Coma Page #6

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He said he was hospital security.

I happen to know that he...

It's a high fly ball and...

... he's out!

You were saying?

I guess I have

an overactive imagination.

Be like me.

Everybody says I have

no imagination at all.

I'm going over to

the medical school library.

I'll go with you.

The tubular filtration gradient may be

more than 500 milliequivalents.

That means there's an active

transport with phosphorylated ATP.

But if you trace radioisotopes,

densities don't look right.

It's a breakthrough

in understanding the kidney.

Remember that yellow cadaver

skin under your fingernails?

Nobody could eat lunch.

It seems like a long time ago.

Back in the days

when we couldn't eat lunch.

Wouldn't you know?

Dr. Marcus.

Well, if he's complaining of pain.

Try another five cc's I.M.

I see.

Well, then MS 10 milligrams.

Yes, morphine sulphate.

He's not in respiratory difficulty.

You can put him on

respiratory arrest with morphine.

Particularly if he's on wall O-2.

You'll have to check

and see what he's on.

Air is fine, but oxygen...

If he's on wall oxygen,

tell me how many liters of flow.

Six liters!

You can't put him on MS.

You'll have to stay with Talwin.

Give him five cc's of water.

Say it's morphine.

He won't know.

He's a pain in the ass anyway.

Mark, it's so awful!

It's so terrible.

Take it easy.

Honey, slow down.

He was trying to kill me.

And I had to keep going.

And all the bodies.

It's horrible!

Take it easy.

Slow down.

Mark, it's all happening.

It's really happening.

Somebody's putting people into comas.

They're murdering them.

No, no, really.

Kelly's dead. I was down there.

I found the gas line.

It starts in the basement

and it goes up the main tunnel...

...then plugs into the oxygen line

in the ceiling that goes to O.R. 8.

- Honey, slow down.

- They're killing people...

...with carbon monoxide in O.R. 8.

- They have a radio to turn the valve.

- I believe you.

All the cases happened in O.R. 8.

And they all went

to the Jefferson Institute.

And this guy, he chased me all over.

And there were so many bodies.

It's all right. It's okay.

And this is real.

Call the police.

We have to do something!

This is real, Mark.

I can prove it.

Sure, you can. You can.

- Just lie down.

- This is real.

I know you can.

Now one thing at a time.

I want to give you a Valium and...

How about a cup of tea

to settle you down?

A cup of hot tea?

Then we're going to talk

after you settle down.

So you just rest right here.

You just stay right here

on the bed?

That-a-girl.

That's it. You just relax.

I can't...

That's it. Just relax.

Close your eyes.

That's it. Okay, that-a-girl.

- Now, I'll get you a cup of tea.

- You're so great, Mark.

Stay here, honey.

Just stay right here.

That's a hell of a story, Susan.

You really had

a lot of people worried.

Don't worry.

Everything's going to be okay now.

She came back.

No, she's here now.

Of course.

No, I can manage that.

I'll keep her here.

Look, I'd better go.

You want some honey with your tea?

Memorial Hospital

residents' exchange.

This is Dr. Wheeler.

Are there any messages for me?

Yes, doctor. Quite a few.

Just a minute, please.

I'm sorry.

I'll have to call you back.

What number can you be reached at?

Dr. Wheeler, are you there?

What number can we reach you at?

We are dealing in

an area of uncertainty.

An area where there are no rules,

contradictory laws...

... and no clear social consensus

as to what should be done.

And the cost of care for the chronic

patient has become prohibitive.

This is particularly the case

with the long-term comatose patient.

The Jefferson Institute is a government-

sponsored experimental facility...

...designed to provide quality

life support to the comatose patient.

I wish to emphasize...

...no moral or ethical position

is being taken here.

We do not participate in the debate

over whether these patients...

...are alive or dead...

...or whether their care should

be continued or terminated.

Society will decide if there will

be more of these facilities or not.

In the meantime, we merely provide

care as inexpensively as possible.

Now, if you will

please come this way...

This is our visiting room...

...where relatives can see patients

who are stored here.

You see, it all looks quite normal.

We've found it is inadvisable...

...for relatives to know the actual

circumstances of patient care.

It's too much of a shock.

So we bring the patient here.

After the visit, we return them

to the main care facility.

If you will put on your glasses,

we'll go there now.

This is our main care facility.

Temperature here is

94.7 degrees Fahrenheit...

...humidity 82 percent.

This stability reduces

patient heat loss...

...and caloric requirements.

There's a low-level ultraviolet

bacteriostatic flux...

...and to prevent bedsores...

...patients are suspended

by wires through long bones.

- How do you get to them up there?

- There's no need for contact.

Every one of our patients is

individually monitored by the computer.

Indwelling telemetry records weight,

fluid balance...

...blood pressure, blood gases,

temperature, metabolic balance.

Our computer makes an immediate

adjustment for any change in condition.

For example...

...we simulate hypotension by direct

compression of the telemetry unit.

The computer will sense this

and make an immediate adjustment.

Well, almost immediate.

Sometimes there's a...

There we are.

Sometimes there is a short delay,

but as you can see...

...the computer put the patient

in the Trendelenburg position...

...and administered a vasoconstrictor.

We have very few crises here.

With the assistance of technology...

...these patients

are maintained beautifully.

Without it,

they would have died long ago.

But the law says they must be

maintained, and this is one solution.

How large is your staff?

One nurse, a physician on call...

...two computer technicians and

a small security staff. That's all.

And the rest of the building?

It's of no interest. Just mechanical

and technical facilities.

What's the cost?

For each patient, about $ 60 a day.

But we can store 1,000 patients

and then the cost will go down.

We expect to maintain patients

for about $5 a day.

Less than it costs to hire

a baby-sitter for a few hours.

If there are

no further questions...

...this concludes our tour

of the Jefferson Institute.

Before you go, we have some literature

we'd like you to take.

It explains some of the background

and details of our work here.

We hope the tour has been informative.

And if you have any questions

about the Jefferson Institute...

...don't hesitate to call.

It shouldn't be about money.

Maybe your patients don't

complain about their bills.

Thank you for your interest.

Goodbye.

Do you know what I wanted?

I wanted corned beef on rye...

...or else a roast beef with Russian.

And what do you bring me?

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