You treating me. How about a doctor improvi improvisi improvising . For this doctor thats another day at the office on mt. Everest. Saving a climbers life with whatever she had on hand or on foot. Were you making it up as you were going . Tonight, youll see that sometimes the smallest differences can make all the difference. The good doctors brilliance and bravery a special edition of 20 20. I need to get to san jose st. Bonaventure hospital. Reporter hes a hero unlike any other. It changed. Reporter dr. Sean murphy. The boys ecg changed. Reporter a brilliant, visionary surgeon. Lower amplitude means lower voltage. Reporter who just happens to have autism and savant syndrome. The veins in the boys left arm are popping. Reporter his condition leads to strokes of medical genius. His heart, its his heart. Reporter but also moments of awkwardness and alienation. Behave yourself or i will have you removed from the building. Reporter then, theres the skepticism and prejudices of a hospitals board and staff. And you genuinely thought the board wouldnt reasonably have any doubts about hiring a surgeon whos been diagnosed with autism . Yes, he has autism. But he has spate shl intelligence and he sees things, he analyzes things in ways that we cant even begin to understand. Reporter this may be the first time a doctor with a severe disability is the lead of a primetime drama, but its certainly not the first time such a doctor has put on scrubs in real life. Imagine if your doctor couldnt see . Dr. Tim cordes of wisconsin is blind, but hes able to identify irregular heartbeats without a stethoscope because of his advanced hearing. What if your doctor who couldnt hear . Dr. Philip zazove of michigan is deaf, but hes able to use a stethoscope because hes hypersensitive to vibration. He also reads lips to communicate. This lock in the knees. They are both locked in place. Those two . Reporter or how would you react if you thought your surgeon was unable to stand over the operating table . And i have a belt in here. Reporter before you answer, meet dr. Chris mcculloh of the Morristown Medical Center in new jersey. Wow reporter his 20,000 standing wheelchair a feat of engineering. I didnt know chris, but youre pretty tall. Im 63, but that actually becomes more of a challenge. Reporter enabling this thirdyear general surgery resident to do something so remarkable, only a handful of paralyzed doctors in the country can do it stand. How many times a day do you do this . Five, six times a day. Reporter chris had always wanted to be a surgeon, but his medical career was almost over before it began. I had already been accepted to medical school. What happened . I was standing up from being seated at my desk. And i slipped, and my whole body went up and i came crashing down. Im 63, 200 pounds of me landed on the edge of a think glass coffee table. My head snapped backwards and i broke the vertebra in my neck. I knew when i couldnt move my legs that something was wrong. In the back of my mind i was, i was yelling please dont let me be paralyzed, id rather be dead. Really, you actually thought that . Oh yeah. I thought my life was over. Reporter the onetime avid skier underwent months of rehabilitation strengthening his body, rebuilding his resolve. When i got to rehab they said, youre probably never gonna walk again, and i said, oh they dont know what theyre talking about. Reporter chris made it through medical school, and eventually learned that his socalled disability actually plays to his advantage. When he comes into the room at a level thats more of a patients level. You mean, literally . At eye level. And that helps a lot. Reporter in fact, one Study Suggests patients perceive doctors to be giving them more quality time when the doctor is sitting during consults, instead of standing. So you think the fact that hes lower, actually, really helps. Yes, because that he is lower and a lot of it is his innate personality. Reporter but right now its all about chriss skill as a surgeon, not his bedside manner. We watch as he heads in to assist on a double mastectomy supported by his hydraulic wheelchair. It levels the playing field. I can get to everyones level and get to the table like everyone else. I dont want to be treated differently than anybody else or ask for any different accommodations or ask for anyone to do things differently. So, this thing allowed your dreams to come true . It did. It absolutely did. I think it certainly gives me the opportunity to connect with patients. They look and they can see very visibly that ive been in the bed. I know whats like. Youre a nice kid, but you dont belong here. How many times was that said to you . More than i can count. Reporter tyler sextons journey from