Five Miles West

## Episode Chronology

**"Five Miles West"** is the eighteenth episode of the first season on NBC drama series *New Amsterdam*. It was aired on April 16, 2019.

## Synopsis

Max meets his new oncologist, Dr. Stauton, a no-nonsense woman that is not pleased at his inconsistent chemo and radiation schedule. She immediately schedules his next radiation treatment. Max learns that the hospital plans to sell medical debt off, and to help, he instead has the former patients work off their bill by providing services to the hospital. He reschedules his radiation session and receives a rude awakening from Dr. Stauton about the reality of his situation. Dr. Sharpe and Dr. Reynolds attempt to diagnose a patient with cystic fibrosis, but soon discover she had stopped taking one of her medications. Dr. Frome and Max work to try to reunite a father whose son was born unexpectedly at New Amsterdam after the surrogate mother requires an emergency C-section and enters a coma. Their surrogacy contract that was signed in New Jersey is not recognized in New York and the mother's parents initially refuse to hand the child over even though the child is not biologically their daughter's.

## Plot

Max meeting with his new oncologist, suggesting she switch the font on her sign that says, “No One Said Life Is Easy.” He says he used to have fun when Helen was his doctor they used to have fun, he is told flatly, that will not happen. She tells Max to sit, confronting him on the inconsistencies in his treatment, Virginia tells him that won’t work. He reminds her he is not a normal patient, needing to keep his scheduling flexible; she doesn’t bite and tells him that radiation is scheduled for 2 pm that afternoon. He says if there is no hospital emergency he will be there; she tells him that he is the emergency and needs to listen to her. Sharpe warned Virginia that he would make excuses and advises him it is time to get ready to step down as medical director; he doesn’t agree.

The EMTs bring in an extremely pregnant patient which Camilla Candelario attends to. She is complaining about headaches but when Casey informs them the baby’s heart rate is falling, Camilla orders for an emergency C-section; calling for an OB but she isn’t waiting. Michael Archer is prepared with scrubs as Casey gathers information. He pleads that he needs to be in there, but when he gets in he learns she is sedated but they need to remove the baby immediately. He keeps asking her what is wrong but holds his mouth when the baby boy starts to cry. Lynn has no signs of excessive bleeding but she is hypertensive as Michael gets to hold his newborn son.

Helen is with Dr. Akash Panthaki, who is impressed with how she is handling the whole process of freezing her eggs; while she is the Chair of Oncology. He finds the situation awkward, knowing the biological pressure she is under. He says he is willing to help and not helping feels off. She hasn’t really thought about it, as they both hope they will get there; he doesn’t want them to lose their chance. When the doctor comes in, Helen asks for more time but is told she only has until 5 pm to extract eggs that are fertilized or not.

Max walks with Sandra Fall, who only needs his signatures; he learns he signed papers to sell delinquent medical bills to the highest bidder. He stops her and takes the papers when he learns they are from Karen Brentley. He walks into the board room, confronting her about these causing patients to go bankrupt. She reminds him that the hospital is almost 7 million in debt and they found an agency that can get 5 cents on the dollar and it is real money. He needs to think of the good he can do with it. He guarantees 6 cents on the dollar and no one goes bankrupt. She gives him 24 hours and the first batch to deal with.

Iggy approaches Vijay, showing him what Harper made for him. Kapoor learns Iggy’s 5-year-old daughter made him this and says the functionality of each piece is in the eye of the beholder. Iggy says he cannot pass on a gift from a child, but Kapoor walks away and Iggy tries to pawn it off on another doctor. Kapoor stops to see Ella at the café where he tries to apologize for what he said about her and Rohan. She comes to the counter with a coffee for Kapoor, but he notices a bracelet she is wearing and walks away.

Michael is raving to Sabrina, the nurse about his baby when Max and Casey walk in, asking for some privacy. Michael reveals he made a surrogacy contract with Lynn who is his best friend, but Max reveals they are not valid in New York and the baby belongs to the birth mother. They cannot give him the baby legally without her permission. He learns from Casey that Lynn has not regained consciousness as Casey takes the newborn from him while Max promises, he will do everything they can to help him but right now they need to take him.

Iggy meets with Michael, who shows him the contract. Michael shows him that right in the contract he said if there is any dispute this is to be settled in New Jersey, not New York. Iggy urges him to slow down and take a breath as Michael vents that New Jersey is five miles west and he would be holding his son. He can see it from the window. He realizes Iggy has kids, looking at the piece of art Harper made, all Michael sees it a little girl who loves her dad. Michael wants to know what he would do if someone was trying to take her from him?

