the ER edit

Garnett Spears entered the hospital with a normal sodium level. During that admission, it climbed to 182, and days later the five year old was dead. This week we’re breaking down the Garnett Spears case, the years of unexplained illness and medical care that came before it, and the evidence that eventually turned a medical mystery into a criminal investigation.
We also get into factitious disorder imposed on another, previously known as Munchausen by proxy, fragmented medical records, mandated reporting questions, circumstantial evidence, and why nurses and healthcare workers have to pay attention when the clinical picture just does not add up.
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https://theeredit.com
Find The ER Edit episodes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, The Whisper Line, host links, and business contact in one place.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ab8DoFQ3hTyQvIE69O2YR?si=fea43e1cda3140f0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-er-edit/id1884089840
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theERedit
Instagram: @theERedit_
TikTok: @theERedit
Business inquiries: theeredit@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of Caitlin Armstrong and Karlie Tooley and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of their current or former employers, hospitals, healthcare organizations, or any affiliated institutions. This podcast is for entertainment and general discussion purposes only and should not be considered medical advice.
00:00 His Sodium Went From Normal to 182
01:08 What FDIA Actually Means
02:45 The Case of Garnett Spears
04:29 Twenty Medical Offices and Fragmented Care
06:08 Doctors Had Already Suspected It
09:28 Garnett’s Final Hospitalization
11:00 The Video EEG and Sodium Spike
15:37 When the Medical Mystery Became Criminal
16:43 What the Hospital Video Showed
19:32 The Evidence Found at Home
21:06 How Much Should Internet Searches Matter?
27:12 Previous Concerns and Isolation
29:15 Trial, Conviction and Sentencing
40:25 The Gypsy Rose Comparison
48:24 Healthcare Workers as the Last Line

Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during Tennessee's September 30, 2026 execution attempt. We go through the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, the sentences that followed, and the questions the case raises about childhood trauma and the death penalty. Then we get into the ER nurse side of it: IV access, possible infiltration, execution protocols, and the ethical mess of caring for someone who has survived a lethal injection.

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https://theeredit.com

Find The ER Edit episodes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, The Whisper Line, host links, and business contact in one place.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ab8DoFQ3hTyQvIE69O2YR?si=fea43e1cda3140f0

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-er-edit/id1884089840

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theERedit

Instagram: @theERedit_

TikTok: @theERedit

Business inquiries: theeredit@gmail.com

The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of Caitlin Armstrong and Karlie Tooley and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of their current or former employers, hospitals, healthcare organizations, or any affiliated institutions. This podcast is for entertainment and general discussion purposes only and should not be considered medical advice.

00:00 The Execution That Didn't End in Death
01:16 Christa Pike and the 1995 Case
03:37 What Happened to Colleen Slemmer
05:00 The Evidence Investigators Found
05:57 Three People, Very Different Sentences
08:10 Age, Trauma, and Death Row Appeals
11:38 Life as Tennessee's Only Woman on Death Row
16:25 Pentobarbital and the Lethal Injection Process
20:05 A Last Minute Stay Reaches the Supreme Court
21:09 What Witnesses Saw and Heard
22:14 Two Doses and Still Alive
23:44 Could the IV Have Infiltrated?
29:11 When the Protocol Runs Out
37:19 Remembering Colleen and Her Family
41:19 Who Should Take Part in an Execution?

“What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen?” is one of those questions ER nurses hear constantly, but the answer is usually a lot heavier than people expect.
This week we’re talking about the cases healthcare workers cannot forget, including devastating family moments, pediatric codes, end of life care, ethical gray areas, unexpected deaths, freak accidents, and the strange way you can walk out of something traumatic and immediately have to keep doing your job. We also get into the Grey’s Anatomy cases that stayed with us and why emergency medicine can permanently change the way you see the world.
LISTEN, WATCH, FOLLOW, AND SEND US YOUR STORIES
https://theeredit.com
Find The ER Edit episodes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, The Whisper Line, host links, and business contact in one place.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ab8DoFQ3hTyQvIE69O2YR?si=fea43e1cda3140f0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-er-edit/id1884089840
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theERedit
Instagram: @theERedit_
TikTok: @theERedit
Business inquiries: theeredit@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of Caitlin Armstrong and Karlie Tooley and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of their current or former employers, hospitals, healthcare organizations, or any affiliated institutions. This podcast is for entertainment and general discussion purposes only and should not be considered medical advice.
00:00 What’s the Worst Thing You’ve Ever Seen?
04:05 The Sounds Nurses Never Forget
05:05 The Gunshot Patient Who Waited in Line
07:03 Cases That Still Haunt Healthcare Workers
09:15 When Doing Everything Can Hurt
12:22 Giving a Family the Worst News
16:32 What Happens After a Patient Dies
18:14 From Death Straight to the Next Code
19:28 The Seven Week Old Baby
23:07 Blood Refusal and Patient Autonomy
25:43 The Routine Procedure With No Answer
27:51 Freak Accidents Change Your Brain
31:39 The Drowning Case That Never Left
33:51 Grey’s Anatomy Cases We Still Remember
43:48 Why Healthcare Workers Carry These Stories

