barn burner, tied
two-two in the ninth.
All he's gotta do is
hold 'em right now.
You don't remember
me, do you, Gabe?
Hilary Barron, Danny's mother.
The right fielder.
Of course I do, how are you?
- Good to see you again.
- Fine, thank you.
I heard that you and
Gwen had separated.
Yes, three weeks ago.
Oh, come on, pitch.
You're grooving it, you're
grooving it. Bend down, will ya?
Oh, come on now.
- Base hit.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
I always thought you two
had a good thing going.
So did I.
You know, I went
through this a year ago
- when I got divorced.
- Oh.
I know how rough it can be.
Aw! Come on, you should
have been looking for that, guys.
Winning run in second
base, unbelievable.
If you'd ever like
to get together...
Talk.
Sure. Thanks.
I'll give you a week.
Then I'll call you.
Oh, right through his legs.
- It isn't his fault.
- That's all she wrote?
So, it wasn't his fault, huh?
Jay just lost the game for them.
Hi, Dad. Nice show, huh?
Look, Jay. I told you,
you gotta charge the ball.
Remember how I showed you?
You gotta get down nice and low...
Then why don't you go
out there and do it yourself?
You'd be better at it than me,
just like you're better at everything!
Kenny...
Hey, come on, sleepy head.
It's time to wake up.
Yeah?
There's somebody
here to see you.
Hiya, handsome.
Hi, baby.
Somebody else wanted to say hello,
but she couldn't come. So I brought this.
Katherine wanted me to tell her
daddy that she loves him every much.
I'm supposed to
give you a big kiss.
That one's from me.
I'm...
I'm never gonna hold her.
Oh, no, no, baby.
Listen, everything's gonna
be okay. Really, I promise.
Everything's gonna be just fine.
The doctors are
here to check you.
Mrs. Kelso, do you mind?
I'll be back
tomorrow, sweetheart.
And remember, I love you.
I love you too.
Hello, Kenny.
Kenny, how are you feeling?
It hurts like hell.
We'll give you
something for that.
The surgery went very well.
Everything seems to
be hooked up all right.
I want you to try
something, Kenny.
I want you to try to
wiggle those fingers.
I don't know.
I can't feel anything.
That's to be
expected at this point.
But if you try to wiggle,
we might get some movement
even though you can't feel it.
All right?
All right! They're
moving, Kenny!
They're moving.
Then it's gonna be okay?
We can't really tell for sure whether this
replant has taken for another week or so.
Doctor, am I gonna be
able to hold my baby again?
Kenny...
Kenny, I promise you one thing.
We're gonna do whatever it takes
to make sure that you'll hold
that baby in your arms again.
Doctor McCracken, can
I see you for a minute?
Gabe, you know better than to make
promises like that about an arm replant.
I've told you, I don't know
if he'll ever regain function.
You're like a broken record.
You keep telling me how
this isn't going to work.
How about the
chances that it will work?
My policy is never to be too
encouraging in these cases.
No kidding.
Don't you see that you may be setting
him up for a tremendous disappointment?
I don't want this man wallowing
in dejection and defeat.
I want him to believe
that he can tough it out!
I want you to believe
that he can tough it out.
Great, Gabe. And if
the replant doesn't take?
It will.
And we're gonna keep believing that until
it's impossible to believe anything else.
If I see that boy's muscles
shrivel and atrophy from disuse,
then I will admit
that I was wrong.
But until then,
let's give the guy a good arm.
Hey, sunshine. How you doing?
What's he faking it again, huh?
Yeah, figures.
Okay, you know the routine.
Put this on.
The hearts not beating, right?
Do you have a heart?
Still got one.
Okay, Kenny. Are
you ready to sit up?
Yeah, I think so.
Okay, I.V's unhooked.
All right now, easy does it.
Here we go.
You okay?
I'm a little light-headed.
That's from sitting up.
