It’s not every day you get to see a heart transplant, but when shooting the eighth episode of “Saving Hope,” the cast got to see just that, albeit with a rubber heart.

There was still just as much blood, and sutures and there was even a real life cardiac surgeon standing with the actors in scrubs.

“We were lucky enough to have Dr. Daniel Lodge come in,” gushes Julia Taylor Ross who plays surgical resident Maggie. “He’s a cardiac surgeon and he talked us through everything that we were doing and even did some of the hand doubling work, which was incredible to watch. It’s an awe-inspiring surgery.”

To prepare for the heart transplant surgery, Michelle Nolden, who plays Charlie’s ex-wife, cardiac surgeon Dawn Bell, ditched the textbooks and decided to head into an O.R.

“I actually went to see a quadruple bypass surgery and it blew my mind,” says Nolden, who stood right behind the operating surgeons. “I didn’t know if I was going to pass out, but I was fine. I was gob-smacked. It was amazing,” she gushes.

And, she admits, it didn’t feel all that much different than being on set. “They’ve paid so much attention to detail (on the ‘Saving Hope’ set), you really do feel like you’re in a hospital. Pretending is not a huge leap.”

And the surgery did more than just get Nolden ready for shooting the heart transplant scene, it inspired her. “It was one of the highlights, not just of the show, but of my career, being there to see open heart surgery. It was amazing.”

Alex vs. Dawn

Not only do Alex and Dawn go head to head over Charlie’s care in this episode, they also both scrub in on the heart transplant, making for some pretty intense tension in the operating room.

“It’s palpable!” says Taylor Ross. “It was really catty in just the right ways. It’s nice that it’s two people who are trying to save a life with this other story about what Charlie’s going through. It’s a whole bag of drama!”
“The actors are so good that if I didn’t know it was scripted, I would’ve thought it was real. They’re both so committed to it,” says Salvatore Antonio, who plays Victor, the scrub nurse. “Because of the history of these two, there’s so many layers of this surgeries!”

And the history and tension really comes to a head in this episode as Dawn decides to sign Charlie’s Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. “Dawn decides to fight for the fact that Charlie should die with dignity, so she goes to the Consent and Capacity Board,” explains Nolden, but adds during the heart transplant surgery, they continue to fight even though they have to work together.

“I think it’s a recurring theme,” says Nolden. “They love or have loved the same man. I think they’re alike in a lot of ways.”

“I win the right to use Charlie’s DNR and we decide to pull the plug,” says Nolden. “It sounds like Dawn might be happy that she won, but I think it’s all just incredibly sad for everybody.”

What happens to Charlie now?

So what will happen to Charlie now that Dawn has insisted his ventilator be unplugged?

“I love the idea of watching and not knowing, even though I’m there at the readings (of each script),” says Taylor Ross. “But I’ve thought of things like (maybe) he turns into a beautiful angel,” she laughs.

“I will say that part of what this show is about is the human spirit and how that persists and prevails and I think we’ll probably see that with Charlie,” reflects Nolden.

Kristopher Turner, who plays Gavin, the psych resident, says, “Now it’s up to Charlie to step up. Though can you step up as a coma victim and get yourself out of it?” he asks with a laugh.

“I think there’s going to be more to this coma that what we know so far. I think what is really going on with Charlie will be revealed. And I suspect some surprises…”