A Mystery to Solve
Dr. Richards is now on the case with Allison Medrano, who he finds outside smoking. He asks her to return to her room so he can assess her for heart disease. Before they could go inside, Ms. Medrano collapses to the ground after a violent coughing fit.
As Dr. Medrano looks after her mom in the ICU, Floyd steps out to discuss the case with Max. They still don’t have an answer to what is causing the blood sugar spikes. Max suggests an explanation, but it isn’t supported by imaging. He suggests that Floyd do exploratory surgery.
In the OR, Dr. Richards doesn’t find a tumor in the abdomen but knows that Max’s hypothesis would explain the symptoms. Going all in on the surgery, he begins to examine the 23 ft of bowel for a tumor. Max has joined Dr. Medrano in the gallery overlooking her mother’s surgery. They discuss her stubborn ways and how she and her friends at Sheepshead Bay don’t change and don’t have enough care. As the gears in Max’s head start grinding (yes, we can see it happen onscreen), Dr. Richards announces that he has found it. He is going to cut the nodule out and send it to pathology.
The lightbulb has flashed over Max’s head and he invites Dr. Medrano to come with him. Gathered in a room are the employees with obsolete jobs, still very concerned of their job security. Max is opening a new clinic in Sheepshead Bay and staffing it with all these employees. Their skillsets fit the needs and an underserved part of the city will now have better care thanks to New Amsterdam.
The End of the Day
Despite a grueling day with a colleague, Iggy makes a joke to a forlorn Kapoor. Vijay tells Iggy he needed his advice today and without it he lost his only friend and his only son. Undeterred by assurances from Frome, a teary Kapoor declares that he needs Frome’s help. Unable to do anything but, Iggy wraps Vijay in a hug and says ok.
Max catches up with Dr. Bloom and checks in on the VIP. He assures her that when she beats this, her job will be waiting for her. Bloom declares that her job is everything to her and Max knows that feeling. At the end of this day, all of the doctors are drained, and we are once again reminded of the humanity behind the health care.
My Thoughts
Week after week New Amsterdam provides the compassion, we all seek to find in health care. Equally important are the reminders of the humanity within each doctor. It is far to easy to forget that each of these doctors have lives and their lives may be equally or more complex than those of their patients.
The breakdown of Lauren and finally admitting to needing help and getting her backstory were important centerpieces of this episode. As always Tyler Labine masterfully plays Dr. Iggy Frome and I just want a friend like Iggy for my own.
Emotionally, the biggest moment for me was a tearful Kapoor not knowing how to undo what his words had done. The New Amsterdam cast and crew continue to produce some of the best television of the season. See you next week!
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