Just wait till you feel
like you're okay to stand.
We'll try to make
it to the bathroom.
If that means no more
bedpans, I'm ready.
Okay, let's give it a try.
Okay.
- Ready?
- Uh-huh.
Just hold on to me.
- I'm trying.
- What's wrong?
I can't lift my arm!
Kenny, it's just stiff from
being tied to the IV board.
No, look. I can move the hand.
But when I try to
lift it, it won't move.
Call Doctor McCracken.
Let's lie down again, okay?
My arm's paralyzed!
It's paralyzed, isn't it?
There it is. The damaged area.
The contusion from
that subdural bleed.
The tissue changes are
apparent there, and there.
The brain can't send a signal to the
muscles in his arm, so he can't move it.
You're taking this all
on yourself, aren't you?
Oh, hell! How am
I supposed to feel?
I should have seen that
subdural before we ever operated.
Come off it, would you?
If there had been any evidence of a
subdural, I'd have seen it. No one did.
The fracture was too slight.
You don't walk on water, Gabe.
Oh, boy.
You are not responsible
for every single circumstance
that occurs to the
patients in this project.
Look, Ted.
I pushed you to replant his arm
because I wanted to send
him out of here with two arms.
We gave him one arm
but we've lost the other.
I don't want to settle
for a lousy trade off!
Oh, boy.
Listen to me.
You know, I...
I hear myself
talking like that and...
I understand what my wife means.
Every case a crusade, right?
I know it's messed
up my marriage.
Being a doctor takes a
heavy toll on any marriage.
- We all fight that one.
- Yeah.
But I know this.
Without a scrapper like you,
this project would never
have gotten off the ground.
Without you, it wouldn't
survive a month.
And I'll tell you something
else, my good Doctor.
If I were that
young man in there,
I wouldn't want anybody
but you handling my case.
Thanks, Ted.
Hey, looking good,
Bobby. Looking real good.
Thanks, Doc.
Why not?
Why not?
You can't beat me. I made you.
I've been thinking of some
interesting games we could play.
And you don't need a
computer to play them.
Richard, have you thought of having
your testosterone level checked?
You seem to be running
at full throttle all the time.
- Would you want
me any other way?
- Mmm-hmm.
Gone.
Hi, Wendy,
this is Kenny Kelso.
Kenny, Doctor Peterson.
Hi, Doctor.
Kenny, show Doctor Peterson the
motion you have with your right arm.
It isn't much.
Now, lift your arm.
You know I can't.
The bicep is affected.
The brain damage affected
control of his right arm.
It's a little unusual, because
the other muscles are weakened,
but only the bicep
has lost all function.
That's a big only, Doctor.
You know what I do for a living?
I drive a forklift.
Guys used to say I handle that baby
like a musician plays an instrument.
Smooth and silky.
Now, I can't even
push a baby stroller.
Kenny, I have an idea.
I need to talk to
Doctor Peterson,
and then I'll come up
and tell you about it. Okay?
Okay by me.
Bye.
Wendy.
I want you to come up with something
that will help him bend his elbow.
- Like what?
- Electrical stimulation.
I saw one of the spinal cord
patients walking with a therapist.
His quadriceps were
wired to electrodes
which gave him a stimulus
with every step he took.
It gave him the use of muscles
he can't control by himself.
Right.
Can't we work out
something like that for Kenny?
Yeah. Yeah, I could. Sure.
I'll put an electrode on his
bicep and then he'd wear
- a battery pack
around his waist.
- No, no, no.
Too much gadgetry. I
mean, you have to hook it up,
you'd have to carry it around.
After a while, the
hassle isn't worth it.
What are you after, Gabe?
I want something
that we can implant.
Something contained within the body
that will allow that man to use his arm.
I don't think that's
ever been done.
Then maybe this is the time.
Well, we could
take a controller.
- And implant it
under the clavicle.
- Mmm-hmm.
