My Old Lady
Encyclopedia
"My Old Lady" is the fourth episode of the American
comedy-drama
Scrubs
. It originally aired on October 16, 2001 on NBC
.
The episode's writer, Matt Tarses, won the 2002 Humanitas Prize
in the 30 Minute Category for this episode.
's patient, Mrs. Tanner, is a headstrong but kindly old woman, Turk's is a young man called David Morrison who just needs some company, and Elliot
's is Mrs. Guerrero, a Hispanic
woman whose condition is deteriorating fast.
Mrs. Tanner is in renal failure
, and J.D. has to tell her that unless she goes onto dialysis
she will die. To J.D.'s shock, she decides that she would rather die, and he spends much of the episode trying to convince her to change her mind, even writing a list of things he believes everyone should do before they die. However, on reading this list to his patient, she says she has done every single one, and that rather than wasting his time fruitlessly trying to change her mind, J.D. should try doing a few himself. While J.D. sits with her, Mrs. Tanner dies peacefully in her sleep.
David needs hernia
surgery, and despite Turk trying to remain aloof from his patients, he decides to keep David company since his father won't arrive for a few days. As Turk performs David's hernia surgery, he inadvertently finds a lymphoma
. Turk performs a second operation to remove the lymphoma, but David dies on the operating table. Turk learns from this experience that it doesn't hurt to show kindness towards his patients.
Mrs. Guerrero speaks no English
, requiring Carla
to translate. She is steadily deteriorating, and Elliot has to decide whether to use thrombolytics
, which could kill her, or to wait and see if she improves, which could also kill her. To Carla's disgust, Elliot runs away from making the decision, and later tells Carla how hard she finds it making decisions. Eventually, Carla helps Elliot decide to use the thrombolytics, improving their relationship in the process. Unfortunately, Mrs. Guerrero dies anyway, though Elliot gains confidence from the experience.
After the three patients die, J.D. narrates that sometimes more than one in three patients die and that's what you have to face while working in a hospital. J.D. is seen talking to his patient's relatives, Elliot is seen talking to Dr. Cox
as he reassures her that she did the right thing, and Turk is seen talking to his patient's father, who thanks him for being a friend to his son.
At the end of the episode, as Turk and some other surgical interns are leaving a patient's room, Turk turns around, walks back to the patient, and introduces himself. J.D. follows Mrs. Tanner's advice and takes a moment for himself, lying in the grass and doing nothing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. It originally aired on October 16, 2001 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
The episode's writer, Matt Tarses, won the 2002 Humanitas Prize
Humanitas Prize
The Humanitas Prize is an award for film and television writing intended to promote human dignity, meaning, and freedom. It began in 1974 with Father Ellwood "Bud" Kieser — also the founder of Paulist Productions — but is generally not seen as specifically directed toward religious...
in the 30 Minute Category for this episode.
Plot
The three interns have to face death for the first time, as J.D. narrates that, statistically, one out of every three patients in a hospital will die: J.D.John Dorian
John Michael "J.D." Dorian, M.D. is a fictional character on the American comedy-drama Scrubs, played by Zach Braff. He is the narrator and main character of the series. He provides voice-over to the series which fills the roles of his internal thoughts and an overall narration in the show, often...
's patient, Mrs. Tanner, is a headstrong but kindly old woman, Turk's is a young man called David Morrison who just needs some company, and Elliot
Elliot Reid
Dr. Elliot Reid is a fictional character played by Sarah Chalke in the American comedy-drama Scrubs. She has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except two Season 8 episodes, "My Last Words" and "My Lawyer's in Love"....
's is Mrs. Guerrero, a Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
woman whose condition is deteriorating fast.
Mrs. Tanner is in renal failure
Renal failure
Renal failure or kidney failure describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood...
, and J.D. has to tell her that unless she goes onto dialysis
Dialysis
In medicine, dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost kidney function in people with renal failure...
she will die. To J.D.'s shock, she decides that she would rather die, and he spends much of the episode trying to convince her to change her mind, even writing a list of things he believes everyone should do before they die. However, on reading this list to his patient, she says she has done every single one, and that rather than wasting his time fruitlessly trying to change her mind, J.D. should try doing a few himself. While J.D. sits with her, Mrs. Tanner dies peacefully in her sleep.
David needs hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
surgery, and despite Turk trying to remain aloof from his patients, he decides to keep David company since his father won't arrive for a few days. As Turk performs David's hernia surgery, he inadvertently finds a lymphoma
Lymphoma
Lymphoma is a cancer in the lymphatic cells of the immune system. Typically, lymphomas present as a solid tumor of lymphoid cells. Treatment might involve chemotherapy and in some cases radiotherapy and/or bone marrow transplantation, and can be curable depending on the histology, type, and stage...
. Turk performs a second operation to remove the lymphoma, but David dies on the operating table. Turk learns from this experience that it doesn't hurt to show kindness towards his patients.
Mrs. Guerrero speaks no English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, requiring Carla
Carla Espinosa
Carla Espinosa, RN is a fictional character in the American comedy-drama Scrubs, portrayed by Judy Reyes.Carla has appeared in every episode during the first eight seasons except three Season 8 episodes, "My Happy Place", "My Cookie Pants" and "My Full Moon"...
to translate. She is steadily deteriorating, and Elliot has to decide whether to use thrombolytics
Thrombolytic drug
Thrombolytic drugs are used in medicine to dissolve blood clots in a procedure termed thrombolysis. They limit the damage caused by the blockage of the blood vessel.-Uses:...
, which could kill her, or to wait and see if she improves, which could also kill her. To Carla's disgust, Elliot runs away from making the decision, and later tells Carla how hard she finds it making decisions. Eventually, Carla helps Elliot decide to use the thrombolytics, improving their relationship in the process. Unfortunately, Mrs. Guerrero dies anyway, though Elliot gains confidence from the experience.
After the three patients die, J.D. narrates that sometimes more than one in three patients die and that's what you have to face while working in a hospital. J.D. is seen talking to his patient's relatives, Elliot is seen talking to Dr. Cox
Dr. Cox
Percival "Perry" Ulysses Cox, M.D. , is a fictional character played by John C. McGinley on the American television comedy-drama Scrubs....
as he reassures her that she did the right thing, and Turk is seen talking to his patient's father, who thanks him for being a friend to his son.
At the end of the episode, as Turk and some other surgical interns are leaving a patient's room, Turk turns around, walks back to the patient, and introduces himself. J.D. follows Mrs. Tanner's advice and takes a moment for himself, lying in the grass and doing nothing.
Cultural references
- The short clip of J.D. with Death parodies a Connect FourConnect FourConnect Four is a two-player game in which the players first choose a color and then take turns dropping their colored discs from the top into a seven-column, six-row vertically-suspended grid...
commercial from the 1970s, which features similar dialogue, and The Seventh SealThe Seventh SealThe Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death , who has come to take his life. Bergman developed the film from his own play...
, which features a knight playing chessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
against Death. In the clip, J.D. had eight red pieces while Death had only six. - When Turk's patient David asks if anyone has ever heard of The CatchThe Catch (American football)The Catch refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers...
, Turk comes in and says, "Niners-Cowboys, Joe Montana to Dwight Clarke deep in the end-zone, zero time left. Kid, please, don't insult me." To be precise, there were 51 seconds left on the clock when The Catch was made.
Continuity
- This episode marks the first appearance of Lloyd the Delivery Guy, who becomes a major supporting character in later seasons.
- The name tag that Dr. Cox is wearing when he first enters Elliot's patient's room says Paul Cox, even though his name is Perry Cox.