S3 E17 27 Feb 01) : Tip of the Iceberg by Colin Bytheway
Episode Summary
Daryl Former arrives after having collapsed of stomach pains during ice-skating rehearsals. He is accompanied by his dancing partner, Karina and their manager, Colin.
Liam returns to the ward, having gained a full-time job there. He complains to Julie that he’s had to return all of his wedding presents.
Helen and Ed Somers arrive and Julie shows her to her bed.
Kushara Bandara (Tash’s dad) arrives, forgetting to pay his taxi driver. He blames jet lag.
The car park attendant, Roy, tells Sandy that she can’t park her car where she wants to and she has to get a parking permit, which are next to impossible to get.
Mike and Tash chat about her dad. She tells him that their relationship is a bit distant.
Tash goes to assess Daryl. Karina tells her that they are due to compete in the national skating championships in two months.
Alex and Meyer are talking to Helen on their ward round, when Ed arrives. It turns out he and Alex are old pals from medical school.
Tash finds Kushara wandering around the ward and they hug. He calls her Tushara (her full name), but she rebukes him, saying everyone calls her Tash. He asks for another hug.
Colin seems agitated that Tash seems to be neglecting Daryl and goes to find her. Karina tells Liam about the national championships and denies that they are partners off the ice as well as on.
Colin interrupts Tash’s conversation with her dad and demands she attend to Daryl. Tash points Kushara in the direction of the relatives room for his appointment with Mr Meyer and goes to find Daryl. Kushara walks off in the wrong direction.
Ed talks to Alex about their time at med school. They were nicknamed ‘Accident and Emergency.’ Ed teases Alex about becoming a high-flying heart surgeon. Alex reassures Helen about her operation. While she is wheeled off for an X-ray, ‘Accident and Emergency’ go to get a coffee.
Kushara is walking along with Julie: he seems to have forgotten all about his appointment with Meyer, saying he has come to see his daughter – only he has forgotten her name too! Mike arrives in the nick of time.
Alex tells Ed he is happy with his career; it turns out Ed dropped out of medical school after his last year. Ed now sells insurance (a ‘fiscal endowments executive’). Alex is bleeped away.
Meyer and Tash are disappointed not to find Kushara in the relatives room, Meyer has to leave to do an operation.
Helen has had a heart attack – Alex rushes her into theatre.
Tash gently tells her dad off for missing his appointment but he dismisses it. She notices she has written her name on his hand.
Ed is shocked to find Helen being wheeled into theatre.
Kushara is trying to ‘sell’ Tash a husband. He seems peeved that she is unattached at age 30 and tries to give Tash her mother’s wedding ring. He is angry that she seems to be putting her job infront of her life – they argue and she abruptly reveals that she is a lesbian.
Tash talks with Mike, telling him that Kushara’s way of coping with her will be to block the problems out and feel like she has let him down. She doesn’t seem able to stand up to him.
In Meyer’s office, Kushara is finally talking with Meyer. He doesn’t seem to fully know where he is, nor that he missed their first meeting. Meyer asks him if he knows what operation he came for – he doesn’t seem to know this either and reaches for some paper in his pocket.
In theatre, Alex finds a hole in Helen’s aorta and fights to save her.
Tash explains to Colin and Karina that they will use a laparoscope on Daryl and then operate and that they may need to fit an ileostomy bag.
Tash runs into Anton, who says he suspects Kushara may have Alzheimer’s and recommends a neurologist. Kushara suddenly calls out Tash’s dead mother’s name to Tash, which shakes her. She goes to theatre to operate on Daryl.
Alex tells a relieved Ed that Helen’s operation went fine.
In theatre, Tash seems pre-occupied, worrying about her father.
Kushara is seeing a neurologist. He names a pencil as “a brush – no – a pen.” He is asked to fill in a clock face and draw the hands showing 3 o’clock. He fills in the numbers correctly but then draws an arrow across from 9 to 3.
Mike finds Daryl worse than expected and has to resort to fitting the ileostomy bag.
