:31:00
The patient, a man of 56,
was admitted to the hospital 10 days ago...
:31:04
in good health, for a checkup.
No visible distress.
:31:07
We did the mandatory workup on him.
Blood cultures, stool, LE preps, chest EKG.
:31:11
All negative. However, there was
some evidence of protein in his urine.
:31:15
I don't know how that guy
in Farkis Pavilion found out.
:31:18
Maybe he had a deal
with one of the girls in the lab.
:31:21
He turned up the next day...
:31:22
conned the patient into signing
an authorization for a biopsy.
:31:25
- What guy in Farkis Pavilion?
- Some postgrad fellow named lves.
:31:29
Elroy lves. I never met him. He's on
one of the immunology research programs.
:31:33
Some postgrad came up here,
did a biopsy on the patient?
:31:35
Yes, sir. He conned Biegelman
with that story...
:31:38
Protein in the urine?
:31:39
- And he biopsied the man?
- And he nicked a vessel.
:31:42
They woke up Biegelman at 2:00
in the morning, as the patient was in shock.
:31:46
Biegelman called the kidney people
for a consult.
:31:48
But what was there to see?
The patient was sour and bleeding.
:31:51
Spoke to this fellow, Sutcliff.
:31:53
He referred us to a surgeon named Welbeck.
:31:55
- That barber?
- You ain't heard nothing yet.
:31:58
We finally got Welbeck
around 4:00 in the morning.
:32:00
He said go ahead.
So they laid the surgery for 8:00.
:32:03
Welbeck turned up half-stoned,
orders an IVP, clears him for allergies...
:32:06
Without actually testing,
and the patient went into shock.
:32:09
And tubular necrosis.
They lopped out the bleeding kidney...
:32:12
ran him back to the room,
we waited for urine.
:32:14
Fever began spiking like hell, uremia,
vomiting. So we arranged hemodialysis.
:32:19
He's putting out good water now...
:32:21
but some nurse goofed on his last
treatment. A shunt separated, something.
:32:25
Blood pressure plunged.
They ran him up to ICU...
:32:27
gave him two units of whole blood.
Vital signs are normal, but he's comatose.
:32:31
- That was two days ago.
- In short...
:32:34
a man comes into this hospital
in perfect health...
:32:37
and in the space of one week,
we chop out one kidney...
:32:41
damage another, reduce him to coma,
and damn near kill him.
:32:44
Yes, sir.
:32:47
You know, Brubaker...
:32:50
last night I sat in my hotel room,
reviewing the shambles of my life...
:32:54
and contemplating suicide.
:32:57
I said, "No, Bock, don't do it.
You're a doctor, you're a healer.