Chicago Med – All the Things That Could Have Been – Review

In this episode of Chicago Med, we seemed to see a lot of storylines about realization and recognition...realizing sometimes things are not always as simple as they seem, and that sometimes we need to open our eyes further to different possibilities to really be able to fully understand. This can be true whether it is a new process, re-evaluating the past or altering our past perceptions to best move into the future.

Dr. Shentu, Goodwin, Vanessa and Gia Lindall

Dr. Shentu meets Goodwin as she is arriving and says to her how well Med is adjusting to the new protocols and guidelines he has put in place. Suddenly, a woman crashes her car into the concrete barrier in front of them. Goodwin and Dr. Shentu go to attend to her and get her to the ED. Goodwin gets Shentu involved with Vanessa taking the lead to treat the patient. Doris looks up her file and finds her name is Gia Lindall and she is a long haul COVID patient, and Goodwin encourages Dr. Shentu to see it through and has Doris get him some scrubs.

Dr. Archer objects but Goodwin ways he is a credentialed Critical Care Physician at Med and she is sure he will be accommodating. Dr. Archer asks Vanessa to keep him briefed on Dr. Shentu’s performance.

Gia is afraid and wants to know why she is in so much pain all the time. They explain to her that she has fibromyalgia related to her COVID and they call it Fibro-COVID. Dr. Shentu says they will get a rheumatology consult to try to help with her pain. Goodwin speaks to Vanessa and Dr. Shentu about a medication that could work to assist her pain that is being trialed, but it would be off label use for the medication. Unfortunately Dr. Shentu’s new protocol is that they cannot use off label meds without patient consent and she is currently sedated, so he realizes they have to wait to treat her, despite her intense pain, because of his guideline.

Suddenly Gia’s oxygen saturation drops and she is short of breath. They get an x-ray and her heart looks like it has a bit of a shadow, and that she has developed a pericardial effusion. Dr. Shentu says they should do a tap but because she is not life threatening right now, according to his new guidelines they need her consent, so Goodwin says hopefully she will regain consciousness before it is too late.

She eventually does become emergent with impending cardiac tamponade and Dr. Archer steps in to do the tap. As he she decompensates, he asks Dr. Shentu if he thinks this could have been avoided.

She is admitted to ICU for the night and then will go to rheumatology once she is stable. She thanks Dr. Shentu and Vanessa for their help. Afterwards, Dr. Shentu tells Goodwin he will be adjusting some of his protocols as he sees they do not work for the urgency of the ED and Dr. Archer tells Goodwin well played after he leaves.

Vanessa thinks Dr. Shentu is a good guy and a good doctor and at the end of the episode, she invites him to a concert, and he gratefully accepts. This could be an interesting opportunity to not only see a new relationship blooming but also to allow viewers to see a different side of Dr. Shentu that might be one that is more favourable than what our interactions have been so far. This storyline was also another example of how brilliant Sharon Goodwin is, and how she truly understands the work of her staff and how important it is to consider all factors before jumping in with changes to process. She truly is such a gift for this hospital, and we can only wish people like her exist outside of Wolf world, to advocate for what is best for people needing healthcare.

Dr. Hammer, Dr. Scott, Carmen and Tyrrell

Dr. Scott checks in on Darius. Carmen is concerned and she has not heard from Tyrrell, which is not normal.

Stevie asks Dylan for help with a patient who just came in by ambulance and it is Tyrrell. He was found passed out on the street. Narcan was given by the paramedics but it did nothing and he is hypothermic and has compartment syndrome in his forearm from falling and laying on it. He is in rhabdomyolysis because of his arm and the muscle death from the compartment syndrome and they call in Dr. Archer. Stevie asks about his history and Dylan tells her a bit about his history and what he was like as a kid and how he has had a tough life.

Dr. Archer and Dr. Hammer speak to him when he wakes up. They explain the surgery and he asks if his wife knows and he does not want her to come see him like this. He wants to go home. He says he will see his wife when he is dressed.

Stevie is getting him to complete some forms and it seems like he does not know how to read. She asks Dylan, and Dylan goes in to run some tests on him, as he remembers that he has trouble with left and right and with certain words. He says he has seen this with kids and he thinks he may have dyslexia. He tells him he has to do a neuro exam so he can go home, in order to do some testing with him.

Dylan tells him that he has dyslexia and with proper testing he can get help and change things. Dylan says it should have been caught when he was a kid and it is a learning issue and does not mean he is not smart. In fact, his difficulties are not his fault. He and Dylan have their first real friendship connection in years and fist bump. Stevie comments to Dylan that Tyrrell’s life could have been so different if he had known. This was such a wonderful development in this storyline. Although we may not get to see Dylan rekindle lost love now, it is so wonderful to see something positive happen to repair the friendship he and Tyrrell once had, and help understand why Tyrrell may have made some of the choices he has. This can also mean only positive things for Darius, as Dylan will be able to provide better care to him, supported by both his parents.

Dr. Charles and Dr. Lonnie Richardson

Daniel sees Lonnie at coffee shop at the hospital and says he understands why she cannot see him as a patient any more but the work they did together helped him a lot and he wants to thank her. Goodwin sees them talking and asks him about Lonnie and if he is back to seeing her in office. Dr. Charles tells her about what happened and that he can’t see her anymore because she developed feelings for him. She says she is around if he needs her and he says thanks but he is okay.

