Getting On

Didi: Okay, this is my station... phones, lab reports.

Usually first meds rounds takes about an hour,

but since we've gone from 27 patients

down to eight, it's more, like, 20 minutes.

Next, I check lab reports, then I would do new admits.

But we haven't had new patients

for about a month.

Technically, we're closed,

but we got 'em on an injunction

for violating Open Meeting Laws.

So, they can't fire us.

They gotta keep us on the payroll

to take care of the lingering patients

until they get it resolved.

So, there's not really that much to do.

Dr. James, this is Miriam.

She's gonna cover for me today.

Ah. Welcome to yet another sad, melancholy day

on the ward that we all love.

Not quite dead, not quite alive.

A little of each.

Like a teen slumber party, with dying.

- Didi: Mrs. Belfontaine... - What...

- that they would pay for another week of rehab. - (sings)

Just put her back in her bed and just...

Dawn: Morning.

Well, somebody's got a bounce

- in their step this morning. - Well, I should.

I lost, like, 14 pounds in dialysis.

Look how loose my ring is.

Looking good, toots.

- Dr. James. Good morning. - Mm-hmm.

Well, it's official. We're officially compatible.

I just got the final results today.

Yes. I got the confirmation letter.

It's wonderful news.

Dr. Gladner will see us at 3:00.

Okay.

I bet we're so compatible,

I won't even need any immunosuppressants

to not reject your kidney.

- (phone rings) - (receiver clicks)

Man on phone: Bengali Transplant Services.

Hi. Hi. Finally.

Uh, I'm glad to speak to you.

Hi. My name is, uh, Helen... Mirren,

and I am calling from the United States,

and I imagine that you get quite a few

calls from the United States.

Anyway, my daughter, Sadie Mirren, is having,

uh, kidney failure and needs a transplant.

Yeah. Yes, we would need a donor.

That's... that's right.

Well, we could come, but I wondered,

can you ship a kidney?

So, this is feasible?

Okay. Um, and it's absolutely on the up and up?

Oh, have you met Didi's new scab?

Miriam. She'll be with us through Didi's

- afternoon picketing. - Well, I do give the girl credit.

Didi's like that heroic Dutch boy

with his finger in the dike, trying valiantly but vainly

- to hold off the oceans. - Yes. Um...

you know, I just wanted to say, I feel so lucky.

I really need this kidney... you know?

My numbers are crashing despite my rigorous diet

and counting every calorie and eating right.

- And, you know, there's a thirst, dialysis thirst, - Mm.

because you cannot drink that much.

It's hell.

But now, I see a light

at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

Jenna: How you have progressed!

Rosey, it's wonderful to see you doing so well.

You are a success story.

We have a little bit more range of motion exercises,

and we can discuss some scar remediation.

Are you drowning in all the extra care

and attention, Rose?

Are we killing you with kindness here? Yes?

She has nightmares.

Running through the house on fire,

her hair in flames.

Well, we can offer psychological services to assist you

and make sure that this is a smooth and safe

transition home.

Am I the only one who cares?

Keeping this place ship-shape,

keeping it organized.

Marguerite! Please!

These tanks have been out here for three days, okay?

Nobody cares. No pride of place.

Until janitorial and plant services is restored,

I'm designating this the sling room.

All this auxiliary crap can go in there.

There's no excuse for this chaos.

What are you lookin' at?

I am so glad we're gonna be visiting

with Dr. Gladner this afternoon, Dawn,

because I have done so much reading in the literature.

There were so many

things that I... I... I really want to discuss.

Like, for example...

um... should I have a larger discussion

with everybody that my decision is gonna affect?

You know, like the fact that

I won't be in a position to give my only daughter,

Renee, a kidney, should she ever need one.

And then also, the... for example,

- how long am I gonna be out of work? - Mm-hmm.

Y... y... you see?

Is this really the very best time for me to donate?

Well, yeah. These are very good questions.

I mean, miracles do happen.

Sammy, just when you think it's over and your life is ending,

generous people just come forward and...

that lady right there, Dr. James,

is one such person.

You wanna say thank you?

Wanna give her a hug?

Thank you for saving Dawn's life.

Thank you.

Okay. Sharing circle!

Um, I always had a much higher IQ

than all my friends in school,

so I dumbed it down.

My IQ is 126...

and, you know, to this day, I'm still just terrified

to live up to my potential because...

you know, I don't want to be rejected.

I suppose my oldest secret... that's what we're...

um, revealing?

I was in the back of Jenni Preston's car...

Dawn, Dawn, look at me.

I like when you watch me when I talk.

Anyway, the top was down, and we're driving

on Palisades Parkway, and Linda Fiorintino's fall

blew off and she died of embarrassment,

but I pulled it off

because I never liked her.

Oh...

Okay. Um... Marguerite?

Got anything you wanna share?

Any big secrets? Anything?

I'm transsexual.

Yeah. I was born Martin Macaw and then I transitioned

right after high school and took Marguerite.

You know, it's... it's so hard to find

the right level of being a woman 'cause I don't want to be

what men want a woman to be,

- some corrupted version of femininity. - Mm, yeah.

Marguerite: I just wanna be me, you know?

And I've worked hard to get to this point,

and I can be the woman that I wanna be.

Being a woman is partly emotional,

partly physical for sure,

psychological, cultural...

spiritual even.

Oh, man. The spiritual differences between men

and women are... whoa... vast.

I did not see that one comin'.

But all that stuff she was saying...

what was she saying?

I mean, do she like the way she look,

or did she just run out of money?

- (chortles) - Didi: Dawn Forchette, what on Earth are you doing?

- Nothing. - You shouldn't be eating that!

You're not supposed to be eating like that.

I'm not. Not really.

It's just a little slip is all, Didi.

I'm very upset that we're closing, okay?

And I'm not like you. I'm not perfect.

Dawn, you gotta be strong.

You... you don't wanna suffer a setback

- or compromise yourself. - No.

Thank you, Didi.

Thank you for caring

and making me care better about myself.

Hello. I'm Sister Lily Claire from St. Edwen Hospital

in San Pedro for Dr. James.

I apologize for the mess.

This very strange limbo can't go on much longer.

Uh, I should be free in two weeks,

but a good captain never abandons her ship.

Our board would be very pleased to explore

a place for you and, uh, your clinical trials.

The diocese has been recently endowed

by the Huntington family to improve

our, uh, professional profile.

- It's the irony, you know? - (laughs)

- In a... in a world that devalues science, - Mm-hmm?

- the one guiding light, the breath of sanity, - Mm-hmm?

is the Catholic Church.

Huh? (laughs)

- It... it's the tragedy of our times, Lily Claire. - Yeah.

- Nobody cares, no. - Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Geriatrics. Old people. Death.

There's no buzz. There's... it's not sexy.

- Yeah. - Uh, we tried social media