Chicago Med - Alternative Medicine - Review

“I did everything I could and it wasn’t enough.”

Natalie’s young cancer patient, Hailey, is back this week with a severe case of jaundice. With a swelling brain and a failing liver, things aren’t looking good for Hailey. Understandably, Natalie cares deeply for Hailey, as she’s been treating her for so long. So where do you draw the line? When Hailey continues to decline, Natalie potentially gives the parents false hope, almost as if she’s trying to convince herself there’s hope too.

Meanwhile, Ethan treats a young girl, Shannon, who swallowed a science experiment. Yeah, she’s kind of a genius. I was critical of Ethan in the last review and called him stoic and emotionless. Perhaps Shannon sparked something in Ethan, as he was much more relatable and enjoyable in this episode. He and Natalie, who consults on the case, are taken aback by Shannon’s knowledge. Of course they discouraged Shannon from experimenting on herself ever again, but they were definitely blown away by her “body hacking”. And who wouldn’t be? Do kids like this actually exist? Because that’s incredible.

Sadly, not everyone makes it, even when you do everything you can to save them. Despite her best efforts, Natalie can’t save Hailey. This loss isn’t one that Natalie will forget anytime soon. Discouraged, she later asks Ethan, “How many more kids like Hailey are we going to have to lose?” But Ethan is feeling quite the opposite after visiting Shannon’s lab. Science has come a long way, and like Ethan mentions, kids (kids!) are doing experiments at home that ten years ago could only be done in places like university labs. “When we find the cure for cancer, it might just come out of a lab like that one.”

Ethan encourages Natalie to pay a visit to the lab, and that she does. It’s unbelievable. Seriously. These kids can’t be more than thirteen and for fun they try to find cures for diseases and explore gene sequencing. I was more about naming the pigs we dissected in ninth grade than the actual science. Thank goodness for kids like Shannon. Natalie seems to find comfort in the lab and even asks Shannon to look into non-hodgkin's lymphoma, the cancer that claimed Hailey.

Elsewhere…

“It’s a big first step. Remember, it’s just the beginning.”

You know that spine-tingling feeling you get when you feel like someone is watching you? Well, Sarah’s convinced she’s being followed and soon finds Danny lingering outside the hospital. That’s right, Danny’s back! He’s desperate for a way out of his current life, which involves him being kept against his will (sex trafficking) and drugged, among other things, I’m sure. Dr. Charles orders Sarah to not get involved, as Danny isn’t willing to go through proper clinical channels for treatment. This order was a bit surprising coming from Dr. Charles. Sure, I can understand the danger of treating someone outside the clinical setting. But for possibly the most understanding and compassionate person (on the show) who always knows just what to say, his response was a bit off-putting.

When Natalie goes to Dr. Charles for advice, he tells her, “You can’t fault yourself for caring.” It seems he needed some of his own advice, as he then pulls Sarah aside and tells her about a past patient of his. He was close with his patient and very involved, much like Sarah is with Danny. When his patient killed herself, he was devastated. He’s still against her involvement with Danny, but he gives her permission and offers his help, knowing how she feels.

Dr. Charles and Sarah pay a visit to Detective Lindsay, though she’s unable to help much until Danny expresses his desire for help. Danny pushes Sarah away out of fear, but later shows up at the hospital, bleeding badly after trying to remove his tracker. He asks for help, but don’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet. Danny has a long, dangerous road ahead.

“You can’t erase things, but you can write over them.”

There must be something in the Chicago air, because the hospital has a major influx a patients. Maggie desperately searches for open beds in the hospital, and comes across one known as the “red room”. Doctors refuse to move their patients there, as several have died recently. Even Connor is a bit superstitious about it! Maggie calls in Connor’s Hawaiian friend Keoni, who comes to assess. It might seem like a bunch of hullabaloo to some, but Keoni explains that it’s just physics. “Vibrations from sound waves, they create micro-movements in things, they imprint themselves…a lot of grief and anger in there left it’s mark.”

“It’s a good thing I didn’t know what I didn’t know before I became a doctor. I don’t think I would have.”

After performing heart surgery, Dr. Latham concludes that they need to re-open their patient due to a heart murmur. Connor is disturbed that he doesn’t hear the murmur and is hesitant to do the surgery, but Dr. Latham turns out to be right. Connor is clearly perturbed by this, as he’s used to being right. “He’s not Superman, you know,” Natalie reminds Connor. This continues to be a interesting budding friendship that definitely needs to continue.

Will and April tend to Mr. Logan, a patient in with what seems to be minor abdominal issues. Will was calm, poised, and caring in his treatment of Mr. Logan, which just adds to the stellar growth we’ve seen from him as a character this season. After running several tests, it comes down to just feeling Mr. Logan’s abdomen to convince Will that Mr. Logan needs surgery to remove part of the bowel that is dying. Connor disagrees with Will’s diagnosis but agrees to do the surgery, thanks to his recent non-diagnosis of a heart murmur.

Will explains to Connor that he was able to make the diagnosis because of an incredible teacher he had during med school. His teacher could make difficult diagnoses with just her hands! In a twist of an end, Will delivers flowers to a woman in some sort of assisted living place. The woman is his former teacher, and it’s clear she suffers from some sort of dementia. But Will doesn’t hesitate to tell her what an impact she had on him as his teacher. “What you taught me saved a man’s life. Thank you.”

The hour closes with Connor, arguably the most promising young doctor at the hospital, going back to the basics. It never hurts to refine those skills! Connor visits the hospital library, where he intently listens to a heartbeat, trying to detect a murmur.

Line of the night: Ethan doesn’t want chicken from the chicken food truck
“We only do chicken, and we do it clucking well!”


What did you think of the episode? How will Natalie cope with the loss of Hailey? Will Danny be able to escape? Share your thoughts below!

About the Author - Meghan Reynolds

A Colorado native, Meghan was born a raised a Denver Broncos fan. Aside from football, she loves television and some might say watches too much of it. Some of her favorite shows of the past and present include Galavant, Blindspot, The Office, Veronica Mars, The 100, and Gilmore Girls. She reviews Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med for SpoilerTV.

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