Floyd meets his Cystic Fibrosis patient, Tonya Constantine who is 12 years old. He promises to take good care of her when her pregnant rushes in. Floyd gets Tonya to take some deep breaths and Floyd reveals that something besides her CF triggered this. Meanwhile, Max begins to see the patients, proposing a barter system to work off their trade. He says this isn’t charity, its a solution to show the real world about patient value.

Helen comes in to meet Tonya, learning that she is in charge of her own meds and has been a model patient. They had new construction of their home, wondering if there is black mold in the house and together with Floyd they start a plan to treat it.

Max and Iggy meet with Lynn’s parents, talking about preparing her for surgery and Dr. Kapoor will be overseeing it. Iggy finds out that Lynn’s parents didn’t know Lynn was not planning on keeping the baby. Iggy says they can sign the paper in order for the baby’s father to take his baby into his custody. Lynn’s mother refuses to hand the baby over to some stranger who would pay women to have his baby as this baby is the last piece she has of her daughter; both saying he is their grandson and they are taking him home.

Tonya’s stats crash, they find she is passing blood and need to defib her. Suddenly her rhythm comes back as they realize this is not fungal; having to do another test to figure it out. Floyd and Helen take her to do scans and take a camera into her lungs. He knows she is now compromised by antifungal medications she didn’t need. They are trying to figure out what is hurting Tonya; while Floyd insists, they are missing something.

Virginia paces the floor waiting for Max to show up for his radiation treatment but learns from the receptionist that Max rescheduled his session without telling her. Max is still meeting with other patients, saying he is bartering for their debt. He teaches one is a painter, but not a simple wall painter. She can’t tell him all the things she lost because of her condition so he shows her the empty wall and says that is her canvas and tells her to get to work.

Max runs into Helen, saying working with Virginia is like a summer breeze, he pleads for Helen to take him back but she says friends and colleagues; he needs to know the clear line until he is better. Like her colleague, she asks him to review Tonya’s case. He looks at it saying it appears she is getting help with being sick; suggesting she is getting more drugs than she can handle.

Ella comes to see Kapoor in his office, revealing Rohan just told her that the bracelet was a family piece when she gave it to her. She now knows it belonged to his late wife, and she has no intentions of getting the middle of whatever is going on between him and his son. She removes the bracelet and places it on Dr. Kapoor’s desk before saying she knows they are not great but she would never do that to him. He holds the jewelry close to his lips and tears up.

Max finds out from Iggy there is an emergency court session regarding the baby; everyone made statements and they are waiting for the verdict. Lynn is still in surgery. The judge says Lynn’s intentions are clear, however, she is bound to placing an injunction and until it is decided in a higher court the baby will be taken into foster care. Max can’t handle it but is told her hands are tied as this is the law.

Max talks with Iggy, feeling this isn’t over yet and hopes the legal team can appeal. Iggy says they will lose as he has seen this before. Max sits down with Michael, along with Iggy who pleads with him that he should fight for his son but give him the best life he could possibly have; even if it isn’t with him.

Helen and Floyd return to Tonya’s room, revealing the bone marrow isn’t the culprit. Helen wants to know if it is possible her daughter was experimenting with other drugs. She insists she knows her daughter and encourages them to check her bag. Dr. Reynolds goes through her bag and finds out she is not taking her pills which is causing her body to not digest any fats. Her mother is shocked to learn that she would stop on purpose, wondering why she would do that.

Max is trying to guess what is being painted on the wall when Karen comes out and confronts Max about his bartering agreement; feeling the only thing he accomplished is turn the hospital into a flea market. She reminds him of the books this looks like money laundering and they will get audited. She refuses to explain and says this is not how they run a hospital and orders him to stop it, but he will not comply. He understands that everything costs something but these people trust them and there is no way he is going to break that sacred bond. He will not allow her to hound them for money. She says she will allow it today but bills exist and it is her job to ensure they get paid. She warns him if he works against her, she will bury him before his cancer does.

Max finds his office locked and has to go to Virginia’s office to get them, as per her note. She says she will give him back when he is done with his radiation. She asks him if he knows any other patient that goes into the system and changes their appointment on a whim? He defends his actions, saying he was dealing with a real emergency. She tells him that all she hears is him choosing to die over getting treatment and hopes that tomorrow he chooses treatment because she honestly doesn’t know how many tomorrows he has. People who treat their cancer the same way he does, die. She asks him if he wants to die; he admits he doesn’t and she tells him radiation is expecting him at 3B. She throws him his keys, telling him this is how he gets better.

