Chicago Med (TV Series)

Mirror, Mirror (2017)

Torrey DeVitto: Natalie Manning

Quotes 

• Laura Green : What were you doing to my daughter?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : I was trying to confirm a diagnosis. Um... I... I want neurology to run some tests, but based on this and Ariel's history, I think that she has a condition called mirror touch synesthesia.

  Laura Green : What?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : It's a condition that... that causes her to experience the physical sensations and emotions of the people that she's interacting with as her own. My left knee hurts, Ariel feels it in her right. I slap my right cheek, she feels like her left is being slapped. She's mirroring me.

  Dr. Natalie Manning : Her stomach; she's responding to your ulcer, not imitating you. She's literally feeling your pain.

  Laura Green : Whoever heard of such a thing?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : It's a pretty recent discovery, the existence of these mirror neurons.

  Laura Green : Is there a cure?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : Not yet, but there are... coping strategies we can teach her to help her manage her condition.

  Laura Green : [her cell phone buzzes]  Uh... I'm sorry, I... I have to get this.

  [answer the call as she leaves] 

  Laura Green : Yeah?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : I cannot believe this woman.

  Dr. Daniel Charles : How's that old saying go? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it gaze at its own reflection.

• Dr. Natalie Manning : The second you focus on one pain, it disappears, or shifts someplace else entirely. First it was her stomach, then her forehead. We move her into another room and now it's her sinuses.

  Dr. Daniel Charles : Hm. Yeah, tricky hitting a moving target.

  Dr. Natalie Manning : And listen, I am predisposed to side with anyone against the mother, but I don't know that she's wrong about her daughter.

  Dr. Daniel Charles : You think she might be faking it?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : I had her record sent over, and amongst other things, she's been worked over for achalasia, abdominal migraine, cyclic vomiting syndrome. All negative. It does not appear to be something physiological.

  Dr. Daniel Charles : Why don't I have a little chat?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : I would appreciate that. Thank you.

• Dr. Natalie Manning : What's up with the limp?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : Rehab. My physio's got me doing these Swiss ball squats. It's freaking brutal.

• Dr. Natalie Manning : Hey. Any progress?

  Dr. Daniel Charles : Definitely stressed out and anxious. Whether it rises to the level of a disorder, I don't know. She mentioned a potentially unhealthy association with food, but I'm just... I'm not getting an eating disorder vibe from her, you know?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : No, me neither. Her weight is normal for her height. She's not showing any signs of malnourishment.

  Dr. Daniel Charles : And she says her stomachache's gone, her headache's gone. Her knee is hurting her now. I was thinking we could give her a benzo, see if alleviating her anxiety might tell us something about her physical symptoms?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : Unfortunately, we don't have time. The mom wants to leave now.

• Laura Green : She can really feel the pain of everyone she sees?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : Yes.

  Laura Green : Oh, god. I can't imagine how hard this has been for her. I took her to every specialist. I... I did what the doctors told me to. I thought she was faking.

  Dr. Natalie Manning : There's no way you could have known.

  Laura Green : I am hurting my own daughter. How am I supposed to protect her from this if I'm part of the problem?

  Dr. Natalie Manning : It won't be easy. But... she feels what she sees. If she sees a happy person, she feels happiness. And if she sees someone who's constantly anxious...