It's the interface to control
the muscle that's tough.
Let's see.
Here we go.
Shoulder controller.
We can do it with a
shoulder-controller.
Look, shoulder controller.
- Here,
the implant is in the chest.
- Yeah.
A wire runs the
musculocutaneous nerve.
Now, the transducer is external
and controlled by this mechanism.
As Kenny lifts his
shoulder, it bends this rod,
sending a message to
the implanted receiver.
The nerve is stimulated.
And the bicep responds,
under his own control.
If that works, Wendy... Wow!
- You said it,
it's about time we tried.
- Then let's go for it.
Thanks, but no thanks, Doctor.
Sorry you went
to all that trouble.
- Kenny, what are you saying?
- That I've had it.
Judy, I've been cut on
and stitched and wired
and CAT scanned and probed
and poked and I'm calling a halt to it.
I don't want you to
think I'm not grateful,
but enough is enough.
This hand barely works.
Maybe it'll get
better, maybe it won't.
The other arm
I can't use at all.
I've got a plug in my skull
from where I almost died.
Now you want to
try something else?
Something that's never
even been tried before.
No way.
I'm not a laboratory rat.
I'll get by the way I am.
Okay, Kenny, I understand.
I just ask you to
think about it first.
Kenny.
If you change your mind,
let us know.
Can't even look me
in the eye, can you?
What do you mean?
I never figured you
for a quitter, KK.
That's pretty damn
easy for you to say!
You're not sitting
here a cripple!
Do you listen to yourself?
You're talking the way you did
when you were out of work last year.
Sat around the house
feeling sorry for yourself,
blaming everybody else
because it was so tough on you.
It was tough on me! I was sick!
And you know
when you got better?
When you picked yourself up
and stopped pointing the
finger at the rest of the world
and decided to do something!
You stopped sleeping all
day and you went hustling jobs.
Honey, look at me.
You made the choices,
you decided to take action.
It's time to go home
and feed the baby.
She gets her milk from me.
I hope she gets her
guts from me as well.
- Hello, Doctor.
- Oh, Peter.
How's it going?
The Kelso operation?
Very well.
They're almost finished.
I heard all about that operation
on the Channel Six news last night.
A fascinating interview
with Doctor Peterson.
Oh, yes.
An interview I had
absolutely no knowledge of.
Peter, I slipped up, I lost the form.
I meant to get another one, but...
You think my forms
are ridiculous, don't you?
My rules are absurd.
- Of course not.
- Come on, Doctor.
Do you think I don't know how
people laugh at me behind my back,
the pet names they have for me?
And that doesn't
bother me in the least,
because I don't give a good
flying fit what people think of me.
But I do care when someone like
you tries to set up his own little empire
in the middle of my hospital.
Keep this in mind, Doctor.
You and your Experiment Hope
need these facilities a
lot more than we need you.
So, if you expect to
play in my ballpark,
you had damn well better
learn to play my game.
Because if you don't,
you and your hot-shot doctors are
gonna be tossed out on the street.
If they don't fix that
piece of equipment,
we'll get it out of
here and we'll order it
from someone else, you
understand? Tell them that.
I'm sorry.
- You can bump into
me any time, Doctor.
- Well...
Dad! Wait up!
Jay, what brings you here?
Late for dinner again?
No.
Well, about the other day, I...
Oh, come on, come on.
I brought you this stuff.
It's mail that came to the
house. I thought you might want it.
Yeah. Thanks.
I guess I should file a
change of address form.
- Maybe so.
- Anyway, that was nice of you.
You wanna get a soft
drink or something?
No, thanks.
Dad, there's another
reason I came.
I have to ask you something.
Sure, shoot.
Playoffs for the city baseball
championships are starting.
- The first game is Thursday.
- That's great. I'll try to be there.
Well, that's the thing, Dad.
I was gonna ask you if
you would mind not coming.
Not coming?
