S6 E21 (24 Feb 04) : Honour Thy Father by Stuart Morris
Episode Summary
Ed discovers the extent of his father’s heart problems when George gets worse and his results indicate a potentially fatal heart condition. Tom decides not to refer George for a scan as his heart is beyond repair, but Ed refuses to accept this and, going behind Tom’s back, authorises a second opinion. Tom is not pleased when he finds out about this and questions Ed’s loyalty. Ed, however, has to trust Tom when George takes a turn for the worse and has to be taken quickly into surgery. For a while not even Tom knows what they are going to do to save him, but decides to put a left centriculat assist device to help George’s heart and the result is good. Ed is relieved, especially since he tells Chrissie that he feels George’s illness is his fault; if George had not been in prison for him, he could have got the right treatment in time and never ended up this bad.
Diane works closely with Ric on a patient who dies alone with no friends or family, because they do not know who he is. He, or “John Smith” as Lisa decides to call him, has a raptured bowel after an abscess and even though the operate on him, he does not get any better and slowly dies, after only waking up once and talking to Diane like she would be someone he knows, probably someone he once loved. It has been a long, draining day and the loneliness of the patient resonates with her and upset she explains to Ric that she finds it scary that someone can just die and leave no trace behind. She feels sad and hugs Ric but he misreads the situation and makes a clumsy attempt to kiss her.
The staff has a hectic night after a balcony has collapsed in a night club. Lisa makes Jess work double shifts and she is constantly complaining about not getting a chance to have a life or even have time to sleep. One of her patients, Claudia Marsh, reminds her even more of this: she is a young girl who spends most of her days doing whatever she wants to and all nights partying and getting to know lots of people. Jess is jealous of her, but not everything seems to be alright even in Claudia’s life. She has got a fractured arm and is upset to notice that all her friends disappear and no one even phones her. Apart from the arm, they realise she is dehydrated and tired and she finally admits that she has taken several different drugs while partying. Diane also realises that she is diabetic without knowing about it and they can give her the right medication.
Gil Waverley’s girlfriend, Kate, is brought in with a rare heart condition that needs immediate surgery or else she is bound to die. Ed, much to Tom’s annoyance, manages to scare her by explaining that they will have to freeze her down to 18 degrees during the surgery and that there is a risk of brain damage. Eventually, however, Ed gets her convinced that surgery is necessary and she agrees, but only after she has got Gil to promise her that if she ends up with brain damage, he has to leave her because she does not want to be a burden. Ed and Tom face some trouble during surgery – and the situation gets even worse when they find out that George needs surgery too – but even though it is a touch and go if they can warm her up in time, they are successful and her brain is not damaged.
Patients
George, Ed’s father, serious heart condition that might be beyond repair
“John Smith”, raptured bowel
Claudia Marsh, fractured arm, is also diagnosed with diabetes
Simone Goddard, 22, one of many patients involved in the night club incident
First Scene/words
[George is short of breath and is in a wheel chair, being brought in by Ed]
George: Slow down a bit. Who do you think you are, Ben Hur?
Ed: This isn’t funny. What’s going on?
Lisa: Chaos, that’s what. A balcony collapsed in a night club.
Notable Facts
* Ramon Tikaram plays Gil Waverley.
* Rachel Pickup plays Kate.
Last Scene/words
[Ric quickly kisses Diane]
Ric: Sorry, I don’t know where that came from.
[Embarassed, Ric laughs, while Diane shakes her head]
Ric: Mm…. Look, I’d better… I’d better get going.
Diane: It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I’ll get over it. It’s been a really tough.
Ric: Yes. Come, let’s get out of here.
Diane: Yeah.
[Ric puts his arm around her shoulders and they walk away]