patient to doctor has been one long uphill battle. He suffers from spastic diplegia. It is a form of cerebral palsy, a chronic neuromuscular condition that affects balance, as well as movement below the waist. But, his condition effects more than his legs. Did the disease also affect your eyes . Theres no visual impairment at all but, there is a lazy eye is the common term. So, yes. Reporter an obstacle that has tripped up this good doctor since he was born six weeks premature. The doctor called us in and he said he will definitely be physically disabled and may never get out of a wheelchair. He will probably be mentally disabled. Doctors would tell me that i wouldnt amount to anything. That i could sharpen pencils for a living. Doctors told you that . Yes. Reporter when tyler was 3, he got his first walker but he still had trouble keeping his balance. You broke bones because you fell so much. Correct. Ive broken almost every bone in my body. Major bones, from knees to wrists, to ankles, i use to fall from four to six times a day. Reporter but, instead of giving up, he kept getting up. Needing help with his own two legs, he turned to someone with four, this is danny, tylers service dog. So youre using his body weight to keep yourself from falling . Correct. Because the way i walk my body, is it goes back and forth. Reporter tyler says there were years growing up when the teasing was relentless. It got so bad that i would pretend that i was blind, and nobody would mess with the blind guy. Reporter tyler says he could handle the taunts from other kids, but the discouragement from adults is what threw him off balance. I had an interview at this medical school, and he looked at me. He said, you will never be a doctor. And i said, why . He said, cause they wont come to you. Did you start to rethink your commitment to becoming a doctor . I will tell you that i was broken. Reporter broken but not beaten, he applied to a dozen medical schools in the United States, and despite having straight as, every Single School rejected him. Still, he refused to accept that patients would shun him. He just needed that degree. You did manage to get into a medical school i did. Outside the country. I did. I went to the university of Sint Eustatius school of medicine on an island of statia. Reporter a small medical school in the middle of the caribbean. Tyler graduated in 2011, and was surprised when a hospital back in the states was willing to take him on for his residency. The kind of support dr. Shaun murphy finds in the good doctor. We hire shaun, and we make this hospital better for it. We hire shaun and we are better people for it. I could give you a list of the doctors that did believe in me. The good doctors. How in the World Medical schools passed on him . Is incomprehensible. They missed out on a rock star. Now the head of pediatrics at this hospital in mississippi, tyler says most of his patients are kids with special needs of their own, theyve never objected to a doctor with a service dog. And as for those College Advisers who told him people would not want him as their doctor. Have you ever had a single patient tell you, i dont want you treating me . Never. Not once. Matter of fact, they ask for me. Without dr. Sexton we dont know where wed be we were so grateful to find him dr. Sexton is a pediatric god. Reporter to make his young patients feel at ease, he wears superhero tshirts. Do you have one of those tshirts on every single day . Every day. And i teach kids that theyre Something Special and theyre super. Were all handicapped. Mine, the world can see, but were all struggling with something, and my disability gives me credibility. Next, he can turn an Airline Terminal into a makeshift o. R. She can do the same on the side of mt. Everest. Saving a life. I felt like hes going to die. With makedo medicine. We used viagra. Viagra . When we come back. More, more, more how do you like it how do you like it more, more, more how do you like it how do you like it more, more, more how do you like it how do you like your love uh, oh, oh how do like it tell me how you like it how do you like it more, more, more not for me, for you. Aveeno® positively radiant 60 second inshower facial. Works with steam to reveal glowing skin in just one minute. Aveeno® naturally beautiful results® but on the inside, i feel chronic, widespread pain. Like most people. Fibromyalgia may be invisible to others, but my pain is real. Fibromyalgia is thought to be caused by overactive nerves. Lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. Im glad my doctor prescribed lyrica. For some, lyrica delivers effective relief for moderate to even severe fibromyalgia pain. And improves function. Lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions, suicidal thoughts or actions. Tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worse depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. Common side effects dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain, swelling of hands, legs and feet. Dont drink alcohol while taking lyrica. Dont drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. Those whove had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. With less pain, i can do more with my family. Talk to your doctor today. See if lyrica can help. [bullfighting music] [burke] billygoat ruffians. Seen it. Covered it. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum if yyour todo list is crazy. Which is why the Online Finance application at carmax. Com is so convenient. Get some of that finance stuff done from wherever you are, like at the doctor, karate or. Back at the doctor. Ha ha ha, yay kids except for every ladies night. Vegetarian. Only glad has forceflex to prevent rips, leaks, and punctures. So whatever you throw in the bag. Stays in the bag. Be happy, its glad. Perfect. Little boxes in the food store built with food dyes and syrups so we end up made of ticky tacky and we all feel just the same but what if all the little boxes were only made with good things like fruits, nuts and spices only real food all the same larabar food made from food. We continue with this special edition of 20 20. Once again, elizabeth vargas. Reporter when a fluke airport accident nearly takes a young boys life, dr. Murphy springs into action. Excuse me. Reporter with no available surgical tools, hes forced to rely on what he can find a box cutter for a scalpel, some dutyfree bourbon for sterilization, and plastic tubing for a pump. Saving a boy from a collapsed lung. He saved his life. Reporter that singular skill is known as improvised medicine and dr. Luanne freer is one the few realworld physicians who make it their practice. There are just a handful of us physicians who find this great challenge and its just a real turnon to be able to macgyver, you know, a way to deal with an emergency. How to get somebody better when you dont have all the equipment. Reporter here at mt. Everest, the worlds tallest, known to locals as goddess mother of the world, sits a tented clinic so isolated. Medical improvisation is a must. Dr. Luanne freer has acquired the skills of a virtuoso. Freer, a wilderness enthusiast, launched this place 14 years ago. It sits nearly 18,000 feet high on the side of the mountain and its open two months each spring, when hundreds of people come from around the world, to try and summit mt. Everest. In her time, freer has fashioned a stretcher from coiled rope a tarp. Shes set broken bones with trekking poles. Too much pain . Reporter shes even extracted teeth with pliers from the local sherpa guides. Yeah, its pretty rooted in there. Reporter but its the visiting climbers who usually need the most serious attention. This is a deadly and has been a deadly adventure for many people. Tragedies happen every year, our bodies are not designed to live in this austere environment. Theres no oxygen, the conditions are brutal. Reporter so brutal that nearing the 29,029foot summit, oxygen ceases to exist. Its an area called the death zone. By far the greatest risk to climbers is High Altitude pulmonary edema, or hape reduced oxygen in the air causes some blood vessels in the lungs to dangerously constrict. The pressure causes those vessels to leak, filling the airways with blood, making breathing difficult, even impossible. But perhaps dr. Freers greatest macgyver episode happened when crossed paths with joe and liz hughes. Avid mountaineers, the couple met while climbing a mountain in south africa. Although deny it was love at first height. No. It was friendship yes. Kindred spirit. Youre doing something thats very dangerous. We watched out for each other. Both were experienced climbers. They felt like they were destined to be together, though it also seemed they would never hear little footsteps behind them. You didnt even think you could get pregnant it wasnt supposed to be in the cards for me. Reporter but conquering mt. Everest was, and the couple vowed to do it as a team. It can be the most incredible experience but it its also a killer. People die there. Yes. Were you fully aware of the risks . Did it make you give give it a Second Thought at all . Of course, theres always, you know, doubt and some fear, but i was up for the challenge and i was ready to do it. You gamed the risks and figured out this exactly. Is worth the risk . Its worth the risk. Reporter after six months of intensive training, they set off in the spring of 2004. Their plans quickly went awry. When was the first