Also known as: Schizophrenia with mood disorder features
David, an 18-year-old patient previously diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, returns to the ED with a severe new delusion believing he is dead (Cotard delusion). Despite being on multiple antipsychotics, his condition has worsened, and he refuses medication. Dr. Charles attempts electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as an alternative treatment, which appears to reduce his auditory hallucinations by the end of the episode.
Also known as: Compulsive hair eating
Deanna presents with severe nausea, vomiting, and significant weight loss. A CT scan reveals a large bezoar (mass of foreign material) in her stomach, which Dr. Archer surgically removes and discovers is a massive hairball. It is eventually revealed that Deanna has been compulsively eating her daughter's hair as a coping mechanism for anxiety related to her daughter's cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy-induced hair loss.
Also known as: Crushed leg
11-year-old Abby sustains a severe leg injury when her leg is caught in the hydraulic bucket of a skid steer (farm machinery) while working on her family's farm. Initial imaging shows severely compromised blood flow to the foot, leading Dr. Marcel to consider amputation. However, an on-table angiogram reveals the vessels were in spasm from trauma, and once the spasm breaks, blood flow is restored, allowing him to save the leg.
Also known as: Type 1 diabetes
Walter, a type 1 diabetic and frequent patient at the hospital, presents with fever, chills, and an infected wound from a hiking trip. His diabetes complicates his presentation and treatment of the infection.
Also known as: Infected cut
Walter develops an infection from a cut sustained during a hiking trip in Yosemite. Initially treated with antibiotics, he later develops a rash that is mistaken for bedbug bites from unsanitary hospital conditions during the workers' strike.
Also known as: Breast cancer
Olivia is mentioned as Deanna's daughter who has been undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer for six months. Her chemotherapy-induced hair loss inadvertently triggers her mother's trichophagia. Her oncologist has given a positive prognosis, with no cancer spread detected.