I don't want to hurt your
feelings or anything, but...
Whenever you come
to a game, I mess up.
I play a lot better when
you're not there, honest.
And these games
are pretty important.
Jay, let me ask you something.
Why do you mess
up when I'm there?
Well, you're always
on me, you know?
You hang on the fence by
the dugout and you never let up.
"Keep your bat back, lean
into it, play in a little closer..."
I feel like no matter
what I do, it's wrong.
Do you understand what I mean?
Yes. Yes, I do, son.
It's exactly what my father
used to do to me. And I...
I guess I never realized it, but
I'm doing the same thing to you.
I don't want to
make you feel bad.
You're not making
me feel bad, Jay.
You've made me feel good.
Because you had the
courage to be honest with me.
That means you care enough about
our relationship to try to make it better,
and that means a lot to me.
Look, can you give me a chance?
Give me a chance to...
To try to change things.
A chance to be a
better father to you.
I love you very much, Jay.
Don't shut me out.
Okay, Kenny. I know
it's still a little sore,
but that shouldn't
affect the function.
Doctor Peterson will tell
you just what to do. Okay?
- Feel this muscle, Kenny?
- Mmm-hmm.
It's the one you use to lift your
shoulder. It's just like shrugging.
So what you have to do is
concentrate on tightening it.
Concentrate on tightening that muscle, that
should trigger the electrical stimulus.
Now, stand up. Come on.
Okay, now concentrate
on tightening it.
Come on.
Nothing happened.
Try it again.
All right, concentrate.
I knew the damn
thing wouldn't work!
Kenny, you listen to me.
If you think you're gonna quit on
this, you've got another thing coming.
If I have to sit here all night with
you until you get that arm working,
that's what I'm
going to do. Got that?
So stop whining
and stop complaining
and stop saying
it's not gonna work,
because by God I'm
not gonna let it fail!
Okay.
Let's try it again.
Stand up.
Close your eyes,
just concentrate,
just focus on that muscle.
Just don't rush at it,
sneak up on it slowly.
Just like clamping down
on the gears of your forklift.
Remember what
you told me, Kenny?
Like a musician plays
the fiddle, soft and silky.
Okay, now.
Try to lift it now.
All right, slowly.
Slowly.
That's it, now lift.
Slowly.
Lift it. Come on,
squeeze it. Lift it.
Oh, boy.
Oh, yes.
Attaboy!
Open your eyes, Kenny.
Look what you did.
- It worked!
- You bet it did!
Let's try it again!
Yeah! All right!
Thanks for calling. You know,
I never saw Kenny conscious.
That's why I thought you might
like to see him leave the hospital.
Well, there he is.
Kenny!
Kenny, this is Doctor Quincy.
Kenny Kelso, his wife,
Judy, and baby Katherine.
Hi, Doctor Quincy, I never got a
chance to thank you. Thank you.
- You're welcome.
- Doctor Quincy.
I owe you a lot.
It looks like my left arm
is going to work just fine.
And the other one...
Well, now I can shake
your hand to say thank you.
The best thanks I could get.
Doctor McCracken,
it's not enough
to say thank you.
I don't know what to say to you.
You don't have to say anything.
Just enjoy your wife and your baby.
- You wanna take her?
- Yeah.
Get her.
- Sweetie...
- All set.
- Ready?
- Yeah.
It must make you feel very
proud, seeing him walk out like that.
Proud?
Yeah, I suppose so.
Although that seems to imply that
I had more to do with it than I did.
Come on! You did.
You brought that man back from a
mangled wreck to a functioning man.
The Gods were with us, Quincy.
You know as well as I, we
win some, we lose some.
I still think you're
being too modest.
I will take credit
for one thing.
Just for offering that man a
continuing hope that he would get well.
I mean, he got a lot of help from
modern medicine, Quincy. But...
Beyond that, what he had going
for him was the greatest healer of all.
The human spirit.