S6 E15 (13 Jan 04) : A Twist of Fate by Martin Jameson & Al Hunter Ashton
Episode Summary
Diane confronts Ric about her credit card bill, which was £350, which he insists he cannot pay but, when put under pressure from Tom to purchase hospital lottery tickets, he caves in, especially since it gives him a chance to win 400 pounds. Ric gives Diane further headache, when he insists on wanting to operate on terminally ill Ellis Morgan, knowing fully well that Ellis’ tumour most likely will not be removable and that his heart problems, namely a hole in the heart, will not make it any easier. Ric, Diane, Zubin and even Tom all get caught in a discussion about what to do, a discussion that has a clear tendency to end up as an argument. In the end Ric decides to give it a go, especially seeing as Ellis in desperately wanting to get at least a chance and Tom admits that the heart should give any further complications.
Ric is offered money by Ellis to perform a risky operation privately but it is a “cash on delivery” deal and Ellis’ father threatens Ric, saying that he only lets them go forward because Ellis wants to, but if Ellis dies, Ric will be in serious trouble. Diane has grave reservations about Ric’s motives, thinking that he risks it only for the money, and consults Tom. Tom offers Ric support as a fellow addict, resulting in Ric having a go at Diane in theatre, blaming her for talking behind his back and not respecting her superiors. When the operation is successful, Zubin questions Ric’s surgical integrity and suggests he only performed the reckless and dangerous procedure because he is so hooked that he cannot afford to turn down money. However, Ric shocks him by confessing it is actually the thrill of the odds that spurs him on and not the money. Diane tearfully chastises him, saying she feels as though she is watching a car crash in slow motion and refuses to accept any of the money.
Mubbs is feeling left out and scared that Rosie is using him as her safety net. They keep arguing about absolutely everything and Hhe tells her he wants a cooling-off period but admits to Lisa that he really cares about her. He also makes a bad call when Emma Bennet, a diabetic who is 27 weeks pregnant, is brought to the ward with stomach pains. They sort out the diabetes, but she soon goes into labour and Mubbs ignores Rosie, who advises him to wait until they can check the patient’s medical records when she thinks she might be hiding something, especially when they cannot even seem to find her GP. They medication Mubbs gives her to speed up the delivery causes her uterus to rupture, due to having had a caesarian before – something she failed to tell them about – and she is rushed into theatre. The baby boy gets extensive brain damages before they can get him out and things are not looking good. Emma is heartbroken to find out that she is going to lose another baby and she explains that she did not tell anyone about having had a baby before, because social services took her previous baby away and she was scared it would happen again. Mubbs is upset, thinking that his carelessness lead to the disaster and ruining a child’s chance to live and not even Rosie can stop him from blaming himself. She also apologises for upsetting him by having Sami around for Christmas and says that it reminded her of why she is with Mubbs.
Jimmy Taylor is being transferred from AAU with chest pains. He mentions having had a party and eating lots, so Tricia suggests it might be indigestion and when she turns his back to him for a while, he walks out of the hospital, sure that it is nothing serious. A while later his wife brings him back to the hospital, saying it could be a heart attack, obviously upset that the staff “sent” him back home. Finding out that Tricia had told him it was indigestion, Tom has a go at her and tells her that she is not a doctor. They find out that infact he has an aneurysm and he is booked for surgery, but soon he gets tachycardic and needs to be rushed into theatre. After being pressurised by Ric into apologising to Tricia, because the ward is heavily understaffed due to a flu epidemic, he does so, but not very seriously.
Patients
Ellis Morgan, a 31-year-old with cancer, for which he has been on chemotherapy for a year
Jimmy Taylor, chest pains that prove to be an aneurysm
Emma Bennet, an insuline dependent diabetic who gives birth
First Scene/words
Chrissie: Toby Dickens’ drains won’t flow, can you deal with that for me, please? And can you check if the lunch orders have been sent down to the kitchen? And could someone, please, take these new admissions though to bay three.
[Tricia comes walking down the corridor]
Chrissie: Have you chased Ellis Morgan’s results please yet, from radiology?
Tricia: Well, I may be superwoman but I can’t be three nurses at once.
Chrissie: Maybe you could do his obs, can you manage that?
Tricia: Sure.
Last Scene/words
Zubin: But you did help him, you performed an extraordinary operation.
Ric: Yes. But before the operation his father threatened me. Mm. He told me that if Ellis died he’d withhold the money and he’d send the boys around. The man was not joking. And instead of cancelling the operation, which I should have done, I felt… I felt excited. I was the ultimate stake. Now I wasn’t gambling on Ellis and to see whether I could save him or not, I was gambling on me. I was gambling on whether I could beat my own odds on failing. I was actually betting against myself. Would Ric Griffin crack under the pressure? And you know what? Terrible thing is – I loved it.
Zubin: Ric. This is ridiculous.
Ric: I know.
Zubin: Look, I’m here, whatever you need. I’m here for you. But you gotta talk to someone. Please.
[Zubin walks away, leaving Ric deep in thought]
Notable Facts
[ID 1742]Alicia Eyo[/ID] plays Emma Bennet
