The Pitt Recap: Savior Complex

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After the harrowing experience you had last week, taking a moment to catch your breath as you witnessed the chaos at Pittsburgh Medical Trauma Center following an active shooter incident at Pitt Fest, I’m genuinely glad for you. However, I must caution you that the nightmare is far from over, and it may even worsen. You might wonder how this could be when The Pitt has already significantly impacted your life (in a good way). Let me rephrase: “7:00 P.M.”, or, “A Persistent Glimpse into the Havoc Wrought by a Mass Shooting Event, Part II: This Time It’s Personal.” Watching our doctors grapple with this harrowing situation was challenging enough when they were merely trying to save anonymous patients, but in this hour, a familiar face enters the ER and intensifies the emotional turmoil of the entire scenario. Noah Wyle has several choices regarding which episode he might submit for his Emmy nomination, but perhaps it should be this one?

The situation this week appears quite similar to how last week ended. It seems like the message I sent regarding avoiding bullet wounds, specifically to Richie, wasn’t heeded over at The Pitt. Our encounter with him was as gruesome as I had remembered. However, there’s a silver lining: after a challenging effort to establish an airway for this individual, Dr. Robby had to improvise due to dwindling supplies, performing the tracheotomy with just “an 11 blade and prayer”. Remarkably, Dr. Abbott, similar to Dora the Explorer, discovered a hidden resource in his bag – a lifesaving emergency cricothyrotomy kit, making the procedure swift and manageable, even in the dark. Mohan was amazed and inquired about these kits, to which Robby responded with a reflection of the financial constraints at PMTC and our healthcare system: “No budget for it.

In another part of the facility, while the night team has arrived, among them Charge Nurse Bridget whom I instantly adore (such a knack for charm!), things are becoming tense in the Yellow Section. King, Santos, and Whitaker are in charge, but some of the trouble can be attributed to their actions: Whitaker inappropriately drills an IO into a very awake and aware clown (no typo there!), which is distressing, yet leads to Taylor Dearden delivering the line “okay, um, why’d you do that?” as King and Bridget clarify that IOs are only for unresponsive patients. However, most of the issues in Yellow are just bad luck – patients who were once stable but are worsening, or have more severe injuries than initially thought.

In this situation, we have Mr. Grayson, a laid-back hippie with a bandaged head. When they discover him unconscious and unable to get a head CT immediately, Whitaker shows his quick thinking by employing a portable ultrasound instead. The reading reveals an alarmingly high pressure on Grayson’s retina, indicating he’s been bleeding in his brain the whole time. To alleviate the building pressure, King rushes to find an attending physician, but Mohan realizes time is of the essence. She resorts to using an IO drill to drain the hemorrhage in Grayson’s skull, keeping him stable enough for transfer to the operating room.

In this scenario, there’s a woman named Carmen who was managing a food stall during the festival, but she ended up with a severe inguinal gunshot wound that was bleeding excessively. Since there was no place to apply a tourniquet above the injury, she risked bleeding out. Neither a conventional tourniquet nor a junctional tourniquet could stop the bleeding. In such a critical situation, our resident doctors and members of the First Day Club had to improvise. While I trust Mohan, a third-year resident, to perform complex procedures when needed, I’m not as confident about Santos, an intern who seemed overly self-assured. Despite everyone advising against it, Santos decided to execute a REBOA (a procedure where a balloon is threaded into the aorta to control bleeding until surgery can be performed). This move could potentially cut off blood flow to Carmen’s lower body, which could cause irreversible damage if prolonged. The show The Pitt seems to present a conflicting message about Santos’ actions, as she successfully performs the REBOA but is also reprimanded for disobeying protocol. It raises the question of whether disregarding established procedures is ever acceptable or safe, as it could potentially lead to fatal consequences. Fortunately, in this case, Carmen survives.

Amidst the pandemonium in the ER, there’s more trouble brewing. The laryngoscopes have drained their batteries, making intubations exceptionally challenging; a man with a hidden gun causes panic (Perlah, who’s too skilled for this world, seems to be on edge); and to add to the chaos, someone decides to use an IO drill on her ankle monitor when it malfunctions. Incident David appears seeking his mother, but is apprehended by police. He denies any involvement in the shooting, but they isolate him for further investigation. Throughout this turmoil, Robby maintains control as our resolute leader, even checking on the First Day group to ensure their safety. However, around halfway through the episode, events take a dramatic turn.

It was inevitable that something like this would occur eventually. While I was stepping out to check on Shen and Ellis in the triage area, a parks department truck pulled into the ambulance bay carrying four additional victims. One of them was Jake, frantically trying to save his girlfriend Leah, who had been shot and her heart pierced by a bullet. Given the gravity of her wound, it was clear even before she entered the hospital that she wouldn’t survive. (To put it frankly: It was evident from the moment she spoke with Robby on FaceTime that Leah’s fate was sealed.)

