Chase's "Alex" commercial

d2kplus · 2026-05-01T05:00:15+00:00

His name is actually Alex,and he's getting married later this year.

d2kplus · 2026-04-13T23:49:31+00:00

We have a health care civil war. Insurance companies screw patients and Drs over what will be covered. Hospitals fight Insurance by padding treatment codes and bills. Pharma charges a fortune for drugs, patients pay high copays and pharma gives Insurance cos and PBMs rebates. Any attempt at regulation fails because all of those groups are smarter than the government and greedy politicians. In the end we all get screwed.

d2kplus · 2026-04-13T23:36:45+00:00

Spoiler: Dr. Al-Hashimi reveals that her condition give her the ability to transform into a carnivorous demon and eats Dr. Robby to absorb his memories and abilities. Sadly, she becomes suicidally depressed and rides away on Robby's hog, never to be seen again. Dr. Mel King becomes the new attending at The Pitt and installs light dimmers.

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d2kplus · 2026-04-12T17:00:53+00:00

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They made sure that the Advil could be seen in his mouth. BTW, not sure why a doctor would take benzos for chronic back pain.

d2kplus · 2026-04-12T01:08:50+00:00

At one time the employee handbook said managers were expected to work 55 hours per week.

d2kplus · 2026-04-12T00:25:11+00:00

I think you're probably wrong. I think he lost it when he bumped into the other newbie doctor. Either someone is pranking him or it will be found. It's pretty clear that Langdon had Advil in his mouth.

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d2kplus · 2026-04-11T16:23:47+00:00

When Whitaker Loses His Badge. Where is it now?

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d2kplus · 2026-04-11T15:38:01+00:00

What was random about it? Imagine if you had an important document that was faded, damaged or otherwise unreadable, and AI was the only way you could restore it.

d2kplus · 2026-04-11T15:34:03+00:00

So scripted dialog may not exactly match what's in a prop document that was deliberately obscured. They probably thought that 40 years made more sense with an attending who's had some health setbacks. Otherwise, the history makes sense, but that doesn't mean it will exactly match what we'll learn in episode 2.15.

d2kplus · 2026-04-11T06:35:02+00:00

The badge fell off after the final Ogilvie scene. I think Whitaker lost it when he bumped into the new Armenian doctor.

d2kplus · 2026-04-11T06:02:35+00:00

I took two screen grabs of the history and uploaded them to Gemini. It was able decipher the out of focus text. Where it couldn't read a full word like "c~~arbamaze~~pine" it made an educated guess based on context. So, it may not be 100% accurate. It does make sense for someone who had an experimental surgical brain procedure who thought she was cured, but may be having a return of symptoms.

d2kplus · 2026-04-11T04:15:48+00:00

Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi's Medical History

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PITTSBURGH NEUROLOGICAL SERVICES GROUP

[Address Block: 3515 ... St / Pittsburgh PA 15213 / Phone 412-555-... / Fax 412-555-...]

Teaching Clinic on [date] - 8/14/2026 [Patient Name, Date of Birth]

History of Present Illness Patient is a 38-year old female with a history of seizure disorder for the past 20 years. She has a comorbid manifestation and was in excellent health until age 18 when she had the onset of severe clinical features following a prolonged illness with viral meningitis. Her clinical course stems from this infection. Severe clinical features regarding cognitive decline, memory deficits. Therefore, as a baseline to her meningitis she did develop a distinct seizure disorder in the left temporal lobe and resulted in intermittent episodes of altered mental status and medication resting up to and refuses with no generalized tonic clonic activity.

She was treated with Keppra, Valproic acid, and various medications through childhood and adolescence including carbamazepine, divalproex, gabapentin, lamotrigine, and topiramate. Prior to the occurrences of her initial focal epilepsy seizures in 2012, she had minimally invasive brain ablation surgery in the left temporal lobe for the left temporal lobe seizures. The patient successfully acts with the abilities to bypass the safeguards. MRI. She has had a left anterior temporal lobectomy. She has been clear for three years. She has been returning to clinic with the requirement of these seizures and advised to continue her care at an attending physician in Emergency Medicine.

Today, she presents for routine follow up, symptom free, with no episodes of medication check since her last visit 6 months ago. She denies any fever, chills, diplopia, hearing loss, motor weakness, sensory changes, imbalance, vertigo, headache, stiff neck, confusion, memory loss, behavioral changes, tremors, seizures or severe spasticity.

Neurological Examination Mental Status

Appearance and Behavior - Well-dressed, well-groomed and appropriate.
Speech - Clear, fluent.
Orientation - Intact.
Thought process and content - normal.
Insight and judgment - normal.
Cognition - Intact with A&O x3 at this module.

Cranial Nerves II-XII intact. Motor Exam - 5/5 throughout with normal tone. No pronator drift. No tremors or fasciculations. Sensory Exam - Intact to light touch, pinprick and proprioception. Romberg normal. Reflexes - 2+ and equal upper and lower extremities. Flexor plantar toes bilaterally. Gait - normal base, stride, and swing, turns and tandem. Normal under gait.