Dr. Charles runs into Dr. Richardson later and tells her about how he has been sad, and that he thought it was because she could not be his therapist anymore but he says what he misses is her. The scene ends on a long pause between them. It would be so nice to see Dr. Charles happy and have some love in his life. Ever since his wife passed away from cancer several seasons ago, we have not seen him pursue many romantic endeavours, and it would be so wonderful to see this side of him again. After all, who would not want Dr. Charles to be happy?

Dr. Halstead, Maggie and Ellis

Maggie speaks with Vanessa and tells her she does not have the biopsy back yet and is worried her cancer is back. Vanessa says to keep her updated when she gets her results.

Maggie sees Will at the desk and asks if he heard about Stevie going back to her husband. Will is clearly upset at her asking and he says he has heard. Will wants to know where Trini is as they were supposed to do a house call and Maggie offers to go with him. Will is in a bad mood, and he is clearly frustrated and upset about something.

They go to see Ellis. He is in an iron lung as he had polio as a child. He is a very successful financial planner, and has always told Will not to refer to him as a polio victim. He says life dealt him some challenges and he has learned to overcome them.

He is pale, unwell and bradycardic. He teases Will about his love life. Will tells him he is seeing cyanosis and runs an ECG and lab work.

While Will is at the lab, Ellis’ heart rate and BP are not getting better. Ellis asks Maggie about what is going on with her, and what she is hiding from Will as she told him she would tell him something later. She tells him about the biopsy and she says she does not know what she will do if it is positive. She says she is upset as she does not want to stop working and Ellis offers to look at her financials.

He is giving Maggie financial advice when the call comes in about her biopsy. It was negative and he says he wishes he could jump up and down for her. As they talk, Ellis loses consciousness just as Will returns. His lab work showed his thyroid was not working well and Will gives him IV medication to help. Ellis has a quick turn around and Will says he will send over an endocrinologist to ensure it does not happen again.

Maggie then tells Will that she had a biopsy and it was negative and Will says that is great news. Will comes clean and says he was upset because he wishes Stevie was staying. It is wonderful to see more of this friendship being highlighted, as Will and Maggie have always had a special relationship over the last 7 seasons, but their storylines have not intersected as much recently. It is also wonderful to know that Maggie will not be undergoing more cancer treatment, as we have already seen her endure so much tragedy. In addition, it is great to see Will finally willing to admit that he really does care about Stevie and how much he will miss her. He may say it is because she is great at keeping him on his toes, but based on his reaction to her reconciliation with her husband, one can only surmise it goes deeper than that.

Dr. Marcel and Dr. Blake

They are prepping for a liver live donor transplant to an infant patient of Dr. Scott. Dr. Marcel tries to talk to Dr. Blake and she says he is a surgeon on her team and they should have never gotten involved and that is it.

They go into surgery for the father and we see them closing and all went well with dad. Now they open the baby and begin to transplant the liver. When they unclamp the vessels, the liver is not pinking up and they feel that there is a clot in the artery. Dr. Blake is having difficulty cannulating the artery and is afraid she will damage it, and Dr. Marcel asks for a chance as he has a different angle. They are able to cannulate with some difficulty and are able to clear the clot and successfully transplant the liver.

After the surgery, she tells him good job and it is better this way, and he says it is not to him. It is sad to see Dr. Marcel so heartbroken again, especially so soon after losing Natalie. We can only hope that perhaps Dr. Blake will change her mind and give him another chance.

Dr. Hammer, Dr. Charles and Terri Hammer (Stevie’s mom)

Stevie finds out Terri is admitted and is angry and confronts Dr. Charles. He asks Terri what he can tell Stevie. Terri allows Daniel to tell Stevie what is going on.

Dr. Charles tells Dr. Hammer that Terri was depressed and worried about self harm, and so she admitted herself to the hospital. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the condition was exacerbated with her alcoholism but Terri is now doing very well. Stevie is sad that it meant cutting her out of her life though.

Dr. Charles asks Terri why she checked in to the hospital where Stevie worked, as there was always a chance she would find out she is there. She says she loves her daughter and wanted to be near her but as she got better she was not sure she wanted to see her as she can be negative and always thinks she will fail.

Stevie comes to talk to Daniel about her mom. She asks if her mom had the condition all her life and Daniel says it likely started its onset in her early 20’s and that her taking drugs and abusing alcohol were likely her way to try to self medicate. He shares with her that sometimes addiction issues are not the actual issue.

Stevie says she is always waiting for her mother to fall apart again, and Daniel says that makes sense but it is important to see someone she loves in a new way.

Stevie goes to see her mom at her new place. She asks her mom if she will be okay with her leaving and she says yes and she will make it this time and Stevie says she knows she will and hugs her and tells her she loves her. This was such a wonderful way to move forward the storyline of Stevie and her mother. Many of us have wondered since she left on her road trip what would happen, and having Stevie start to understand and support her mother in a different way is a great example of the fact that many times, what we think someone else needs from us is not actually the case, and how past experience can really sometimes cloud judgement when trying to move forward.

With so much of this episode examining how our Med characters have viewed or mistakenly interpreted the past, it will be interesting to watch how they will all now look at moving forward over the coming season. Whether it is matters of family, friends, love or the workplace, there seems to be a lot of learning to be applied and lots of potential growth for our characters, and I for one cannot wait!

What did you think of this episode of Chicago Med? Share your thoughts in the comments below.