On this week’s episode of “Three Rivers” the doctors face the challenge of a ‘Code Green’ – a mass casualty event.
At the beginning of the episode a bus carrying a high school football team blows a tire and crashes, sending many of the unlucky players to Three Rivers on stretchers while others are pronounced dead at the scene.
Noted in this episode is a 36-year-old man named Brandon who is in dire need of a heart transplant. According to Dr. Yablonski he will only last a week at the most without getting a new heart.
As the casualties from the bus accident begin to come in, the hospital is overrun with confusion. Drs. Foster and Yablonski, as well as David and Pam, take on multiple patients.
The star player and quarterback from the football game is pronounced brain-dead at Three Rivers despite Dr. Foster’s efforts. Yablonski hears that the boy has died and asks another doctor to see if he is a match for Brandon, but she finds that although he is a donor, his organs are already going to a recipient in Washington, D.C.
Back at Three Rivers, Ryan finds a heart donor for Brandon and immediately goes to tell Dr. Yablonski about it. On his way to find him, Brandon’s wife stops Ryan in the hall and asks if a heart was found yet. Ryan makes a bad judgment call, and tells her that a heart has been found. When Yablonksi hears the news he tells Ryan to accept the offer.
The downside, however, is that the heart is over 200 miles away and they only have 90 minutes and no staff to spare to get the heart. When Yablonski finds out that Ryan told the wife about the heart he becomes furious. He tasks Ryan with finding a way to get the heart to Three Rivers before it is too late.
Meanwhile, Dr. Foster heads back to the scene of the accident to search for a boy that is still missing. She fears that he may have suffered head trauma and wandered from the accident into the nearby woods. Along with police officers, she begins to search for the boy.
At Three Rivers, the surgeons try to save a player’s leg while Yublanski worries about the heart for Brandon. Ryan calls him and says he might have found a doctor to get the heart. Yublanski uses Three Rivers’ technology to video chat with another surgeon friend and talks him into doing the procedure. Ryan offers to go to the airport to pick up the heart.
Back at the scene of the accident, Dr. Foster finds the lost boy who wandered away from the accident with a head injury. They manage to get him on a stretcher and head back to Three Rivers.
After successfully operating on the player’s leg, Yablonski sends Brandon into prep for the heart transplant as Ryan arrives with the heart via helicopter. The heart arrives to the operating room as Brandon goes under and Yublanski successfully gets the heart into Brandon.
Unfortunately, Brandon’s body rejects the heart initially and Yublanksi has to shock it several times before it finally begins to beat.
With a sigh of relief the episode ends and it seems as if Brandon will live to see 37 after all.