Helen comes around and Ed explains that Alex had to operate earlier. She asks to see her son Max, so Ed goes off to get him.
Roy (the parking attendant) offers Sandy a parking permit in return for her coming to his hut after work. She is shocked and throws the permit back in his face.
The neurologist tells Tash Kushara is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and gives him a maximum of 4/5 years to live.
Colin and Karina are shocked to find out about Daryl’s ileostomy. Colin storms off to find Tash.
Tash tells Mike about her father and breaks down in tears. She wonders if she should leave her job to take care of him. An angry Colin harasses Tash about Daryl but Mike deals with him.
Julie finds Helen unconscious and unresponsive.
Anton tells Tash that Kushara’s heart operation will have to be postponed for 8-12 months due to the Alzheimer’s. Tash seems angry but Anton tells her that he must consider the other patients on the waiting list.
Colin suggests to Karina that they find a replacement for Daryl.
Alex examines Helen and finds she has had a stroke.
Tash gives Kushara the bad news. He says that he wants to go back to Sri Lanka, where his (dead) wife is.
Daryl seems gutted that he will have the ileostomy bag for up to 6 months but Mike tells him he would have died without it.
Ed and Max return but Alex gives Ed the bad news about the stroke.
Karina seems uneasy about replacing Daryl but he tells her to push on. Colin and Karina leave.
Ed is shocked when he sees Helen. He seems unable to talk to Max about it and is angry at Alex for trying to tell him that everything will be OK.
Daryl tells Liam that he is attracted to Karina, but has never told her.
Colin appears to have replaced Daryl already, to Karina’s outrage. She says she would rather forget about the skating than ditch Daryl. She leaves Colin instead.
Tash asks if Anton will operate on Kushara privately. He offers to waive his fee but says there is nothing he can do about the other operating costs and offers his sympathies.
Sandy tells Liam she plans to go to Roy’s hut afterall, albeit reluctantly. Liam offers to go with her.
Tash tells Mike she will pay for the operation privately and that she plans to leave work to look after him in Sri Lanka.
Alex tells Ed he has to tell Max about Helen’s condition – Alex tells him Helen may make a full recovery – Ed ripostes that she may not recover at all. Alex tells him that Max needs a father to tell him that things will be okay, even if they won’t.
Tash goes to see Kushara and tells him Meyer will operate on him in a couple of weeks. They reminisce about Tash’s school days and finally seem to be getting along well. She finally tells him about the Alzheimer’s. Kushara tells her that he already knew but didn’t want her to know and worry about him. He says the only reason he really came to England was to see if she was happy. They hug.
Ed finally takes Max to see Helen.
Liam remains outside while Sandy goes into Roy’s hut. Liam talks to Karina, who says she has got rid of Colin because of the way he was treating Daryl. Sandy is shocked by what she finds in Roy’s hut.
Tash asks Kushara to stay in England. He says he wants to live in Sri Lana. She offers to come with him but he politely refuses and tells her she belongs in England. He says he sees she is happy and is glad for her – that’s all that he wants.
It transpires Roy has found a kitten, only it is hurt and he wanted Sandy to have a look in return for the Parking Permit.
Ed tells Max Helen will be OK and encourages him to talk to her while she is still unconscious.
Karina tells Daryl that they will be skating again and they finally give in to romance and kiss.
Liam wonders what went on in Roy’s hut – Sandy tells him that there was “something animal” between them.
Tash leaves with her dad. He gives her the ring, saying “When you meet someone you really love, let them put this on your finger” but then spoils the moment by saying, “Whoever he might be.”
Patients
Helen Somers (stenosis of aortic valve) – emergency operation to replace aortic valve (Adams). Suffered stroke after operation
Kushara Bandara (heart operation) – diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Happy to find his daughter happy in England. Due to undergo surgery privately.
Daryl Former (cripping stomach pains) – operated on to fit an ileostomy bag (Bandara, Barrett). Skating again next year.
Notable Facts
Was Kushara being obstinate with the ‘him’ comment, or was it his Alzheimer’s? It’s something that’ll leave Tash and the audience wondering…
(Will Watson)
