Withdrawal

**Withdrawal** is the seventeenth episode of Season 1 of *Chicago Med*. It aired on May 10, 2016.

## Summary

Dr. Halstead and April butt heads when it comes to treating a patient with severe alcohol withdrawal and a broken leg. Dr. Manning has a cardiac event when she loses her wedding ring. Dr. Rhodes is forced to perform bloodless surgery because of a patient who is a Jehovah's Witness who won't accept transfused blood. Reese and Dr. Charles deal with a group of elderly patients with the same symptoms.

## Cast

### Main Cast

* Nick Gehlfuss as Dr. Will Halstead
* Yaya DaCosta as April Sexton
* Torrey DeVitto as Dr. Natalie Manning
* Rachel DiPillo as Dr. Sarah Reese
* Colin Donnell as Dr. Connor Rhodes
* Brian Tee as Dr. Ethan Choi
* Marlyne Barrett as Maggie Lockwood
* S. Epatha Merkerson as Sharon Goodwin
* Oliver Platt as Dr. Daniel Charles

### Recurring Cast

* Gregg Henry as Dr. David Downey
* Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Dr. Vicky Glass
* Annie Potts as Helen Manning
* Jeremy Shouldis as Dr. Marty Peterson
* Lorena Diaz as Nurse Doris
* Mia Park as Nurse Beth
* Cesar Jaime as Paramedic Cesar
* Courtney Rioux as Paramedic Courtney
* C. Anthony Jackson as Security Guard Earl

### Guest Cast

* Howard Hesseman as Clyde Glickman
* Lynn Cohen as Rose Wechsler
* Rachel Sledd as Mrs. McCormick
* Brian P. Weddington as Frank McCormick
* Frank Whaley as Chuck Gleason
* Mary Ann Thebus as Wanda
* Curtis M. Jackson as Clerk

## Plot

The episode begins at Dr. Ethan Choi's house, with Choi and Dr. Vicky Glass getting ready. On the table in his apartment is a cage containing the parrot that Choi rescued from a patient's house in the previous episode. Dr. Vicky Glass and Choi joke about the parrot and how quickly it has become attached to Choi, and talk about a two-month course that Glass is about to begin teaching in Bethesda. Glass collects her luggage for her trip to Bethesda and kisses Choi goodbye. At the hospital, Dr. Will Halstead tells Dr. Natalie Manning that he's been offered a job in California, and Dr. Natalie Manning tells him that California is far away, asking if he's heard from any of the other hospitals nearby. Halstead tells her that he is still waiting for them to respond, and that he's very unlikely to get a job at their current workplace, the Gaffney Medical Center, referring to previous events in the season.

In the E.R. Maggie Lockwood assigns Manning, Halstead, and April Sexton to a patient, Chuck Gleason who was found at the bottom of stairs with a fracture in his leg. The patient recognizes April, asking her for a drink, and April tells Manning and Halstead that the patient is an alcoholic and frequently at the hospital. The patient seizes, and Halstead identifies the issue as alcohol withdrawal causing delirium tremens. April says she has never seen him in such a state, and that withdrawal will be bad. Gleason insists on being discharged, and refuses to stay at the hospital, saying he cannot endure delirium tremens as he has done so before. Chuck experiences a difficult withdrawal, crying, throwing things at April, and vomiting on April when she tries to help him. He insists that the doctors are disregarding his wishes and not doing what he wants, which is to have a drink and avoid living through withdrawal symptoms. Sharon Goodwin, watching this, says that when she was a nurse, and they had alcoholic patients with delirium tremens who wanted alcohol, thy would let them have it rather than endure the withdrawal. Dr. Will Halstead catches April trying to sneak a bottle of alcohol to Chuck, and disagrees with her when she tells him that her nursing supervisor did it all the time, and that certain alcoholics never recover. She tells Halstead that Chuck doesn't want to get better and that they should listen to him, and Dr. Will Halstead tells her that he is a doctor and its not his job to listen to patients, it's his job to help them get better. April tells Dr. Will Halstead that this is why she is a nurse, and hands over the bottle of alcohol to him and walks away. Later, Chuck starts bleeding from a rupture, and Dr. Ethan Choi joins Dr. Will Halstead to help treating him.