As a dedicated movie enthusiast, I find myself utterly fixated on Leah’s plight – I must do everything within my power to save her for Jake. The lengths I’m going to are extraordinary, and everyone seems to notice. When I pointed out that each patient only gets two liters of blood, I went ahead and gave Leah four, even suggesting a self-transfusion. In a heart-wrenching instant, Robby and Dana both felt a pulse, but by the time Dr. Walsh arrived, it had vanished. She couldn’t take Leah up to the OR. Across the room, Abbott watches the unfolding drama, torn between his emotions and the demands of this critical situation. When Dana implores him with her eyes to intervene, to help Robby regain composure, he hesitantly approaches. He whispers in my ear that with these severe injuries, we likely wouldn’t be able to save Leah even if she was our only patient, and 10 others will perish if I don’t leave this side. Still, I can’t seem to pull myself away. In desperation, I grab a vascular Doppler one last time, seeking the slightest trace of a pulse – there is none. “Alright,” I say, fighting back tears, “We’ve done all we could.” The sorrow in my eyes is palpable: I fear I’ve let Jake down. My heart is already shattering.

As for Dana, she has a knack for squeezing my heart multiple times during this entire storyline. For instance, when she inquires about Robby if he needs her to accompany him while speaking with Jake. Furthermore, the gentle way she covers Leah’s body with a sheet after it’s been confirmed she’s deceased is another moment that takes a heavy toll on me. Could I be delaying my discussion of the truly heart-wrenching scenes in this episode? Perhaps, but that doesn’t diminish their emotional intensity, does it?

In these two heart-wrenching scenes, we find Robby and Jake, much as one might have predicted. Robby, the father figure, leads his surrogate son into a private space to share the terrible news about Leah. He speaks softly, carefully explaining their desperate attempts to control her excessive bleeding, but ultimately they were unable to save her. Robby struggles hard to maintain composure, yet when Jake inquires about seeing Leah’s body, Robby knows denying him is impossible.

As a movie enthusiast, I hobble Jake – the one who got hit by shrapnel in his leg – into a hospital room temporarily converted into a makeshift morgue. It’s like these forest dwellers haven’t had enough heartache already! Seeing Leah’s lifeless body, Jake instantly feels responsible for her death and then swiftly turns that guilt towards me. “Why couldn’t you save her?” The remnants of my composure dissipate. I’m re-living the moment when I ‘allowed’ Adamson to perish in this very room, and pleading with Jake to understand how hard I tried. When he starts bringing up what could have been if it were any other day, I can’t help but feel him questioning my ability to save her. “What do you mean by that?” he snaps, sensing a hint of self-blame in my words. Does it imply he could have saved her?

every other person who has died during this shift is etched in my memory.” He goes on to recount each patient we’ve watched die, including Mr. Spencer, Nick Bradley, Mr. Milton, and Sweet Amber. “And I’ll remember Leah long after you’ve forgotten her,” he nearly shouts. Every death leaves a scar on him, and today, all those he’s been trying to shield himself from are catching up with him.

In that moment, memories of Adamson’s demise flood back, leaving an echoing ring in my ears that I can’t silence this time. I hastily usher Jake out, stumbling and acting somewhat harshly – “oh damn, oh damn, I’m sorry” escaping my lips. Yet, I understand I’m losing control, and I don’t want Jake witnessing my breakdown. Alone amidst the silent company of lifeless bodies, I collapse to the ground, struggling to catch my breath as sobs wrack my body. There, before the cheerful cartoon forest mural, I shatter into pieces, overcome with emotion.

Discharge Papers

• Noah Fucking Wyle, everybody!!!

Beyond the incidents involving Jake and Robby, another instance that left me tearful was witnessing Kiara and Lupe respectfully capturing photos of one of the deceased individuals. This moment, filled with a haunting stillness and profound reverence, seemed to silence all other sounds outside the room.

Additionally, it’s quite eerie: When Javadi comes back to the Emergency Room carrying a blood supply and queries who might need some, a hush falls over the room until Nurse Jesse responds, “all of us.

In the midst of King clarifying to Whitaker that drilling into a clown’s arm isn’t wise, given that IOs are meant for unconscious patients, I couldn’t help but chuckle when Santos quipped, “Unless it’s a mime, they can’t make a sound.” No matter what people say about her, she certainly knows how to lighten the mood, even in the most challenging situations.

The monarch displays incredible kindness and gentleness towards the woman cradled in a sling, whose state suggests she’s in deep distress, yet another instance that could tug at one’s heartstrings.

The list of gruesome injuries I hope never to witness again keeps expanding, with Langdon’s burst carotid artery being the latest addition. Absolutely not!

I’m really enjoying how The Pitt is demonstrating the growth of these young doctors over just one shift. This development is particularly noticeable in Mohan, who is learning to work efficiently under time pressure and making swift decisions for her patients. She observes Robby, Abbott, and Langdon executing some clever, on-the-spot strategies, and then she steps up to rescue a patient with an IO drill to the skull.

Wasn’t it hoped that Collins would forcefully enter the ER and make an extraordinary play with an amazing assist? They truly require her presence! In other words, we long for her, but so does the team!

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2025-03-28 05:55