Also known as: Testicular cancer
Sean, a young cancer patient, returns with pneumonia while neutropenic. His chemotherapy has failed to shrink metastatic lesions, and his mother must decide whether to continue aggressive treatment or take him home for comfort care. This becomes a central storyline about end-of-life decisions.
Also known as: Head trauma
A young boy is accidentally run over by his mother backing out of their driveway. He suffers severe head trauma leading to brain death, requiring the team to keep him on life support until his father arrives. The parents must decide when to withdraw support.
Also known as: Cold exposure
An elderly woman with Alzheimer's disease wanders outside for over an hour and develops mild hypothermia. She is treated with passive external rewarming and heated humidified oxygen.
Also known as: Early-onset Alzheimer's
Mrs. Langston has progressive Alzheimer's disease affecting her speech, causing her to only speak French (her first language) despite previously being fluent in English. Her disease led to her wandering episode.
Also known as: Crystal meth overdose
A teenage patient presents with acute methamphetamine toxicity after smoking crystal meth for the first time. He develops severe hyperthermia (107.3°F), seizures, and ventricular fibrillation, requiring emergent ice immersion therapy and resuscitation.
Also known as: Lung infection
Sean develops pneumonia while neutropenic from chemotherapy, presenting with fever (102.6°F), cough, and respiratory distress. This complication forces difficult decisions about continuing aggressive treatment.
Also known as: Low white blood cell count
Sean is neutropenic from chemotherapy two days prior to admission, leaving him vulnerable to the pneumonia that develops.
Also known as: Severe cold exposure
A homeless man with severe alcohol intoxication (BAC 0.322) is found unresponsive and mistakenly pronounced dead by Pratt due to apparent lividity. He later regains consciousness in the morgue, highlighting the principle of 'not dead until warm and dead.'
Also known as: Manic depression
Eric's bipolar disorder and history of suicidal behavior is central to the episode's emotional arc. His plane disappears over Lake Superior, and Abby believes it was a suicide attempt, though the plane is eventually found intact and tied down, suggesting he walked away instead.