Chicago Med pediatric resident John Frost (Darren Barnet) has settled in quite nicely at Gaffney Medical Center, but he already has his work cut out for him.
Season 10, Episode 2 (“Bite Your Tongue”) was intense as Frost’s moral compass came in direct conflict with hospital protocol. It all began when Joe Thomas and Gina Thomas (Crystal Lee Brown) brought in their teenage son Max (Kevin Jones), an athlete complaining of rib pain. Medical drama aficionados may recognize Max’s father as ER star Sharif Atkins, who played Dr. Michael Gallant from 2001 to 2006 on the NBC medical drama. But in Med‘s latest, Atkins flipped the script after he found himself visiting the E.D. as a concerned father whose son seemed to be experiencing a minor medical concern.
“And it turns out that it’s something a lot more devastating,” Atkins shared with NBC Insider ahead of the episode. As Frost reviewed Max’s CT scan, a routine check-up quickly led to a heartbreaking update: Max’s cancer had returned, and he only had two to three months left to live. There was one surgery they could consider, but it would render him in a wheelchair, drastically jeopardize Max’s quality of life, and it wouldn’t vastly improve his odds of remission.
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As if the stakes weren’t high enough, Dr. Frost became flabbergasted after discovering Max’s parents had no intention of telling their son he was terminal. NBC Insider chatted with Atkins about his emotionally-charged One Chicago guest appearance. Find out what happened, below.
Dr. Frost had some heartbreaking news for ER’s Sharif Atkins
It’s a hard day in the E.D. any time a doctor has to deliver bad news to parents. Still, Dr. Frost found himself at a particularly challenging crossroads after speaking with the Thomas parents about their son’s cancer returning. They were shattered over the news, clinging to any possible option. Frost strongly discouraged the parents from the surgery due to the toll it would take on Max, but they remained hesitant to accept the alternative.
Just as the doctors prepared to tell Max the dreadful update, Frost was shocked when Max’s parents interrupted to tell their son that with just one more surgery, he’d be cancer-free. Even better, he’d likely be able to compete in the spring season. Dr. Frost was mystified, pulling his parents into the hallway to ask them why they were lying.
“Doc, I know,” Joe told him. “We just decided, after all he’d been through, we couldn’t tell him he’s terminal.”
“We just wanted to keep his hopes up,” Gina explained.
“His hopes, or yours?” Frost asked, pointing out how they were grossly misleading Max. However, as legal guardians, Max’s parents were entitled to disclose or withhold whatever details they wanted.
“We’re gonna need you to refrain from discussing any of this with him,” Joe warned Frost. But the Gaffney newbie wasn’t going to give up that easily.
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“You’re considering bypassing the parents?” Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos) asked him after Frost took his concern to the new E.D. co-chief.
“I’m fairly certain I’m well within my rights as a patient advocate,” Frost offered.
“In a vacuum, maybe,” Lenox said. “But in this circumstance, the parents expressly requested that you not communicate the drawbacks of the surgery to their child.”
Upon overhearing this, fellow E.D. co-chief Dr. Archer (Steven Weber) flagged Frost down.
“Personally, I prefer my residents have as much autonomy as possible to make decisions for themselves,” Archer said, all but winking and nudging as he explained himself. “As long as they’re not stepping over any bright lines. I mean, what do I know?”
“Great,” Frost said, taking the hint and running with it. “Thanks, Dr. Archer!”
“We come into a bit of a clash with Dr. Frost, who believes our son, who is almost of age, should have all of the information he needs to make an educated decision,” Atkins told NBC Insider. “And we’re of the mindset because of the diagnosis and how just devastating it is that no, you know what? Let’s refrain from sharing certain information with him… That’s really where the drama begins, and it becomes this heartbreaking battle of doing our best to keep our son hopeful about his future.”
