# Er 2/17 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647 "2005-02-18T03:07:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/1 "2005-02-18T03:07:50Z")
This is disturbing. Fascinating, and wonderfully directed, but disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/2 "2005-02-18T04:48:51Z")
Woo, I loved this episode!! See, this is why I still watch, I was riveted, I laughed, I sighed, I got teary, ahhhhhhhh. 🙂 Grrr, I can’t wait for the inevitable Morris meltdown, he bugs me. I had yet another argument with my ER buddies tonight that no, Morris is not a Romano replacement, Rocket Romano could be a dickhead because he had the superior skills. Morris is an incompetent jerk with no redeeming social qualities. Next week’s teaser with the Iraq tie-in, wow! ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/3 "2005-02-18T04:52:02Z")
No, don’t tell me! It hasn’t showed here yet!! _puts fingers in ears_ la la la la la la la la ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/4 "2005-02-18T05:09:41Z")
I love this show so much when they focus on the medicine and the patients and the hospital as a whole and who’s boinking whom is barely even a side issue–you know, when it’s _ER_ and not _General Hospital_. Wonderful episode, just wonderful. And finally I can stop wanting to bitchslap Carter every time I see him on my screen. Morris’s constant bitchslap status remains unchanged, however, and at this point it would require a total personality transplant and several months of acting like the love child of Mark Green and Mother Theresa to get him down to intermittent bitchslap. Oh, and based on the intro before the credits, I’m going to make the prediction that Sam gets knocked up in May sweeps and there’s mucho drama between her and Luka about what to do. And we all know that Carter’s going back to Africa to be with Kem at the end of the season. So could we just go on and send him now? Please? Before he has another little sanctimonious crusade? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/5 "2005-02-18T05:22:55Z")
Ya, I dunno…Noah Wylie was on Ellen saying he’s signed on for another year of ER at least, so now I don’t know what to think. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/6 "2005-02-18T05:23:12Z")
I believe I read that Noah W. was perhaps coming back next year?? ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/7 "2005-02-18T05:52:05Z")
Just starting here. I think it’s going to be hard going, because in my opinion Cynthia Nixon is the most perfectly boinkable of the SitC ensemble, and it’s going to be difficult to see her all uglied up. And, you know, concentrate on her acting and all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/8 "2005-02-18T06:57:00Z")
You are aware that Cynthia Nixon has decided to switch teams as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/9 "2005-02-18T07:05:58Z")
Hardly matters where it concerns me. 😃_She shore is purdy._ That was a pretty good show. (I think I’ve seen maybe half-a-dozen episodes of _ER_ since it’s been on, so the plotline about the running lovers was totally lost on me.) Everything else was great. Loved the bit where it appeared as though she managed to communicate with her husband through that one terrified eye. I’ll have to sit down with a stack of DVDs sometime. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/10 "2005-02-18T07:15:11Z")
It was a great moment when she was thinking of all the things that mattered most to her: love, kids, noisy, messy, you, etc. Nice to have the patient’s perspective/thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/11 "2005-02-18T15:05:22Z")
I adored the Cynthia Nixon plotline. That was one of the best patient stories they’ve done in years. My local newscast had a feature about the procedure they used on her character. Apparently it really does work that well. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/12 "2005-02-18T15:13:34Z")
I watched last night’s episode because I had a stroke. A lot of parts of the episode set off the B.S. meter and there were glimmers of accuracy. **B.S.** - Having a stroke with no mention of stabbing pain in the head - Not numbing the site of the leg where the catheter is fed through - Magical procedure that not only removes the clot but also reverses brain damage - No defecits. Brain damage is permanent and irreverisble and Ellie should have had some lingering effects. **Accurate** - The panicked thinking “Stroke?!? Only old people have strokes!” - Getting clothes cut off and not really understanding why - the bilateral strength/motion check. Yup, been there with the arm falling like lead. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/13 "2005-02-18T15:14:43Z")
But _why_ have the subplot with Abby and the surgeon who has a crush on her? It seems so junior high school. Pratt is growing in his leadership role, it’ll dawn on him (I hope) that he can become more than he currently is by stepping up. He’s gonna be Chief Resident, one way or the other. I’m looking forward to next week’s show, that looked quite interesting in the previews. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/14 "2005-02-18T15:51:40Z")