time you met them . They came to meet me because they were concerned because liz kept getting dizzy and passing out. What did you think as you examined her and talked to her . I thought, wow, we better just make sure that you couldnt be pregnant cause pregnancy can cause you to feel a little bit dizzy and woozy. She diagnosed me pregnant on the mountain. And you had no idea no idea. And it shocks me to this day to even think about it, yeah. Wow. Reporter the news, thrilling, the timing, not so much. About to be a mother, liz knew this climb of a lifetime was over. Did you tell her she should descend immediately . I did. We both cried a little bit. Reporter joe was so overjoyed, he proposed on the spot. I said, do you want me to come . And she was like, no, i cant let this stop your lifes dream. Reporter as liz headed home to the states, joe pushed on, scaling 21,000 feet up the side of mt. Everest. Along the way, he had been making recordings for students back home who were following his everest adventure. For the past four days weve been sitting in base camp and it feels like forever. When you sit you get weaker, your muscles start to get tight. Reporter now, suddenly feeling weak he makes what would be his last dispatch. But i dig deep. I pushed so hard that i collapsed. And this morning all i want to do is sleep. All of a sudden, im feeling like i cant breathe. Im feeling tired. I feel like im working hard. But in my mind, im climbing mt. Everest. Youre supposed to feel like this. Reporter a film crew on the mountain turns its lens on joe who can no longer walk without help. Tantalizingly close to the summit, his lifelong dream slips away as an emergency call goes out. American climber joe hughes has to be helped and often carried down over 5,000 feet vertical feet past the treacherous khumbu icefall. We got reports from other climbers past the falls, that this guy doesnt look so goods. Reporter fearing the worst, luanne sends sherpas with a stretcher to help bring joe down the mountain. Blood is beginning to flood joes lungs, his life is slipping away, but instead of being wheeled into a hospital hes being carried into a this tent. And it require the daring, improvisational medicine of dr. Freer and a big dose of good fortune for joe to make it home alive. Stay with us. Was for langoustine ravioli. A langoustine is a tiny kind of lobster. A slight shellfish allergy rules that out, plus my wife ordered the langoustine. I will have chicken tenders and tater tots. If youre a ref, you way overexplain things. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on Car Insurance you switch to geico. Sir, we dont have tater tots. Its what you do. I will have nachos her hairs a hot mess. Her eyes are like. Oh, im late for work. I have to go. Your dunkin doesnt make you, you, but it helps. Dunkin donuts coffee. Pick some up where you buy groceries. Seeof apt. 9t new look versatile stylish comfortable apt. 9 smart styles designed for 9 to 9 only at kohls plus take an extra 20 off when you spend 100 or more. Youll get kohls cash too. Right now during kohls fall style event. Kohls whats new from light and fit . Greek nonfat yogurt with zero artificial sweeteners. Real fruit and 90 calories. Youll be wowed try new light fit with zero artificial sweeteners. girl . On it. Found it imitating explosion okay, so lets. Stop. Dont mess it up squeaking ahhhh eeee all right. chuckle nice come on, dad, lets go for those who know what theyre really building. Always unstoppable. For those who know what theyre really building. Dude. Yodude. Unchings stheyre just jealous. Kelloggs raisin bran crunch with crunchy clusters and the taste of apples and strawberries. I got one guess were having cereal for dinner. Kelloggs raisin bran crunch apple strawberry. Not necessarily after 3 toddlers with boundless energy. But lower back pain wont stop him from keeping up. Because at a dr. Scholls kiosk he got a recommendation for our best custom fit orthotic to relieve his foot, knee, or lower back pain, from being on his feet. By reducing shock and stress on his body with every step. So look out world, dads taking charge. Dr. Scholls. Born to move. Reporter joe hughes never thought hed be here inside of a clinic, on the face of mt. Everest. Suffering from High Altitude pulmonary edema, with his new fiancee and unborn child. Waiting for him to come home. The calls stopped and i was trying not to think the worst. Reporter theres only one person who can save him, dr. Luanne freer, and from her makeshift everest e. R. , shes about to give a master class in medical improvisation documented by a film crew. What was his condition when he finally did arrive, carried into your tent . He he was gravely ill. He was blue, he was gasp