“Who would it harm?”
April, still grieving over losing the baby, works with Ethan and Clark to save a young girl and her mother who are brought to Chicago Med after an emergency airplane landing. The girl needs heart surgery, but oddly enough, the heart of the story is not with the girl—it’s her mother Zulmira.
Zulmira made a deal with a drug dealer for safe passage to the US so her daughter could have the heart surgery. Oof—talk about a situation with gray area! Zulmira’s deal involved swallowing balloons of cocaine, which quickly become hazardous and almost kill her. April flushes most of the balloons down the toilet, and by the time recovery is finished, Ethan, Clark, and April are left with just one. Ethan insists they report it—as they are legally obligated to do—to Sharon. April, however, insists they let it go.
I’m sure viewers were split, perhaps right down the middle, on this issue. Ultimately, Ethan concedes and Zulmira’s cocaine balloon isn’t reported, but he certainly wasn’t happy about it. I’m with Ethan on this one—it should have been reported. It’s a similar question that seems to be the theme for Chicago Justice—do we go with our gut, or the law? When you start making exceptions, the law crumbles. I am sympathetic to Zulmira’s situation—my goodness, she swallowed cocaine balloons to give her daughter a chance to live! But you can’t interpret the law based on intention. It just doesn’t work that way.
As I’m sure many do, April deals with her grief by shutting everyone out, including her brother. It’s frustrating to watch, because unfortunately, we viewers can’t reach through the TV to just give her a hug. Whether it was the case she worked on or something else, April finally breaks down with Noah. April is as strong as they come—she’ll get through this. But will her relationship with Tate survive?
“She will have a say in her future.”
Natalie cares for Theresa, a young girl in the ER for bleeding. She’s been in a coma for years, but that’s not what piques Natalie’s interest—Theresa has been in a coma for five years, but she’s several months pregnant. Can you imagine? What kind of monster rapes a comatose patient?! What’s worse, Detective Erin Lindsay says the rape was likely not a one-time occurrence. Things get a bit dicier when Theresa’s parents decide they want to keep the baby, essentially using their daughter as an incubator.
Things get even more complicated when Natalie insists Theresa reacted to her, leading her to believe Theresa has brain activity. After several tests, Dr. Abrams concludes that not only does Theresa have brain activity, but she has always had brain activity—she was never in a coma. Theresa has Locked In Syndrome, which basically makes her a prisoner in her own body. She’s fully conscious, fully aware, but unable to move. So not only has Theresa incorrectly been assumed comatose for five years, but she was also fully aware of the sexual assault.
“Losing hope is not a sign of mental illness, it’s a sign of being human.”
Sarah, as part of her psychiatry training, rounds at a children’s psychiatry hospital where she meets Nancy. Back at Chicago Med, Sarah meets Nancy again when she’s brought in after an attempted suicide. Nancy insists she’s not crazy, she just needed to see Sarah. Nancy’s condition is precarious—she received an unfair diagnosis because of both her unstable mother and seemingly-blasé psychiatrist. As a result, Dr. Charles takes action to get Nancy a new hearing, even though she might just be exactly who her mother says she is.
“That girl was more than just a surgical challenge.”
Dr. Latham continues to integrate himself into the social realm of the hospitals with a silly joke this week. I love him more each week! As he becomes more in tune with empathy, he ends up being the only person in the OR to calm their young patient just before her surgery. But with that comes, well, empathy—Dr. Latham now sees patients as more than a problem to be solved, he sees them as people. Thus, he panics, and Connor finishes the surgery.
Sadly, Dr. Latham decides it’s best if he ends his treatment for the time being, which I’m taking as his time coming to an end on this show. What a shame! Dr. Latham’s development, along with his relationship with Connor, has been one of my favorite elements lately. And his closing words to Connor? Tears (just a few though…).
What did you think of the episode? What's in store for April? Will we see Dr. Latham again? Share your thoughts below!
