When Grandma has a sudden illness Mary Ellen offers a diagnosis based on the symptoms, but when Grandma gets worse and is rushed to the hospital in an emergency Mary Ellen learns a harsh lesson from the doctors and a tender lesson from Grandma; meanwhile, Erin gets a job as a phone operator and abandons her post during the family emergency, and John-Boy focuses on his newspaper editorial about the local doctor who is looking to leave the area due to patients not paying their bills.