**AmericanMaid** , not all strokes are the same, so it seems a bit over the top to call the show BS because it doesn’t match up with your particular experience. When my father had his stroke, he didn’t have a stabbing pain in the head. He just got weak and dizzy and couldn’t talk right all of a sudden. That’s apparently fairly common with the type of stroke he had. The fact that they didn’t explicitly show them numbing the site of the catheter doesn’t mean they didn’t do it. They can’t show every single step onscreen–it’s a longish procedure and the show’s only 45 minutes long by the time you take out the commercials. IIRC, they talked about prepping the site, she thought “Oh, great” and then they cut to another plotline, cutting back when they were already in and ready to inject the dye. And actually, if they went in on her right side, I’m not entirely sure they would have needed to numb the site. She couldn’t feel that leg anyway, though I suppose she might have regained sensation between the time the clot was removed and the time they pulled the cath and had some pain. And yes, that procedure is real, and it really can work that well. They’ve been doing it at our local hospital for quite some time now. When Ellie popped all perfectly normal, I immediately turned to **Dr.J** and demanded, “Do they really just spring right back like that?” He said that it usually takes a few hours for someone to fully recover, but yes, it’s remarkably fast. He also said that it’s a procedure that you only do under a very, very specific set of circumstances regarding timeline, type of stroke, etc. Also, brain damage is a very broad term. Not all brain injury is permanent and irreversible. If it were, no stroke patients would ever recover even the slightest bit. If they can get the clot out and restore circulation before the tissue reaches the point of no return, AFAIK there’s no reason the patient shouldn’t make a full recovery. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/15 "2005-02-18T15:53:09Z")
One question about the stroke victim storyline. How were the paramedics dispatched to her house? I thought she was home alone. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/16 "2005-02-18T16:12:03Z")
I don’t know. It was interesting enough. I wasn’t all that impressed with Cynthian Nixon, since there wasn’t a whole lot she could do physically she had to act through voice overs and her voice wasn’t convincing me. I think I missed some stuff. Is Morris actually in the running for Chief Resident? How can that be? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/17 "2005-02-18T16:21:10Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > One question about the stroke victim storyline. How were the paramedics dispatched to her house? I thought she was home alone. Her neighbor called the paramedics. She was the one who brought the children over. Before the woman passed out, she told her neighbor that she would call her back in about 5 minutes. When that wait became too long, she probably went over to check on her. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/18 "2005-02-18T16:29:42Z")
I don’t ordinarily find much in ER to chuckle about, but Nixon’s comments about Dr. Kovac were hysterical. Yep, that’s pretty much what the rest of us have been thinking too. I wonder if that episode will prompt couples to talk about situations like this – make their wishes known, clearly. Or write it down – Living Will or whatever it’s called. ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/19 "2005-02-18T16:36:05Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > **AmericanMaid** , not all strokes are the same, so it seems a bit over the top to call the show BS because it doesn’t match up with your particular experience. > > When my father had his stroke, he didn’t have a stabbing pain in the head. He just got weak and dizzy and couldn’t talk right all of a sudden. That’s apparently fairly common with the type of stroke he had. They said on the show that Ellie had a MCA territory stroke. I did too and it hurt. I am not trying to say that my experience is universal but I have had years of medical tests and research done to me so I’m pretty darn knowledgable. > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > The fact that they didn’t explicitly show them numbing the site of the catheter doesn’t mean they didn’t do it. When the surgeon announced, “Okay, I’m inserting the catheter.” Ellie’s mind said “Ouch.” > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I’m not entirely sure they would have needed to numb the site. She couldn’t feel that leg anyway, though I suppose she might have regained sensation between the time the clot was removed and the time they pulled the cath and had some pain. A person can be paralyzed from a stroke and still have feeling. I assumed Ellie had feeling because she could tell that she was drooling. I happened to have lost movement and feeling when I had my stroke so I couldn’t move and couldn’t tell I was drooling. Both losses don’t have to occur . > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > brain damage is a very broad term. Not all brain injury is permanent and irreversible. If it were, no stroke patients would ever recover even the slightest bit. If they can get the clot out and restore circulation before the tissue reaches the point of no return, AFAIK there’s no reason the patient shouldn’t make a full recovery. The injury to the brain is permanent. The effects aren’t. I have permanent holes in my brain and I’m not paralyzed anymore. The brain is not like other parts of your body which can heal. If there’s damage done, the dead cells are swept away/purged. I guess I take issue with this episode’s timeline. It’s too late for TPA and yet early enough to have healthy brain tissue. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647/20 "2005-02-18T16:38:53Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > I think I missed some stuff. Is Morris actually in the running for Chief Resident? How can that be? He has applied for the position, yes, but he has zero chance of actually getting the job if there are any other candidates at all (and Susan will find some other candidates, by hook or by crook). So I guess the answer to your question sort of depends on how you define “in the running.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/er-2-17/290647.md?page=2)