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Whac-A-Mole (House)
Encyclopedia
"Whac-A-Mole" is the eighth episode of the third season of House
and the fifty-fourth episode overall.
) has a heart attack
while working at a kid's playplace, House and his team discover that he has a series of infections all at the same time. They must find out what is causing this bizarre infection and stop it before Jack dies - leaving his 11-year-old sister Kama and 8-year-old brother Will alone to fend for themselves. House first gives each member of his team one test to do on the patient, while writing his diagnosis on a piece of paper and sealing it in an envelope and giving them three hours to decide. Foreman runs an MRI, Chase does a blood culture for bacteria, and Cameron decides to play House's game and doesn't tell anyone.
House finds out Jack has Hepatitis A. They treat him for it, and he gets better from that, but starts bleeding out of his arm, ear and nose. Foreman extracts some spinal fluid, and when he turns the patient back onto his back, the patient's rib breaks. The team members each run their own tests and find he has osteomyelitis
. They find he tests positive for syphilis
(Foreman's diagnosis), eikenella corrodens (Cameron's diagnosis) and botulism
(Chase's diagnosis). They clear all the infections out of his system, but he starts having seizures every few hours. House suspects drugs may still be left in his system from when he used drugs before his parent's died, so they put him in a sauna to have him sweat it out. However, his blood test is negative for drugs. The team does an MRI scan on his head to look for possible causes for the seizures, and find 20 odd tumors all over his brain.
House then thinks the tumors may just be pus, which would explain why they grew so suddenly. The antibiotics for the infections along with the IVIG created a good environment for the fungus. The team draws fluid from the patient's head. They find abscesses from aspergillus
, a fungal infection, but they don't know what caused this.
Eventually House and his team diagnose the case and determine that he needs a bone marrow
transplant. Kama is not a match, but Will is. Jack tells Foreman he will take the transplant when Will is 18 and can legally decide if he wants to do this, even though Foreman repeatedly assures him that there is minimal risk to him. House then deduces that the patient won't take the transfusion because he cannot shoulder the responsibility of taking care of his two siblings, seeing as he is only 18. The episode ends with Kama and Will being led away from the brother and, most likely, into a foster care system. Foreman tells the patient that he'll change his mind in the future. The patient then says "I don't think so" to which Foreman replies "It's what I want to believe."
Wilson's car is impounded by the police at the beginning of the episode because of the ongoing narcotics investigation of House. Wilson consults a lawyer about his car, who recommends that Wilson drop House before he follows him. Meanwhile, tension between House and Wilson rises as Wilson has lost his license to prescribe medicine and House makes little effort to help. The episode ends with Wilson waiting at the bus stop as House drives by on his motorcycle.
Throughout the episode House experiences pain in his shoulder, believing it to be from using his cane improperly. He asks all of his team members, at separate times, to prescribe him vicodin
, which they refuse because he is under a police investigation. Cuddy eventually gives him a prescription, but tells him the pain in his shoulder is psychological, which Wilson later claims is a result of House's conscience.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and the fifty-fourth episode overall.
Plot
When 18-year-old orphan Jack (Patrick FugitPatrick Fugit
Patrick Raymond Fugit is an American actor best known for his debut performance in the lead role of Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous.-Career:...
) has a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while working at a kid's playplace, House and his team discover that he has a series of infections all at the same time. They must find out what is causing this bizarre infection and stop it before Jack dies - leaving his 11-year-old sister Kama and 8-year-old brother Will alone to fend for themselves. House first gives each member of his team one test to do on the patient, while writing his diagnosis on a piece of paper and sealing it in an envelope and giving them three hours to decide. Foreman runs an MRI, Chase does a blood culture for bacteria, and Cameron decides to play House's game and doesn't tell anyone.
House finds out Jack has Hepatitis A. They treat him for it, and he gets better from that, but starts bleeding out of his arm, ear and nose. Foreman extracts some spinal fluid, and when he turns the patient back onto his back, the patient's rib breaks. The team members each run their own tests and find he has osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis simply means an infection of the bone or bone marrow...
. They find he tests positive for syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
(Foreman's diagnosis), eikenella corrodens (Cameron's diagnosis) and botulism
Botulism
Botulism also known as botulinus intoxication is a rare but serious paralytic illness caused by botulinum toxin which is metabolic waste produced under anaerobic conditions by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and affecting a wide range of mammals, birds and fish...
(Chase's diagnosis). They clear all the infections out of his system, but he starts having seizures every few hours. House suspects drugs may still be left in his system from when he used drugs before his parent's died, so they put him in a sauna to have him sweat it out. However, his blood test is negative for drugs. The team does an MRI scan on his head to look for possible causes for the seizures, and find 20 odd tumors all over his brain.
House then thinks the tumors may just be pus, which would explain why they grew so suddenly. The antibiotics for the infections along with the IVIG created a good environment for the fungus. The team draws fluid from the patient's head. They find abscesses from aspergillus
Aspergillus
Aspergillus is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. Aspergillus was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli...
, a fungal infection, but they don't know what caused this.
Eventually House and his team diagnose the case and determine that he needs a bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
transplant. Kama is not a match, but Will is. Jack tells Foreman he will take the transplant when Will is 18 and can legally decide if he wants to do this, even though Foreman repeatedly assures him that there is minimal risk to him. House then deduces that the patient won't take the transfusion because he cannot shoulder the responsibility of taking care of his two siblings, seeing as he is only 18. The episode ends with Kama and Will being led away from the brother and, most likely, into a foster care system. Foreman tells the patient that he'll change his mind in the future. The patient then says "I don't think so" to which Foreman replies "It's what I want to believe."
Wilson's car is impounded by the police at the beginning of the episode because of the ongoing narcotics investigation of House. Wilson consults a lawyer about his car, who recommends that Wilson drop House before he follows him. Meanwhile, tension between House and Wilson rises as Wilson has lost his license to prescribe medicine and House makes little effort to help. The episode ends with Wilson waiting at the bus stop as House drives by on his motorcycle.
Throughout the episode House experiences pain in his shoulder, believing it to be from using his cane improperly. He asks all of his team members, at separate times, to prescribe him vicodin
Vicodin
Hydrocodone/paracetamol is a combination of two analgesic products hydrocodone and paracetamol used to relieve moderate to severe pain...
, which they refuse because he is under a police investigation. Cuddy eventually gives him a prescription, but tells him the pain in his shoulder is psychological, which Wilson later claims is a result of House's conscience.