Heal the Living (Réparer les vivants)

HEAL THE LIVING

Come on.

Let's go!

Got the wax?

Watch out for black ice.

Where?

Right in front of you.

Don't worry.

Can I use your shoulder?

If you must.

Great.

- Hi. - Hi.

- Everything OK? - Yeah. She's sleeping.

Hi, sweetheart.

- I'll put her to bed. - Right.

Bye.

Bye.

How's it going, champs?

Hey, boss.

Did you have a good night?

Mrs Polard, aged 57, was admitted from A&E.

She's an epileptic.

I found her in a coma with a GCS of 5.

She was very hypoxic

with an oxygen sat of 85%.

And why is she hypoxic?

Interns?

In this case?

- Because she inhaled. - Right.

Let's take a look.

These are Mrs Polard's chest X-rays.

We can see a pleural effusion in the right lung.

This 17-year-old boy was in a car accident with two friends.

He was in the front seat without a seatbelt. His GCS is 3.

We found a school ID card in his pocket.

Mathias!

Start a femoral A-line.

Get him straight to CT.

We can see an extensive haematoma,

very big and deep,

left frontal lobe,

compressing the ventricular system,

pushing the median line.

And we can see intraventricular drainage.

Yes?

Yes.

She's sleeping.

Yes.

Mum, telephone.

Mum.

Hello?

What?

I don't understand. Which hospital?

What's wrong with him?

Hello. I want to see my son.

- Hello. - He was...

He was brought in this morning.

I'll have a look. Could you spell his name for me?

Simon Limbres. L-I-M-B-R-E-S.

- Thank you. - Are you alone?

Yes. I'm waiting to hear from Vincent.

I've left messages. I don't know where he is.

He's not picking up. Maybe he's sleeping.

- Vincent is Simon's father? - Yes.

We're married but we don't live together anymore.

I see.

I'll explain the situation, first to you,

and then again once your husband arrives.

Your son, Simon, was in a car accident this morning.

He was in the front seat, without his seatbelt on.

He suffered a severe head trauma.

The scanner shows extensive tissue damage and internal bleeding.

Where?

Here and here, just under the skull.

- He's in a deep coma. - Where is he? I want to see him.

He's being treated. You'll see him soon.

Meanwhile, I want you to tell me a bit about him.

Where and when was Simon born?

June 5, 1997, on Réunion Island.

Did you live there?

Yes, for 12 years.

Has Simon had any previous injuries or operations?

He's broken lots of things, as boys do.

He cracked his tail bone,

skateboarding last year, and...

he broke his wrist twice.

- Mrs Limbres... - Oh, yes.

He had the mumps when he was five.

And... he had all four wisdom teeth removed.

But he was fine.

Mrs Limbres...

His condition is worsening.

Shall we continue this conversation later,

once your husband gets here?

How is he?

Don't know.

He's in a coma.

And your boys?

Lots of fractures, none of them compound.

Thank God they were wearing seatbelts.

Excuse me.

Sorry, I had the sound mufflers on.

The second EEG is underway.

There are no brainstem reflexes.

The pupils are unresponsive. The apnoea test was positive.

The haemodynamics are stable, just some respiratory complications.

OK.

- Any word from the father? - No.

His mother's outside now. She's probably calling him.

I'll start the organ evaluation.

Nice one, bro.

Simon...

We're here, son.

Can you hear me?

Hello.

I need to tend to him.

- Would you like to stay? - Can we?

It's fine by me. As you like.

Hi, Simon.

I'm taking your temperature.

I'll check your pupils.

That will do, thank you.

Your son Simon was in a car crash this morning.

He was in the front passenger seat of a van. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt.

He has serious head injuries.

The trauma caused severe cerebral haemorrhaging.

When the paramedics arrived, he was already in a coma.

Why aren't you operating on my son now?

Upon discovering the haemorrhage,

we consulted two neurosurgeons.

They both confirmed that it was too late to operate.

The brain had bled too much.

Simon was in desperate shape when the paramedics arrived.

People wake up from comas.

Don't they?

In Simon's case it's impossible.

Simon is no longer in a coma.

He's brain-dead.

I don't understand any of this.

He appears to be all right.

He's warm, he's breathing.

But that's only because of the machines.

I heard his heart.

That's true. His heart is still beating.

But if we stop the machines, his heart will stop too.

I'll show you the scans.

This is Simon's brain.

Here we see the haemorrhage. It's spread everywhere.

Do you want to know the truth?

This is all my fault.

I got him into surfing.

- Don't say that. - I did.

Don't say that.

Don't say that!

I'm so sorry.

I can't tell you otherwise.

Your son is dead.

It's the truth, and you have to hear it.

I'm the one who put the idea into his head.

Yes?

Has he been in pain long?

I'll be right there.

I understand how difficult this is for you.

We haven't had much time to talk.

I'm here to guide you through all this.

Why keep him alive if it's over? What are we waiting for?

You're right.

In this situation,

there's no reason...

to continue treatment or keep the machines switched on.

There's something I need to discuss with you.

This is a very special case.

Brain death is extremely rare.

As you've seen, his heart and organs still function.

This means we can consider organ donation.

I want you to know that if such a procedure...

were to be arranged, it would be solely in order...

to help patients awaiting an organ.

If you like, we can try to figure out

what Simon would have wanted.

How would he know at his age?

I don't know.

Maybe it came up in conversation with you,

or with his friends.

How did he feel about life, about his body?

Have you got kids?

Then you've got no business saying this.

This is not the time or the place.

I'm sorry. Maybe I didn't explain it right.

I know it's all very sudden.

I'm not trying to convince you.

The decision is yours.

Entirely yours.

Let's go.

Come on.

Sorry, there's one more thing I have to tell you.

Take your time, of course,

but I'm afraid that time is limited.

We can't maintain Simon's heart for long.

Soon it will be too late for organ donation.