Wed, Jun 25, 2008
Twenty-one years ago Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinjosa climbed a 20-foot border fence so he could join other illegal immigrants picking fruit in the lush valleys of central California. Today he is one of the nation's elite brain surgeons. He tells ABC News about his remarkable journey as viewers watch him try to save a man's life. Karen Boyle is among the new generation of surgeons. She is the first female attending in urology at Hopkins, and determined to maintain a balance between her family and her job. But what sets her apart from other surgeons is the candid counseling about sexual health and intimacy she offers to her patients. Brian Bethea has made it to the top of one of the most difficult residencies in medicine, cardiothoracic surgery. After nine years of apprenticeship he is ready to join the ranks of the nation's most illustrious heart and lung surgeons. But the demands of residency have left his family life in shambles. Repairing a ruptured aorta may be easier than saving his marriage.
Wed, Jul 2, 2008
Brenda Thompson is dying from an obscure and always fatal lung disease. After two failed marriages, her third husband seems to be the man of her dreams. But time is running out. Only a lung transplant can save her. And a new lung may not become available in time. When a donor does become available in New England, there is jubilation. But events take an ominous turn when the donor lungs turn out to be damaged. Brian Bethea, the promising cardiothoracic surgeon with marital problems, has been sent to harvest the new lungs that turn out to be damaged. Nothing seems to be going right for him. When Brian returns home, he must explain to his daughters that he and their mother are separating and he has found his own apartment. Mustapha Saheed is in his third year of emergency medicine. At six foot, seven inches tall, this self-described "big black man" cuts a striking figure as he dashes through the ER. Despite the advice of a colleague to not marry the "girlfriend who got you through residency," Saheed makes plans for the altar.
Wed, Jul 9, 2008
Ann Czarnik is a blonde and blue-eyed country girl from West Virginia who speaks her mind. She wasn't prepared for the carnage of the Hopkins ER which serves one of the country's most blighted urban landscapes due in part to East Baltimore's high rates of gun violence, STDs and intravenous drug use. Relying on a mordant sense of humor, Czarnik's life is filled with moments where tragedy and hilarity intersect. Earl Ingemann is a live wire. A 19-year-old Bermudan, he is constantly eluding doctors and nurses who want him to stay put and behave like other patients on the heart transplant list. But Earl would rather prowl the hospital, go out for junk food, play video games and get his hair braided. However, he needs something more than a routine heart transplant and doctors are worried. Also in this episode, Brian Bethea and his wife Amber try to reconcile.
Wed, Jul 16, 2008
Ann Czarnik is a blonde and blue-eyed country girl from West Virginia who speaks her mind. She wasn't prepared for the carnage of the Hopkins ER which serves one of the country's most blighted urban landscapes due in part to East Baltimore's high rates of gun violence, STDs and intravenous drug use. Relying on a mordant sense of humor, Czarnik's life is filled with moments where tragedy and hilarity intersect. Earl Ingemann is a live wire. A 19-year-old Bermudan, he is constantly eluding doctors and nurses who want him to stay put and behave like other patients on the heart transplant list. But Earl would rather prowl the hospital, go out for junk food, play video games and get his hair braided. However, he needs something more than a routine heart transplant and doctors are worried. Also in this episode, Brian Bethea and his wife Amber try to reconcile.
Wed, Jul 23, 2008
Peyton Penrod is a healthy toddler who suddenly needs to be rushed to the Hopkins PICU, one of the country's top ICUs for children. His heart presents his doctors and his parents with two bleak options: a risky heart transplant or death. By his own admission, vascular surgeon Tom Reifsnyder is not cut in the Hopkins mold. Irreverent, chatty, and candid about his marital travails, Reifsnyder's surgeries tend to be comic relief sessions during which he interrogates his residents on everything from their romantic lives to the kind of cars they drive. Anne Czarnik returns in this episode and takes viewers on the road to visit her tiny hometown in the hills of West Virginia.
Wed, Jul 30, 2008
An array of challenging pediatric cases run through this episode. Frightened that brain surgery could damage their child, Thomas McGowen's parents finally let surgeons operate to try to remove a tumor that is making their son blind. Emre Babli is another little boy who had a tumor removed as baby. The operation left him disfigured. Tough-talking plastic surgeon Anthony Tufaro thinks he can make Emre as good as new. But nothing will make Mya Thomas like she was. This little girl was nearly drowned when pulled from a pool. With her brain function minimal, doctors try to persuade her parents to disconnect life support. Sneha Desai, Herman Bagga and Gina Westhoff introduce viewers to the world of third year medical students where "the gross stuff is cool, delivering a baby is a career-decider, and wearing a turban is an icebreaker with patients."
Wed, Aug 6, 2008
Oscar Serrano, a first year resident in surgery, commits a major rookie blunder by puncturing a patient's lung. Fortunately, the patient is as understanding as his mentors who know that making mistakes is part of becoming a doctor. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or NICU is where premature babies are saved or lost. Pediatric resident, Dr. Carmen Coombs must learn how to separate from the emotions that buffet each shift if she is to keep a balance in her life. Robyn Brandon needs a kidney and her husband Alan wants to give her one. But his kidney is not a match. Hopkins master surgeon Robert Montgomery engineers a bicoastal three-couple kidney swap that depends on everybody keeping their word.