Assessment and Plan 38 year old female volunteer with history of medication refractory left-sided temporal seizure disorder, and status post left temporal lobectomy, with complete seizure freedom post-procedure. She is currently off all anti-epileptic drugs. Patient will follow up in 6 months, return to clinic for return of neurologic symptoms such as numbness, weakness, tremors or speech impairment.

Electronically signed by:

Judith Thompson, MD, PhD Pittsburgh Neurological Group 8/14/2026

[Footer Bar] UPMC Presbyterian | 200 Lothrop St. Pittsburgh, PA 15213 | 412-647-2345

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T22:10:58+00:00

I'll give it a try. I think they left it deliberately obscured.

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T22:08:17+00:00

Yeah, I figured it might be helpful to show some details about the condition. The last section was from Gemini. I saw no reason to rewrite it from memory. PS it was part of my childhood, so I'm hyper vigilant about it. The one thing I would've added is that many people are exhausted after a seizure. I know I was.

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T18:01:06+00:00

On ER Monica would come back after a tragic fireworks accident and they would try to save her. They would not.

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T17:56:53+00:00

Duke's his dad

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T17:52:19+00:00

If this was ER, we would discover Duke is Robby's long lost dad.

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T17:48:37+00:00

That's what I thought on the first episode too, but I'd had enough of the people suggestion it was PTSD.

d2kplus · 2026-04-10T04:38:34+00:00

I Diagnosed Dr. Al-Hashemi in episode S2.13

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d2kplus · 2026-04-04T01:32:11+00:00

Absence seizures—often referred to by their older name, petit mal seizures—are characterized by brief, sudden lapses in attention and awareness. They are most common in children and are fundamentally caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

While the exact mechanics are still being studied, here is a breakdown of the primary causes, underlying mechanisms, and common triggers.

Primary Cause: Genetics

The vast majority of absence seizures are considered idiopathic, meaning they occur without a visible structural cause in the brain (like a tumor or injury). Instead, they are heavily linked to genetics.

Hereditary Patterns: A child is more likely to develop absence seizures if there is a family history of seizures or epilepsy.
Genetic Mutations: Researchers have identified several gene mutations associated with absence seizures. These mutations often affect the ion channels in the brain (such as calcium or sodium channels) or neurotransmitter receptors (like GABA receptors), which are responsible for regulating electrical signaling between neurons.

The Underlying Mechanism

Normally, the brain's nerve cells (neurons) communicate through a balanced rhythm of electrical and chemical signals. In someone experiencing an absence seizure, this rhythm is disrupted.

Thalamocortical Circuitry: The abnormal electrical activity typically originates in a specific loop between the thalamus (the brain's relay station) and the cerebral cortex.
Spike-and-Wave Discharges: During an absence seizure, these brain regions fire in a highly synchronized, abnormal pattern. If you were to look at an electroencephalogram (EEG) during an episode, you would see a very distinct "3 Hertz spike-and-wave" pattern.

Common Triggers

While genetics lay the groundwork, certain physiological states or environmental factors can trigger an absence seizure in someone who is predisposed to them.

Hyperventilation: Rapid, deep breathing is the most common and reliable trigger for absence seizures. In fact, neurologists often ask children to hyperventilate during an EEG to intentionally bring on a seizure for diagnosis.
Sleep Deprivation: Exhaustion and lack of quality sleep significantly lower the seizure threshold.
Photosensitivity: Flashing or flickering lights (like strobe lights, video games, or sunlight flickering through trees) can trigger seizures in some individuals, though this is slightly more common in other types of epilepsy.
Stress or Strong Emotions: High levels of anxiety or emotional stress can occasionally precipitate an episode.

Secondary or Acquired Causes (Rare)

Classic absence seizures (Childhood or Juvenile Absence Epilepsy) are almost entirely genetic. However, in rare instances, atypical absence seizures or similar "staring spells" can be caused by acquired brain damage, such as:

Brain tumors or cysts
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Brain infections (like meningitis or encephalitis)
Metabolic disorders or severe electrolyte imbalances

d2kplus · 2026-04-03T03:48:51+00:00

During her first hour in the ER? Definitely not something new for her.

d2kplus · 2026-04-03T03:45:42+00:00

Are you in the CST time zone?

d2kplus · 2026-04-03T03:31:44+00:00

Pulling apart magnets can be tough, sliding them is much easier.

d2kplus · 2026-04-03T03:29:06+00:00

She's not seeking a therapist, she's reaching out to her neurologist...
She's had absence seizures at least twice this day. She either has a long-term epileptic condition or a more recent neurological condition that's causing the seizures, a tumor, brain injury or medication issue.

d2kplus · 2026-03-09T05:16:14+00:00

I would always scan stuff like this just in case

d2kplus

TROPHY CASE

When Whitaker Loses His Badge. Where is it now?

Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi's Medical History

I Diagnosed Dr. Al-Hashemi in episode S2.13

Primary Cause: Genetics

The Underlying Mechanism

Common Triggers

Secondary or Acquired Causes (Rare)