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[Spoiler] Almost Died in a Helicopter Accident on Chicago Med
What should have been a routine flight to transport an organ donation turned into a battle for survival on Chicago Med.
After a three-week break from airing new episodes, Chicago Med returned with a bang in Season 9, Episode 10, titled “You Just Might Find You Get What You Need."
Earlier this season, charge nurse Maggie Lockwood (Marlyne Barrett) found out her husband Ben wanted a divorce, and now she seems ready to explore new adventures. But her attempt at seeing where a new relationship could go turned into a major misadventure in the show's latest installment.
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Who almost died on Chicago Med Season 9, Episode 10
The scary incident involved handsome Loren Johnson (Henderson Wade), a doctor and pilot who used to be a flight paramedic in the Army and first appeared on Season 8 of the NBC drama. He was tasked with transporting a heart from an organ donor to a hospital in St. Louis via helicopter. When the flight nurse dropped out, Maggie jumped in, happy to accompany Loren on this emergency mission. Such life-saving flights are business as usual at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, but in this case, something went very wrong.
Before takeoff, Dr. Hannah Asher (Jessy Schram) intercepted Maggie with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. The two often exchange dating advice, and Hannah couldn't hold back when it came to teasing her friend, knowing Maggie and Loren have feelings for each other.
“So, you’re flying off with Loren. Literally. Today’s the day you’re gonna let him know you’re interested?,” Hannah asked.
But Maggie insisted, “It’s work, Hannah,” before heading towards the operating room where the heart was being carefully packed in a cooler for transport. When Loren realized Maggie was coming along for the ride, he smiled. “Really? You’re filling in?... Works for me," he said.
After Loren and Maggie successfully delivered the heart in St. Louis, the doctor they handed it off to thanked them in a profound moment, saying, “My patient’s been waiting almost two years on a heart, thank you."
Maggie said to Loren as they left, “Wow, that was powerful,” adding, “We’ll never meet that patient, but we’ll always know that we helped save her life.” Little did Maggie know that she would soon be helping save another life.
Maggie Lockwood and Loren Johnson had scary helicopter incident
As they headed back to Chicago — mission accomplished — the helicopter began shaking midair. “What was that?,” asked a concerned Maggie. Loren didn't seem too troubled, saying the helicopter was collecting some moisture and that he planned to drop them down about 1,000 feet to get them under the weather issue.
But the helicopter then started shaking violently and an alarm went off. Loren told Maggie that ice had formed on the rotor blades.
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“I’m gonna take us down really fast... I need you to brace yourself... It’s gonna be a hard landing,” warned Loren, who brought the chopper down in a remote woodland area. Luckily, Maggie was just shaken up, she said, and Loren hopped out to inspect the damage. After word got back to the hospital that the duo was ok and that a search and rescue team was on the way, Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber) told the staff, "Loren is an Army guy, so Maggie is in good hands.”
But Maggie, and viewers, soon learned that things were far from ok. Loren grimaced in pain, then admitted he might have broken rib from a seatbelt jamming him in the chest when they hit the ground. He then suddenly fell to the ground, keeling over in pain.
Maggie Lockwood saves Loren Johnson's life
Maggie retrieved the helicopter’s trauma bag, and when she lifted Loren's shirt to assess the injury, they discovered he was bleeding into his chest and needed to be decompressed immediately, a procedure Maggie had never done alone before. What was worse, the trauma bag didn't contain a chest tube kit, which is normally used to carry out the procedure.
“You’ve seen hundreds, I trust you,” Loren reassured her as he grimaced in pain and gasped for air. Maggie told him, “Hang in there, Loren,” as she used materials from a Cordis kit to sub in to drain the blood.
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“Nice job, we can both breathe a little easier,” Loren said, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Loren was losing a lot of blood, and help was still hours away. Back at the hospital, Hannah overheard Sharon Goodwin (S. Epatha Merkerson) on the phone with a rep from the search and rescue team and asked what was happening.
“It seems Dr. Johnson was more injured than he let on," Sharon explained. "Maggie got him stabilized, but now they’re running low on oxygen and blood. The SAR team is moving as fast as they can."
As night fell, Loren's strength faded and his body temperature dropped. “I’m really cold," Loren said. In a desperate attempt to keep him warm and alive, Maggie partially laid on top of him.
“Maggie, I messed up,” Loren told her. At first, Maggie thought he was referring to the crash, but the meaning of his words quickly became clear.
“The moment I met you, I was like, 'damn,'" Loren explained. "But you were married, and now you’re not. I kept waiting for this right moment to ask you out. Maggie, I shouldn’t have waited."
He then closed his eyes and appeared to drift into unconsciousness. As the search team approached in the distance, Maggie called his name, but Loren didn't respond.
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Luckily, Maggie and fans didn't have to say farewell to Loren. Later in the episode, the injured doctor was wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher, sitting up and smiling with Maggie by his side as the Chicago Med staff clapped and cheered over their return.
Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) congratulated Maggie on her quick thinking under pressure, exclaiming, “Chest tube out of a Cordis kit. Nice!” Maggie responded that she was just glad that Loren was alive.
Dr. Charles pointed out, "Humble in the face of victory. Classic hero behavior.”
At the very end of the episode, Maggie tended to Loren in his hospital bed as the pair smiled.
What has Marlyne Barrett said about Henderson Wade?
While Maggie and Loren are clearly sweet on each other, Henderson Wade, the actor who plays the handsome doctor, has also been turning some heads on set. "My makeup stylist on the show is in love with him," Barrett, who plays Maggie, told NBC Insider in an April 2024 interview. "So every time when I sit down on the makeup chair, there's a moment where I have to say, 'Hey... he's my love interest. Can we just stop this?'"
Of Wade, Barrett added, "I think he's just brought this new energy to the entire cast and he's a lot of fun to deal with. And on this episode specifically, we crash with the helicopter after an organ donation and unfortunately, [Loren] gets injured. And we have to deal with the sudden rush of emotions with the potential loss of his life, and I think it was done really, really tastefully."
Before Season 10 of Chicago Med starts up in the fall, repeats of Season 9 episodes will air through July 24 on NBC, Wednesdays at 8/7c p.m. All nine seasons of the show can also be found on Peacock, where every episode from 2015 to the present is streaming.
—Reporting by Jessica White
