Diksha Sundriyal
Paramount+’s ‘Little Disasters’ focuses on the case of an infant named Betsy who is brought to the hospital by her mother, Jess, in a critical state. Jess brought her after she wouldn’t stop crying, only to realise that her situation is much more than previously imagined. It turns out that Betsy has sustained severe injuries, of which Jess claims she had been entirely unaware. It leads the doctor, Liz, who is also Jess’ friend, to call the social services because she is concerned that something bad happened to the child and her mother is not being truthful. As the investigation proceeds, the holes in Jess’ story come to light, but at the same time, the threat on Betsy’s life persists. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Betsy Fights for Her Life While the Mystery of Her Injuries Unravels
When Jess takes Betsy to Thames Bank Hospital, she thinks the baby is crying because she is running a fever or something similar. However, the doctors find out that she has bruised ribs, and a CT scan reveals that her skull is fractured as well. Jess claims that she fell earlier that day when she was trying to stand up, but the nature of the injuries is not consistent with the story. By the end, it turns out that Betsy did fall, but it was worse than what Jess described. She fell from the table, which, though only a couple of feet high, was dangerous enough to give her the injuries that put her life at risk. Had she been taken to the hospital immediately, she could have received the necessary care, and things might not have gotten so bad. However, it wasn’t until five hours later that she was driven to the hospital, and by then, she was in so much pain that it showed in her cries. At the hospital, she receives the best care possible, but Liz confesses to Jess that the next 48 hours are critical.
Fortunately, things go well, at least in the beginning. But then, Betsy has a seizure. This is the first of many, and it lasts 20 minutes. The situation is so bad that it makes Jess wonder if she should shift her child to a different doctor who will take better care of her daughter. But Liz tells her that it happens in the cases of head trauma. That, however, doesn’t make anything easier, as the danger to Betsy’s life continues to loom. As if her daughter’s situation wasn’t enough to keep her on edge, Jess also suffers from anxiety caused by her intrusive thoughts about Betsy’s death. When the social services are called, she thinks about running away from the hospital with Betsy, but worries that the moment she steps out, the child will be killed by an oncoming ambulance. When she is allowed to see Betsy, she thinks about choking the child with a soft toy. It turns out that these thoughts are not new. Jess has had them since Betsy was born, which helps shed light on the events of the day Betsy was injured.
While it seems for a moment that she will not survive, Betsy starts to recover slowly and steadily. Her seizures slowly start to get less intense, decreasing in duration with each turn until they disappear entirely. This indicates that she is making great progress, even if it may not be immediately apparent. While she recovers, her family falls apart as her mother is accused of child endangerment. As Jess prepares for the trial, whose date is not set, Betsy is discharged from the hospital. She is allowed to stay with her father, who has to take care of her because Jess is only allowed supervised visits. Despite Jess’ absence, Ed takes good care of their daughter, who starts to recuperate slowly but steadily. By the end of the season, she is well on her way to going back to the way she was. She still has to recover by a considerable extent, but she is strong enough that no one needs to worry about her constantly. She has successfully survived the events that could have so easily killed her.
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