Object
Chest Tube Tray
Sterile steel tray crashes into the G.W. hallway maelstrom, loaded with scalpels glinting sharp, forceps poised, and coiled tubing ready to pierce Josh's ravaged chest—no exit wound, lung collapsing in bloody froth. Nurses snatch it mid-sprint toward Trauma One as paramedics stabilize the shuddering gurney; C.J. shrieks raw horror, Leo and Gina transfixed while sirens wail the shift from manhunt shadows to gunshot desperation.
2 appearances
Purpose
Provides instruments for immediate thoracostomy to drain air and blood from pleural space, relieving tension pneumothorax in Josh's left-side penetrating gunshot trauma.
Significance
Ignites the brutal pivot from assassination conspiracy probes to White House inner circle's primal fight for Josh's life, Josh's delirious mutterings of 'Senator...' weaving political threat into the blood-soaked medical frenzy.
Appearances in the Narrative
When this object appears and how it's used