This week we’re getting into medical mysteries that sound completely made up but somehow aren’t. From anti NMDA receptor encephalitis and human hibernation to auto brewery syndrome, cannabinoid hyperemesis, bizarre neurological symptoms, MRI safety, and conditions medicine still does not completely understand, the human body keeps finding new ways to terrify us.
We also get into the part ER nurses know too well: sometimes the tests rule out the emergency without actually explaining what is wrong. Medicine changes, experts disagree, and sometimes getting the real answer takes a lot longer than one ER visit.
LISTEN, WATCH, FOLLOW, AND SEND US YOUR STORIES
https://theeredit.com
Find The ER Edit episodes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, The Whisper Line, host links, and business contact in one place.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ab8DoFQ3hTyQvIE69O2YR?si=fea43e1cda3140f0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-er-edit/id1884089840
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theERedit
Instagram: @theERedit_
TikTok: @theERedit
Business inquiries: theeredit@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of Caitlin Armstrong and Karlie Tooley and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of their current or former employers, hospitals, healthcare organizations, or any affiliated institutions. This podcast is for entertainment and general discussion purposes only and should not be considered medical advice.
00:00 Medical Mysteries We Cannot Leave Alone
01:54 The Girl Who Never Aged
04:00 When “Psychosis” Is Something Else
08:52 The Voices That Found a Brain Tumor
12:22 Surviving 24 Days in the Cold
18:14 Frozen for Two Hours and Survived
19:08 Auto Brewery Syndrome Is Real
22:14 When the Brain Changes the Person
24:22 The MRI and the Hidden BB
29:22 Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome
33:39 When the Boat Feeling Never Stops
35:59 The Mystery of Morgellons Disease
37:15 When Medical Experts Disagree
40:01 What the ER Can and Cannot Solve
41:25 Why These Cases Stay With Us

Four joint replacement patients in Nashville received potassium phosphate instead of the intended spinal anesthetic, mepivacaine, and the investigation shows just how many opportunities there were for someone or something to catch the mistake. We break down the pharmacy workflow and medication safety failures, then bring back some of the wildest medication error stories we have heard before ending with a truly chaotic round of Whisper Line submissions.
LISTEN, WATCH, FOLLOW, AND SEND US YOUR STORIES
https://theeredit.com
Find The ER Edit episodes, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, The Whisper Line, host links, and business contact in one place.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Ab8DoFQ3hTyQvIE69O2YR?si=fea43e1cda3140f0
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-er-edit/id1884089840
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theERedit
Instagram: @theERedit_
TikTok: @theERedit
Business inquiries: theeredit@gmail.com
The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of Caitlin Armstrong and Karlie Tooley and do not represent the views, policies, or positions of their current or former employers, hospitals, healthcare organizations, or any affiliated institutions. This podcast is for entertainment and general discussion purposes only and should not be considered medical advice.
00:00 The Nashville Potassium Phosphate Mixup
01:02 How Spinal Anesthesia Usually Works
03:39 How Did the Wrong Syringes Get There?
05:30 Potassium Phosphate Reaches the Spine
06:36 Four Patients Are Seriously Harmed
08:47 Inside the 80 Page Investigation
09:04 How the Pharmacy Error Started
11:33 Five Syringes Get the Wrong Medication
13:45 The 29 Second Verification
15:38 Why We Want to See the Vial
16:01 What Happened After the Error
18:22 The Wild Medication Errors Begin
21:25 Tap Water in a Central Line
24:28 Medication Errors We Cannot Explain
27:41 The Whisper Line Gets Wild