A hospital is a microcosm of experiences. Life, death, the things that fall in between. It’s easy to forget that there can be some good within the bad, and “3:00 P.M.” is no exception. We may view doctors and nurses at times as infallible people, but they’re just like us. Everybody messes up sometimes.

Finally, nine hours into the shift, is the dread firecracker injury that was predicted at the beginning of the season. The unfortunate twist? It happened to a twelve-year-old boy who wasn’t trying to do anything bad. The boy, Jude, was holding a cherry bomb when it exploded and lost two fingers. Worse still, Santos discovers that the boy has been drinking; as a result, social services must be called.

The Pitt has never shied away from bringing in real-life problems, and the story of Jude and his sister, Chantal, is one of them. Nine months ago their parents were deported back to Haiti after they were detained following a routine immigration check-up. Honoring their parents’ wish that Jude stay and graduate high school, Chantal stepped in and became his legal guardian.

“Being a big sister’s a lot easier than being a surrogate mom,” she admits. But she clearly loves her brother, and she’s willing to do whatever she can to keep him with her and not sent to a country he’s never been to before. Santos pleads for the siblings to stay together, since nothing like this has happened before and Chantal is a capable guardian.

Thankfully, social worker Dylan Easton agrees with Santos that the siblings should not be separated. But it won’t be easy for Jude and Chantal, who will need to undergo a home visit when he is discharged from the hospital. Despite the bleakness of the situation as a whole, we were reminded that there are still those pockets of good in the hospital.

Naivety and acceptance

Meanwhile, Javadi makes a serious error with her patient from earlier. Assuming nurses handled writing patient information down on the board, she never did. As a result, when she and Whitaker check on her patient hours later they find her in AFIB. It turns out that if she’d been attended to properly earlier, the surgery would have been minimal. Now, it requires major surgery. Javadi is clearly shaken up. Whitaker tells her that mistakes happen, but others are less forgiving.

Returning back to PTMC is Howard, back from his CT at Presbyterian. Howard is now headed into a surgery that only has a 50-percent survival rate, and he asks for his sister, who did return Whitaker’s call from earlier. In an emotional scene outside the hospital brother and sister reconnect, unsure of what the outcome will be.

“Oh, I forgot to tell him I love him,” says his tearful sister as they rush to get Howard back to surgery ASAP.

For Roxie, she already knows her outcome. When talking with McKay later, she quietly asks for advice, saying, “I’ve never died before.” It’s meant to be a moment of levity from her, but it’s undercut by the genuine sincerity in her voice.

An ominous ending

This season of The Pitt has, so far, been largely devoid of any major casualties, unless you count the computer system. It reaffirms what Dana said to Emma earlier, that every day is like this, just minus a holiday. But as a furry patient is discharged and led out into the waiting room to leave, Donnie sees a news story that will seemingly upend all of this controlled chaos.

Does PTMC need another mass casualty event? And how would it fare in their analog situation? Also, exactly how bad is this waterslide collapse, since the news only reported one confirmed fatality so far? Take your breaks while you can, fellow staffers of the Pitt. You’re going to need the rest.

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