Also known as: Rebar impalement
Criminal suspect arrives at ER with a steel bar impaled through his chest after a police chase. He codes multiple times and requires emergency surgery. His survival is crucial as he holds information about a hostage location.
Also known as: Tear in the aorta
Detective who pursued the suspect develops life-threatening aortic dissection from accumulated trauma. Requires complex cardiovascular surgery with competing priorities between heart and spine.
Also known as: Broken spine
Detective has multiple thoracic and lumbar spinal fractures from lifetime of physical altercations. Requires neurosurgical repair with risk of paralysis, creating tension about his ability to continue as a cop.
Also known as: EDS
Genetic connective tissue disorder diagnosed in the detective, explaining his elastic skin, joint hypermobility, and predisposition to aneurysms. Has implications for his estranged daughter who may have inherited the condition.
Also known as: Blood clot in lung
Construction worker on dialysis suddenly codes and dies from massive PE despite negative test results. This death reveals a pattern of six dialysis patients dying from PE at Chastain in six weeks, including Nic's sister Jessie, suggesting a systemic problem.
Also known as: Narrowing of spinal canal
Initially diagnosed spinal stenosis requiring laminectomy surgery, but Nic catches atypical symptoms and discovers the actual diagnosis is myasthenia gravis, preventing unnecessary surgery.
Also known as: Myasthenia
Autoimmune neuromuscular disease causing weakness, blurred vision, and difficulty swallowing. Nic identifies this as the true diagnosis instead of spinal stenosis, allowing medical management instead of surgery.
Also known as: Kidney failure
Construction worker developed kidney failure after infection from nail gun wounds to buttocks, requiring dialysis. This dialysis treatment is connected to the fatal pulmonary embolism pattern.