Itās career day at a local high school, and the science teacher, Micah Stephens (portrayed by Power star Patrick R. Walker) introduces Dr. Conrad Hawkins to his class as the doctor who diagnosed his heart condition early. Conrad goes into a story about how he realized he wanted to be a doctor when he saw a woman jump out of her car to help a man who crashed his moped. āI knew in that moment that I wanted to be a person who could jump out of the car to help people, so thatās what I do,ā he says. Students start asking questions and Micah tries to answer. Heās out of breath, and sweat starts to bead on his forehead. As he falls back onto a table, Conrad catches him before demanding a funnel, tubing, and a balloon. He uses the tools to create a make-shift stethoscope. Someone calls 911 as Micahās pulse gives out. Conrad doesnāt hesitate before punching him in the chest, and the teacher starts breathing again. āAm I out of time?ā Micah asks as heās wheeled out on a stretcher by an EMT team. āNot yet,ā Conrad replies.
Later at the hospital, Conrad delivers life-changing news when he tells his patient that after two years of waiting, theyāve finally found the perfect match for a heart. It looks like Micah really isnāt out of time after all. But after a hunting trip gone awry involving Dr. Bell and Dr. Lane Hunter (played by CSI: NY star Melina Kanakaredes), congressman Trip Dunlap (Lindsay Ayliffe) and Mitch Kaplan, (John Pirruccello) both need medical attention. Not only did Mitch suffer a āgunshot wound to the buttock,ā but congressman Dunlap needs a heart transplant STAT. While that would typically take months to find a match, Dr. Bell suggests they test to see if heās a match for the heart thatās supposed to go to Micah. After finding out that Dunlap would be able to accept the heart, the hospital pulls some strings and reallocates the heart, canceling Micahās surgery.
Conrad finds out about the change of plans, and immediately hunts out the chief of surgery. āThey both needed a heart. It was a tough decision,ā Dr. Bell bluntly explains about the reallocated organ. āMy patient is 28 with his whole life ahead of him. That heart could have given him 50 more years,ā Conrad rationalizes. āTrip Dunlap is 63 and a smoker. His body is a lot more likely to reject the heart. And even if it does take, what does it buy him? Ten more years?ā Bell asserts that the decision was made based on medical reasons alone, and Conrad tries to argue before being reminded that heās only a resident, and Bell is chief of surgery.
Meanwhile, Devon is working his first shift without Conradās help. Heās assisting on taking the bullets out of Mitchās bottom, when he realizes the patient is coughing infrequently. After realizing he might have a pulmonary embolism, which is when an artery in the lung becomes blocked by a blood clot, he has Mitch rushed to get a CAT scan. He passes out during the exam, and Devon makes the executive decision to get him into emergency surgery, ignoring warnings from his colleagues that he should really run it by his supervisor first.
Conrad learns that Chloe, a brain dead patient, is also a perfect donor for Micahās heart surgery ā the only problem is that her mother has decided she doesnāt want to take her off life support. The resident decides to try and convince Dr. Bell to talk the patientās parent into donating her daughterās organs. Bell, however, refuses to do it, and Conrad takes it to mean that heād rather have the hospital make $100,000 a week for the ICU bills. āThe whole world is about the bottom line,ā Dr. Bell responds before walking away.
Dr. Bell finds out that the congressmanās surgery canāt happen without a splenectomy after they find out heās suffering from a lacerated spleen. Bell agrees to do it as his hands start to shake. He finds Dr. Mina Okafor, whoās proven to be one of the most precise surgeons, and tells her has an āopportunityā to assist him. Still angry about being forced to perform surgery for him while he got all the credit, she turns it down. āIām never saving your ass again,ā she says.
Micahās hands and feet are cold, and Conrad can barely feel his pulse. āI canāt lie down and when I do, it feels like Iām drowning,ā he says between gasps. āLungs are building up with fluid because heart is struggling to pump efficiently,ā Conrad explains. The resident forms a plan to swap out Tripās blood for the sample of someoneās who doesnāt match at all. He convinces one of the other doctors to test the congressman again, making it look like he wouldnāt be able to take the heart. The organ is then given to Micah, and he gets to have surgery later that day.
But Dr. Bell realizes the press is waiting for the political leader to make a full recovery, so he approaches Chloeās mom and convinces her to donate her daughterās organs to help save a life. He confronts Conrad, knowing that he switched the blood samples. āTwo patients are getting organs. Two lives saved. If you want to dirty this win with a scandal, be my guest,ā Conrad responds to his threats. Bell says heāll relent as long as he also gets his way. Conrad then goes and convinces Dr. Okafor to assist with Bell with the spleen surgery. With her help, the splenectomy and transplant go off without a hitch.
Devonās leukemia patient Lily is sent home by Dr. Hunt, even though her white blood cell count was really low earlier in the day. When Nic asks why she let him leave, Dr. Hunt tells her not to question her in front of the staff. Nic does some digging and finds out Lilyās file is missing from the surgery. It turns out Dr. Hunt keeps her patientsā files in a separate dat base, and she essentially owns the rights to them.
Later at a bar, Devon meets up with Nic, Mina, and Conrad. His supervisor is angry that he made a bad call by sending Mitch into surgery. Devon makes a case for himself, saying that he made the right call and his patient is now recovering nicely. āLook at this guy, he forgot rule #1,ā Conrad says to his colleagues, referencing his stipulation that Devon should always listen to him. āI didnāt forget it. I broke it,ā Devon claps back. āBecause you are not always right. No one is.ā As he tries to walk away, Conrad calls him back. āCongratulations. You just passed Independence Day.ā
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