The Resident knows how to give us great mystery cases, and in “The Space Between,” they gave us two that kept us on the edge of our seats.
Gigi (Remington Blaire Evans) called her dad, Dr. Conrad Hawkins (Matt Czuchry), to the daycare when her best friend, Peter, was not feeling well. She knew there was something wrong with her friend and that her daddy could help him. You would think that the adults taking care of them would have caught it.
I loved this storyline because Gigi kept telling her dad more about what was wrong with Peter. She told Conrad that Peter said she had two heads and finally that she gave Peter her sandwich because his roast beef was upsetting his stomach. I love that Conrad has taught his daughter to tell the details. Peter wouldn’t tell his father anything, let alone the doctors or nurses. Gigi saved her friend’s life by telling her father any detail she could think of.
This case was personal to Conrad because Peter’s dad, Spencer, was a single father too. In his case, his wife left him, and now Peter has separation anxiety. Conrad also didn’t want Gigi to lose her best friend after already losing her mother. Conrad fights for all of his patients, but you feel that it’s personal. That may have gotten Dr. Billie Sutton (Billie Sutton) a little annoyed with Conrad. She didn’t want to do brain surgery on a six-year-old, but she couldn’t see any other way. Sutton is an incredible neurosurgeon, but she doesn’t think outside the brain. The one last detail of Spencer changing Peter’s sandwiches to roast beef and that causing his upset stomachs was all the difference. It goes to show that any detail can make a difference.
I loved that Gigi made a space helmet for Petter and Conrad brought them a light that showed stars on the wall. He’s as good as a dad as he is a diagnostician. You don’t find that often.
This storyline was intense because the last thing we wanted was for Gigi to lose her best friend, but the other mystery case was just as intense, and we had no connection to the patient.
Dr. Kit Voss (Jane Leeves) and Dr. Randolph Bell (Bruce Greenwood) took the interns to a retirement home to inspire them to pursue gerontology. They introduced them to Dr. Kravitz, a retired gerontologist. Unfortunately, he didn’t do anything to encourage any of them, but his wife, Gloria’s condition, might have.
Gloria and Dr. Kravitz met later in life, but they are the loves of each other’s life. Unfortunately, Dr. Kravitz’s short-term memory isn’t good. Neither of them had kids, so they are all each other has. And he needs her help since his cognitive process isn’t good. These details are what pull at your heartstrings and make this an intense case.
Gloria falls at the retirement home, so they rush her to Chastain Hospital. They assumed it was one of the many medications that caused her to faint and fall. So, Dr. Devon Pravesh (Manish Dayal) and Zach Brooks (Alan Aisenberg) took a look at her medications to see what could be causing an issue. They thought they had found the problem. So, they took Gloria off two medications and were going to monitor her for 24 hours, but then she had pain in her stomach that turned out to be a perforation. She had to have surgery.
Gloria knew all the risks going into the surgery, but she didn’t have much choice. The surgery gave her a chance. Without it, she would maybe last a week. It was heartbreaking watching her cry, knowing that she may not see her husband again.
While Bell operated, Zack pondered if they didn’t see the bigger picture, as Dr. Kravitz said. So, they went back to the medications to see if they could find the underlying issue. They discovered that her meds were masking the problems. They found the actual cause. But unfortunately, there was nothing they could do. They were already too late. Bell called Dr. AJ Austin (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) to help him when her heart was causing problems. But, they sadly couldn’t save her.
Zach and Devon told Bell and AJ what they had discovered. Zach was so happy they would be able to help her. It was devastating to watch Zach find out Gloria was already gone. Devon was right. There was nothing they could have done. But Zach learned a valuable lesson that the other doctors treated the symptoms and not the underlying issue. He could be good at this specialty, and we need good doctors to help older people.
I have older parents, so I hope that there are doctors like Devon and Zach treating the underlying issues and not just giving them meds to cover up the symptoms. Senior citizens should get just as good care as anyone else.
The Resident is so good at showing us issues in the health care system. I just didn’t realize this was one of them.
Which mystery case were you most worried about? Tweet me @PrimetimeDrama or @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