Reese is treating an old woman, Rose Wexler, who is brought in confused and agitated from her nursing home. Reese brings in Dr. Daniel Charles in for a consult. The woman reacts violently, slapping Charles away, accusing him of being a plumber and also a maniac. They suspect dehydration, and Reese says that it is sad seeing Wexler, who was one of the first female test pilots, end up like this. Reese runs tests on the woman. Reese and Dr. Charles bring in another patient, Wanda Stern, also suffering from similar symptoms, but they cannot identify the course. Dr. Charles notices redness in Wanda's eyes, and gently encourages Reese to consider the possibility that it could be gonorrhea. Reese is reluctant to accept the idea they could be sexually active at their age, until Clyde, an older gentleman from the retirement home, arrives with flowers for the women. They bring in Clyde, who is initially reluctant to tell them the names of his many partners, but concedes. He tells Reese and Dr. Charles that at his age, there are very few men, and that he loves all the women he has listed out, all of whom need companionship, and calls it "assisted loving." Reese and Dr. Charles begin to treat all the seniors for gonorrhea. Later, Rose Wexler thanks Reese. Reese asks her, as a strong successful woman who flew jets, why she isn't angry with Clyde for sleeping with so many women. Rose tells Reese that some men spend their entire life with women but never learn what pleases them, but Clyde knows. Later, Reese tells Dr. Charles that while Clyde seems nice, no man is worth lying, cheating, or disease. Dr. Charles tells her that there is no lying or cheating involved, as Rose and Clyde are in an open relationship. Reese says she would never accept an open relationship, but Dr. Charles tells her she might be surprised at how age changes how we think of the importance of certain things. He tells Reese that his own life has become more interesting as he grows older, and Reese tells him that at twenty-six, she's not that young. Dr. Charles smiles.

Dr. Choi treats Frank McCormick, a patient experiencing a heart attack, who is brought in by paramedics along with his wife. Dr. Choi is able to bring the patient's heartbeat back and sends him to Dr. Connor Rhodes for a heart bypass. The wife refuses treatment, saying that they are Jehovah's Witnesses and cannot have any surgery involving the administration of blood, including a bypass which will put him on a heart-lung machine. Dr. Connor Rhodes brings in Dr. David Downey to try and convince him to take the surgery, but Dr. David Downey suggests bloodless surgery, involving operating on a beating heart. Dr. Connor Rhodes is hesitant and tells Dr. Downey it is too risky, but the McCormicks don't want to wait and opt for bloodless surgery. Dr. Connor Rhodes views Frank's angio, and sees on the schedule that Dr. Downey has a liver ablation scheduled for himself.

During the surgery, Frank's heart stops beating. Dr. Connor Rhodes insists that they need to move him to a pump, and when Dr. David Downey tells him that it isn't an option, Rhodes insists on bringing the wife in to convince her to agree to using the pump. Dr. Ethan Choi brings Mrs. McCormick into the operating room in protective gear, where she sees Dr. Connor Rhodes physically massaging her husband's heart to keep it pumping. Rhodes tells her that her husband is dying, and that he is pumping his heart with his heads. Dr. Choi tells her that if she doesn't agree to the pump, she won't see him alive. When she asks if there is no other way to save her husband, Dr. David Downey says no, so she agrees to the pump, telling them to do what they have to, and asking for Jehovah's forgiveness. Dr. Connor Rhodes tells Dr. Downey that they are doing the right thing, but Dr. Downey just shakes his head.

