...First Do No Harm Page #3

No. Actually, they're not

even sure Robbie has epilepsy.

He's only had a few episodes.

Doctors are talking about

taking him off medication.

You sound a little

like my parents.

They still won't say

the word "epilepsy. "

They call it "Bob's spells"

or "Bob's condition".

I don't remember 'em

using the word "episodes",

but I'm sure they threw

that one in there too.

What did you want

to talk to me about?

Lori, I know this seems

like none of my business...

...but Robbie's gonna need

a strong ally.

Robbie's got plenty of allies.

He's got his family,

and he's got some

really good doctors.

But no doctor knows what

makes a seizure start or stop.

No doctor knows why the drugs work on

some people and not on others.

So your child becomes something of a

laboratory. They type-treat the drugs.

That means they start

with a low dosage.

Then they crank it up until either the

seizures go away or your boy becomes toxic.

- I think you better go now. - If you place

Robbie's health entirely in their hands...

Robbie is gonna be

just fine.

Mom, if you're there,

pick up, please! Mom!

- Lynn?

- Mom, Robbie's had a horrible seizure!

- What?

- He stopped breathing.

They took him to the hospital.

Dad went with them.

Well, take Mark

and go to Margeen.

Mom, is he gonna die?

No, he's not going to die.

The keys?

Get out!

Do you want to double-check?

You're positive that your

company's kept up...

...on the contributions

to your health plan?

It's a major contractor.

It's not some fly-by-night operation.

- Hi. I'm Dr. Brown.

- Hi. How do you do?

How are you doing?

Oooh, doesn't look like

we're havin' fun yet.

Let's see if we can't

do somethin' about that.

All right, I want you to follow my

finger, okay? With your eyes.

So, Robbie was admitted

with idiopathic epilepsy?

"Idiopathic"?

Of uncertain origin.

Oh. He had a grand mal seizure

with a respiratory arrest.

And since then he's had

three more grand mals...

...plus some other kinds too.

Hmm, hey, the good news:

You'll never have to worry about

Robbie being in the military.

They won't take him.

He was transferred here

to see a specialist.

Dr. Stanfield.

He's the best.

Okay.

Did we talk to you about

compassionate use programs?

"Compassionate use"?

During the testing period

for a new drug...

if it shows promise, the government will

approve its use for select people...

...who aren't part

of the official study.

That's something Dr. Stanfield

may recommend you look into.

Mm-hmm.

See, times have changed

in medicine.

It's not just up to the doctor. We look

to the parents to help chart the course.

It's called

"joint decision making".

Great. So do we have to wait

for Dr. Stanfield?

Only until tomorrow morning.

Okay. Thanks.

Transportation Health Plan.

It's Gene, KC Trucking. Local 59.

I got a driver here who's gettin' the

runaround on his kid's hospital bills.

Give me somebody who can

straighten it out, will ya?

- I'll transfer you.

- Yeah, thanks.

Let's see your bear.

- Hi, Margeen!

- Hey, look at you!

- Hi.

- Out of I.C.U. already?

- Yeah.

- They work fast in this place.

Yeah, well,

all except Dr. Stanfield.

- He's a no-show.

- Mmm.

- Have you seen Dave?

- Not today. Isn't he working?

I thought he was gonna take off to

come here. How are the kids?

Oh. Mark's team won three-zip this

morning. He scored the second goal.

And Lynn's at your place

working with Schwartz.

They sent Robbie a

little something!

- Ooh, what do you say?

- Wanna see what my bed can do?

What do you think

I'm here for?

Hey!

You okay?

- I had another one, Mom.

- Yeah, he's okay.

I know you did, sweetheart.

Come on.

Come on.

We'll take you in.

Hmm?

Mmmm! Oh, boy!

Let's get this

off you now, huh?

Yeah. There you go.

How are you

gettin' through this?

I'm... gettin' through it.

Ohh!

Oooh!

Cool!

Oh, here's stuff. A change of clothes,

some potato salad from lunch.

- Ohh.

- I'm 20 minutes late.

- How am I gonna repay you?

- You're not.

Mmmm. You're in my debt

for life.

I think so.

- Bye, Margeen.

- Bye-bye.

Bye. Let's see

what she's got here.

Ooh, gummi bears!

Can I have this one?

Oh, you're gonna make me

dig down to the bottom?

Do you want to check

the Reimuller boy?

So, you're leaving us

tomorrow, huh?

No.

Well, that's

what it says here.

No, he was transferred here

to be evaluated by Dr. Stanfield.

He hasn't even seen him yet.

I'll make a note of it.

- Hi, Dad.

- Hi, guy.

Hey, where've you been?

We have no insurance.

What?

Yeah, when I changed locals, there was a

six-month "no benefits" period.

It's not up for a month.

And after that they won't cover him

because he'll have a pre-existing condition.

No. Nobody, nobody ever said anything

about a "no benefits" period!

Supposedly, we were notified.

I read the fine print, Dave, and I do

keep records. We were not notified.

That's their policy.

That's why. That's why

Robbie's transferred out of I.C.U.!

I'll bet you that's why Stanfield

never showed up too!

And I'll bet you that's why they're

gonna kick us outta here!

Oh. So what are we

supposed to do now?

Well, what people that don't have insurance

do. We take him to County Hospital.

And you're just

gonna accept that?

- Do you have a better idea?

- Yeah, I do!

Hey, wanna see my truck?

- Kansas City.

- That's not your truck, Dad.

Transportation Health Plan.

Hey! That's

a flammables carrier, Dave!

Yeah. I put in

to drive nights.

No way. No way! You promised!

We agreed you would never...

You know how many thousands

of dollars we are in the hole?

Well, I'll take a telephone sales job

where I could work at home.

We could go on welfare! But you are

not gonna drive a flammables carrier!

My family is not going on welfare!

There's no way you could make a dent

in our debt with hazard pay!

Do you know why they call it

hazard pay in the first place?

Why don't you just take a rider on your

life insurance and live off of that?

- Stop yelling! - What am I

supposed to do, Lori, huh? Huh?

What in the hell

do you want me to do?

Oh, no.

Oh, damn it.

Okay. Dilantin.

A hundred milligrams.

That a boy.

And Tegretol.

A hundred milligrams.

That's it. Good boy.

- And the depakene.

- I don't want that.

- I know, honey. - It tastes yucky.

It makes my tummy hurt.

I know, darling, but I got

a new medicine for that.

Come on.

That's a boy.

- Foreclosure?

- They take our house.

What do you mean, they take our

house back? It's our house.

Yeah, as long as we make

the payments.

Well, don't we?

When we can,

as much as we can.

We have to pay the hospitals first,

or, uh, they'll take my pay.

How can they take your pay?

You earned that!

Well, they earned it too,

taking care of Robbie.

Come on, kids. The bus'll be here in a

second. We can talk about this later.

Okay, okay, Rob.

I'm here, honey.

I'm here.

That's okay.

So, what happens when

the bank takes back

the title of our house,

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