Second Chance

Bron is going all-out to help mentally disabled patient Thomas with his assessment for placement by Community Services. She believes he is capable of living in a share household with minimum supervision and this would help him develop further — rather than being institutionalised. But there is a major setback when Thomas is distressed by a casual shift nurse and then refuses to practise any of the life skills (feeding and dressing himself) which Bron has been helping him learn. Terri points out that Bron will just have to start over again but time is running out as the second assessment is due later in the day. Ben and John are the ambos called out to a house by Kerri Williams. When they arrive, Kerri's husband, Gareth, is unconscious on the floor as a result of a domestic argument. When Ben sees Kerri about to shake her crying baby, he intervenes. As Ben grabs the baby, Kerri falls. She ends up in Ward 17, feeling very much the victim despite her behaviour. Steph is shocked when she hears Kerri say she has been assaulted by an ambulance officer. Unaware that the woman has embroidered her story and that the ambulance officer is Ben, Steph encourages Kerri to report the incident. This results in a huge rift between husband and wife, with Ben accusing Steph of not knowing him at all if she thinks him capable of such behaviour. Steph is left out on a limb when she discovers that Kerri has a history of ill-treatment of her children and was very likely to have been lying to cover her own actions. The episode ends with Ben telling Steph that he thinks the marriage is over. Daniel Parker is a man in his 50s, recently divorced and with a new young girlfriend in her mid-20s. He is very optimistic as he goes into surgery for cancer of the bowel, choosing not to believe the condition will result in any permanent damage. When he wakes to find he has had a colostomy, he does not trust his young partner Kate to stand by him. And, rather than giving her a chance, he sets out to drive her away. Daniel focuses his hope on his ex-wife Angela — not considering she may also have moved on with her life since she ended the marriage.