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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Pitt season 2, episode 3.
The Pitt season 2 kicked off with an eventful first three hours as the team at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Hospital welcomed no less than 31 patients to kick the season off. Dr. Robby and the team had an extremely challenging shift in season 1 that saw them handle dozens of patients, including victims from a festival mass shooting.
Thankfully, despite the fourth of July setting in The Pitt season 2, the shift seems to be starting at a much more manageable pace, but that isn’t expected to continue for long. Regardless, it’s worth checking in on who is currently occupying the beds in the ER.
Margaret Walker – Hypochondriac
The first patient that we meet after Dr. Robby gets on shift is Mrs. Margaret Walker. Dr. Robby and Dr. Shen, who is due to clock out after his night shift, briefly meet with Mrs. Walker and discuss her extensive concerns. However, despite her fear that she is in imminent danger of death, there are no clear signs that anything is actually wrong.
In order to give Mrs. Walker some peace of mind, Dr. Shen suggests they prescribe 500mg of cyanocobalamin. To which Dr. Robby insists they up it to a full 1000mg. Once outside the room, they confirm that the shot is actually just B12. It appears that, clearly, Mrs. Walker may have a case of hypochondria and finds solace in getting attention, which may also explain why she is wearing a waitress uniform for a long-gone diner. She is not seen again after the first episode, which is likely a sign that she was discharged.
Mr. Burgess – Leg Cramps
Next up, Dr. Robby and Dr. Shen are introduced to Mr. Burgess, who has arrived in the ER after complaining of leg cramps. While they meet with Mr. Burgess, the man is unable to say anything, while his wife takes control of the situation. When asked about the medication he currently takes, she then takes four large plastic bags from her handbag full of various pills and vitamins.
Mr. Burgess isn’t seen again in the episode, and it seems that the large concoction of unprescribed medications may be creating some unfortunate side effects. Like Margaret Walker, Mr. Burgess does not return after episode 2, pointing to his condition being stable at this point in the series.
John Doe – Chest Puncture
Next up, after Dr. Robby meets Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi, an urgent case is rushed in from the ambulance into one of the available trauma rooms. The man is referred to as a John Doe, and the ambulance team let the doctors know that he is a dishwasher who got a severe chest wound from a knife, though they don’t know if it was accidental or an assault.
While the man initially had a pulse, two blocks before their arrival, his pulse stopped. Dr. Robby and several others jump into action, with Dr. Robby allowing the residents to take the lead while he gently guides them. Immediately, they make an incision into the left side of the chest, opposite the injured area, to examine the extent of the damage.
It becomes apparent before long that the visibility is poor, and they convert to a clamshell, which means cutting the sternum and fully opening the chest cavity. Once inside, Dr. Robby advises a risky move known as a Hilar flip, and with his calm, gentle coaching, the team manages to successfully get things under control.
However, there is still extensive bleeding, and once they do an internal defibrillation to restore the heart to a normal rhythm, they give the patient multiple blood transfusions to make up for all the lost blood. The patient is then sent upstairs for further treatment and care in episode 1, after the doctors in the ER literally brought him back from death.
Kylie Connors – Chin Laceration
- Status: Awaiting Father’s Arrival in the Emergency Department.
Kylie Connors is a 9-year-old girl who was brought in by her father’s girlfriend after falling down the stairs and getting a serious chin laceration. She also chipped one of her front incisors, though that appears to be a much less severe injury.
While in the care of Dr. Trinity Santos, large bruises are discovered on Kylie’s back, along with several more injuries around her body. Checking her records, they learn that Kylie has repeatedly been seen in the West Pittsburgh hospital, and it raises some obvious red flags for Santos. Upon further examination, she also discovers that the girl’s urine contains a lot of blood.
Santos checks in with Dr. Robby before getting social services involved, and her story is likely to continue into future episodes of The Pitt season 2.
In episode 2, Santos has social services check in with Kylie and her father’s girlfriend, while Dr. Robby has a quick conversation with Kylie. Robby and Santos notice that the girl has a high pain tolerance, considering she doesn’t flinch when poked with a needle. Santos commits to keeping a close eye on the patient and anxiously awaits her father’s arrival.
In episode 3, Kylie’s father finally arrives, and while Santos continues to suspect abuse on his end, she is soon silenced when a test returns a result confirming Kylie has immune thrombocytopenia, or ITP. This autoimmune disorder is responsible for Kylie being more susceptible to bruising and injury.
Liam Sanders – Severe Leg Abrasion
Liam Sanders arrived in the ER after having a serious fall from his bicycle, which caused intense leg injuries. He is a 26-year-old who rode his bike through his neighborhood without a helmet, though that clearly wouldn’t have saved his legs.
Initially, Sanders is assigned to Langdon, but when Dr. Robby sends Langdon back to triage, he passes Sanders on to Dr. Melissa King. Evidently, Sanders is pleased with this change, as he begins flirting with Dr. King, though she fails to pick up on his advances.