After the surgery, Dr. Connor Rhodes tells Frank that there were complications and they had to use the bypass machine. When he finds out that his wife consented to the bypass, Frank is infuriated, and throws her out, telling her that she has jeopardised his spirit in eternity, and tells Dr. Rhodes they had no right to go against his wishes. Dr. David Downey tells Rhodes that this is why they listen to patients, but Rhodes disagrees with him, telling him that they shouldn't listen to patients if it risks their life. Rhodes asks Downey if this is about McCormick, or if it is because Downey is upset about his liver ablation. Downey tells Rhodes that the mass in Downey's liver isn't shrinking, but that isn't the point. He tells Rhodes that Rhodes is a good surgeon, but will never be a great surgeon until he realizes that saving a life isn't always the answer. Later, Dr. Choi apologizes to Frank McCormick, and his wife returns, and she tells him that he is alive because she couldn't imagine life without him, even if it disregarded her faith and didn't respect their religion. She tells McCormick that she has to believe that a god of love must also be a god of forgiveness. Choi leaves them to talk and the McCormicks hold hands. When Dr. Downey wakes up from his ablation, Dr. Connor Rhodes is waiting for him. Downey looks at the incision, and they both look at each other and laugh, and then sigh.

In the E.R., Maggie notices that Dr. Natalie Manning is missing her wedding ring, and helps a visibly distraught Natalie to look for it. Sharon Goodwin tells Maggie that she also lost her wedding ring recently, and that her normally observant husband, Bert, didn't even notice. She invites Dr. Charles over for dinner, suggesting that he meet her friend Mirabelle as well cheer up Bert, but Dr. Charles refuses, saying he already pays two alimonies. Dr. Will Halstead tries to comfort her, but Manning tells him that she feels like she betrayed her dead husband, Jeff, by losing the ring. Dr. Natalie Manning starts feeling dizzy, and when Maggie tells her to lie down, Manning collapses. Later she tries to convince Maggie and Dr. Will Halstead that is is no more than anemia, but at Dr. Will Halstead goes for a heart echo. The results show that Dr. Natalie Manning experienced a cardiac event, colloquially known as 'Broken Heart Syndrome,' which was likely brought on by the loss of her wedding ring, as she tells Dr. Will Halstead. Halstead tries to reassure her, telling her she will get past this, and that the cardiac event is unlikely to recur. Later, Helen Manning, Natalie's mother-in-law, stops by the hospital to check on her, and when Natalie asks if she knows where Jeff bought her wedding ring, Helen suggests that she should begin to try to move on rather than replace the ring. Natalie is upset, but Helen tells her that while she doesn't have to let go of Jeff, it might be time for her to start moving forward, as her pain has debilitated her to the point of being in a hospital, unable to go home to her son. Helen kisses Natalie on the head, and leaves to look after Natalie and Jeff's infant son, Owen Manning. Later, Maggie comes by Natalie's room and gives her the wedding ring, which she found in a linen bag. Natalie thanks her, telling Maggie she thought it was gone for good. Natalie puts the ring back on, crying.

Dr. Charles goes back to Sharon Goodwin after his talk with Reese, and tells her he will have a double date with Sharon's friend. He is, however, taken aback when she tells him the friend is vegan. Dr. Will Halstead sees Frank Gleason looking much calmer and talks to Nurse Beth who tells him that they didn't increase the sedatives. He confronts April, and asks if she gave Frank a drink, but she denies it. They both look over at Sharon Goodwin, who had earlier told them both that as a nurse, she had let patients like Gleason have a drink rather than suffer delirium tremens. Halstead then confronts Goodwin, pointing out that giving Frank a drink violated hospital policy, and that if he had done it, he would have been in a lot of trouble with Goodwin. Goodwin admits it is a double standard. Halstead tells her that Gleason had a chance to kick his addiction, but Goodwin tells him that you can't force someone who isn't ready to move on. She adds that Dr. Manning's ring was located, and asks if he wants to go see her, but he says he will go later. Later, he stands outside her room and watches as Dr. Manning sits, sadly, with Sharon. He then calls the hospital which offered him a job in California.

At the hospital, Dr. Ethan Choi gives the parrot to security guard Earl, who is adopting it for his kids. However, Earl returns the parrot, stating that it makes such a racket that it didn't let him sleep, and that he plans on getting a gerbil instead. Choi, who is busy, asks Maggie to leave the parrot in the staff room for now. Dr. Choi takes the parrot back home.

At the end of the episode, Dr. Natalie Manning puts flowers on her husband, Jeff's grave, and then takes off her wedding ring and buries it below his headstone, before embracing Helen Manning.