Then the nurses testified. Carol Brennan was magnificent. She did not sound emotional. She sounded competent, which in a hearing like that is far more dangerous to the defense. She described Ethan’s appearance, vital signs, level of distress, protective positioning, and the concerns she raised with Vance. She explained how often abdominal catastrophes begin in exactly the sort of presentation Ethan had. She described Vance’s dismissive response without embellishment and, by doing so, made it sound even worse.
“In twenty-six years as an emergency nurse,” she said, “I have learned to distinguish between manipulation and genuine distress. Mr. Mills appeared genuinely ill. His vital signs were concerning. His pain behavior was consistent with acute abdominal pathology. I raised those concerns. Dr. Vance did not act on them.”
David Kim’s notes backed her up. So did the third nurse’s testimony. The pattern inside that one shift became impossible to ignore: multiple staff members saw the seriousness. One physician overruled them all based on his own prejudgment.