In episode 2, some uniformed police officers arrive in the ER looking for a man matching Sanders’ description, and Sanders makes a quick getaway, knocking Dr. King to the ground in the process. It turns out that this young man recently robbed a liquor store and may have been hiding from police in the ER.
Candace O’Grady – Intractable Vomiting
Next up, the nurses inform the doctors that a patient named Candace O’Grady has been brought in by her restless and rather aggravated son, Richard. However, Candace and Richard don’t appear on-screen until much later in the episode. Dr. Mohan visits with Candace, who sends her son out of the room after he responds harshly to questions.
Candace is 82 years old and informs Dr. Mohan that she has stopped taking her meds for an extended period of time as she found a new means of treating her issues: marijuana. Having experimented with the drug while with a friend, Candace has taken to regularly consuming 12 or more marijuana cookies every day. This is likely where her issue stems from.
Candace does not appear after episode 2, which suggests her condition is stable and treatment is swift and straightforward.
Michael Williams – Growth On The Brain
- Status: Awaiting Treatment
Dr. Cassie McKay has the good fortune to meet with Mr. Williams, a middle-aged man who fell and injured his nose, causing a fairly intense nosebleed. Cassie provides a thorough exam, where she finds that Mr. Williams also has intense pain in his right wrist.
However, Mr. Williams appears extremely aggressive and confrontational, saying he wants to leave and avoid any unnecessary additional charges. Despite this, Cassie persists in order to provide the best care possible. Upon repeat visits, she begins to see that Mr. Williams also appears to have symptoms of a possible concussion, or at least some short-term memory loss.
With Mr. Williams’ mood swings, Cassie needs to approach carefully, but it appears that the patient is suffering from more than a bloody nose and an injured wrist. Mr. Williams has been sent for a CT scan, and he appears to have calmed down in episode 2.
In The Pitt season 2, episode 3, Dr. McKay gets the results back from the CT which confirm that Michael has a growth on the frontal lobe of his brain. In order to accurately determine what the growth is, he will need a brain biopsy, but Michael is considerably more amenable to taking the doctor’s advice after learning about his condition. It is at this point that his ex-wife, Gretchen, arrives at the hospital.
Gretchen has since remarried, but she still cares about Michael, and when she learns that the growth may be responsible for his mood swings and general change in attitude, she is clearly shaken.
Mr. Ethan Bostick – Found Altered In Assisted Living Facility
In the morning rush, as patients are brought in from the Assisted Living Facility, Dr. Whitaker is introduced to Ethan Bostick, a 79-year-old man who was found altered that morning. He is also informed that Mr. Bostick has a POLST, Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. This directs that Mr. Bostick would not like to receive any CPR or intubation.
After a round of general exams, Mr. Bostick goes into a V-tach, an abnormal, fast-paced heart rhythm. Due to the POLST, they have no means of treating the condition, and so, Whitaker and the new student doctors, Joy Kwon and James Ogilvie, simply stand by as he passes.
Mr. Bostick is declared dead in episode 1, and Whitaker takes the time to offer up a moment of silence for the man, instructing Kwon and Ogilvie to do the same.
Digby – Cast Removal
- Status: Awaiting Further Treatment
Upon arriving in the ER, Dr. Robby noted that there was a particularly foul-smelling man in the waiting room, and throughout the day, the stench appeared to have worsened. This led some of the other people in the waiting room to beg for the man to be seen to, in order to get him out of the waiting room.
The staff of the ER oblige, and while Digby only needs a cast removed, he is escorted to an outdoor shower where he can wash the dirt and grime from his body.
In episode 2, with Digby now clean, Dr. Mohan steps in to help remove his cast. While Digby described his arm as itchy, the new nurse, Emma, was not prepared to see an infestation of maggots eating his flesh. Both Mohan and Dana take it in their stride and prepare to freeze off the offending maggots.
In episode 3, Digby is treated with antibiotics and IV to prevent infection and treat any general issues that may have come about due to the infestation on his arm. He is also given some food, and Dana encourages him to seek more regular care.
Sister Grace Matthews – Gonorrhea
Image via Max
Dr. Victoria Javadi picks up a patient with severe conjunctivitis. Sister Grace Matthews, a Nun, appears to be very happy to speak with Javadi and even feels comfortable inquiring about religious beliefs. However, Javadi is evidently more interested in looking to her medical needs.
As of episode 2, the results indicate that the infection in Sister Grace’s eye was actually a bad case of gonorrhea. While Santos gets a kick out of the irony, Javadi and Mohan take the matter seriously and inform their patient of the issue. She lets them know that she often volunteers at a homeless shelter, cleaning dirty bedsheets, and usually, they don’t have basic medical equipment like gloves.
With a round of medication issued to treat the illness, Mohan offers Sister Grace some boxes of gloves to take with her in order to avoid further infections while volunteering.
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