The surgery didn’t relieve the pressure in Lynn’s head as her parents learn they could place a shunt; they are interrupted by Michael who wants to know how she is doing. Kapoor tells them they need to prepare for the worst. Michael tells her parents they raised an amazing woman and that is why he is withdrawing his case because his son cannot grow up in foster care and needs to be with people who love him, even if that isn’t with him. He feels if they do as good as a job with him as they did with Lynn… he is unable to finish the sentence; as he tells Lynn to hang in there and he will see her soon. He simply wants them to tell Robin that his Daddy loves him.

Tonya wakes up and her mother questions her about stopping her pills. She didn’t mean for it to go so far, revealing that this is about the baby. She is worried her mother is going to have another CF child, and she is so much work. She stopped taking the pills to see if her mom would notice and she didn’t. She says if she has another baby she won’t be able to take care of her. Her mother looks down on her, explaining she waited for 12 years to have another baby until she was ready to advocate for herself. She encourages her to look at her life as she is amazing. She hugs her, saying she is in so much trouble as Floyd and Helen quietly leave the room, feeling they will be okay.

Floyd asks her about her own kid but Helen says it is complicated as she has doubts on so many levels. He tells her not to as she would make an incredible mother; causing her to smile. Dr. Kapoor returns to the café, telling Ella she was right and the bracelet did belong to his wife, but it was part of a set; something mothers passes onto their daughters. It was one of the only things he kept of his wife to remind him of her. The set was incomplete, just missing the bracelet. She apologizes as Kapoor explains that he felt Rohan always sold it for drugs, which he denied. Kapoor called Rohan a liar at his mother’s grave, so seeing her with the bracelet showed him how wrong he was about his own son and he should have listened that Rohan wanted something to cherish his mother too. He asks her to give him the entire set as his mother would want him to have it.

Akash comes to Helen’s office, where she greets him with a kiss. She says today he offered her the most amazing gift she could hope for but she can’t take him up on it. She is crazy about him but they are not there yet and she likes where they are. He agrees saying he got caught up in the possibility of them. She says there is no rush as they can wait until they ready, asking him to join him at her harvest. He escorts her, saying it turns him on as she talks about being a farmer.

Iggy calls Michael to come to see Lynn’s parents; who say they just wanted to hold onto their girl in case she doesn’t wake up but they need to honor what she did while she was there. Lynn’s mother says she did it for him and hands him Baby Robin. Michael is beyond words as he holds his son, with Iggy lovingly watching.

Max looks down into the foyer when Helen spots him, telling Akash she will meet him downstairs. She recognizes the face as a patient of Virginia’s. He says she prescribed an attitude adjustment and needs to prioritize his treatment; Helen tells him that is why she sent him to her. Max worries that if he stops moving, cancer will catch up so he needs to keep moving because he is not done yet. He wants to leave something behind that will matter. Everywhere he sees things that cancer is trying to take away; Helen says he is not looking in the right places.

In the lobby, Helen and Max look at the wall as Helen thinks it’s not a bad thing to leave behind. It is a tree with faces all over it. The electrician and plumber continue to work as Iggy sees all the balloons another did. Kapoor is okay after running into a cart from a painter. Iggy join in the laughter with his young patients. Max smiles as he looks at the tree.

## Cast

* Janet Montgomery as Dr. Lauren Bloom (credit only)
* Freema Agyeman as Dr. Helen Sharpe
* Jocko Sims as Dr. Floyd Reynolds
* Tyler Labine as Dr. Iggy Frome
* Anupam Kher as Dr. Vijay Kapoor

Guest Starring* Debra Monk as Karen Brantley
* Nana Mensah as Dr. Camila Candelario
* Alejandro Hernandez as Casey Acosta
* Dierdre Friel as Ella
* Greta Quispe as Nurse Sabrina Zambrano
* Emma Ramos as Nurse Mariana
* Sendhil Ramamurthy as Dr. Akash Panthaki
* Anna Suzuki as Sandra Fall
* Peter Romano as Paramedic Bradley
* Judith Ivey as Dr. Virginia Stauton
* Shirley Rumierk as Sabra Constantin
* Cindy Cheung as Judge Hayashi
* Zack Robles as Michaela Archer
* Carlos Arce Jr. as Rico Zagallo
* Deirdre Madigan as Mrs. Sackhoff
* Michael Pemberton as Dr. Nash
* Wenne Alton Davis as Fran Jones
* Leslie Fray as Lyn Sackoff
* Jim C. Farris as Howard the Magician
* Megumi Haggerty as Radiation Nurse
* Kate Rigg as Dr. Rada Gregorian
* Christina Shea-Wright as Jess Walner
* Robert George Siverls as Josef Payet
* Aasim Iqbal as Lake
* Robert Jimenez as Gus Santino

## Multimedia

### Videos

New Amsterdam 1x18 Promo "Five Miles West" (HD)