House Episode Recap: Lines in the Sand (HOU-304)
Official Teaser:
When three previous doctors are not able to diagnose why a severely autistic boy screams loudly for no apparent reason, House takes the case. Although the boy isn’t sick, it becomes obvious to the team that House relates to the boy because he can’t lie.
Recap: (after the jump)
Dad is working with Adam, our young autistic patient. His vision is blurry, and he’s not focusing on what Dad is telling him. Break for lunch… mom and dad are a bit stressed… and Adam’s choking on his mac-n-cheese.
In the office and House is presenting the case. Three other physicians have dismissed Adam’s case. Foreman also thinks it’s nothing more than sensory overload, but House is ready to believe the parents: Wall Street broker and accounting partner who both quit to take care of Adam full time. 10 years of screams, and this is the first time they’ve brought him to the doctor. House sends the team off to run tests, and he throws a fit about getting his old carpet back… the one with his blood stain on it.
Foreman insists on interrupting Adam’s video game to get him in the MRI. He’s successful, but it’s hardly worth the meltdown. Meanwhile, House is bored stiff in the clinic: a lady who pooped something weird; a guy whose back STOPPED hurting; and our Lolita from a couple weeks back. Ooh! Someone forgot to tell her you don’t need to strip in order for the doctor to listen to your lungs. Hmmm….
First round of tests are negative, and House is staging a sit in at the clinic. So, House announces the next step for all to hear: “Stool sample!” While waiting for Adam to finish his level (Foreman’s a quick learner.) he, Adam, coughs up a bunch of fluid.
House has moved into Wilson’s office now, where he’s mocking the sundry sentimental junk that’s strewn about. Now it’s time to rule out a heart defect. Adam freaks, but the test results reveal a conduction problem. Next option: cancer
Now House is in a conference room… at the same time Cuddy has is booked. She wants a word about House’s stalker girlfriend, and Foreman passes the lymph node biopsy off on Wilson. Again, Adam freaks, so House steps in with some monkey-see-monkey-do. He puts the mask on, and Adam chills. Mom and Dad think this is huge.
The biopsy is negative for cancer, but that’s not the most interesting bit: The lymph cells removed from under his arm aren’t lymph cells: their liver cells!
House: “Interesting. Wonder what he’s got where his liver’s supposed to be?”
OK, House is back in Wilson’s office, where he continues to push Wilson’s stuff into the trash. House thinks the liver is damaged despite the lack of evidence. Since cirrhosis explains the symptoms, House wants to prove the evidence wrong.
Into Cuddy’s office, where the stool sample is back. It turns up… well, stool… and calcium carbonate. The liver’s damaged, but not cirrhosis. So, House is thinking a toxin for some sort.
Uh oh! Adam’s heart is giving out. Off to the ICU for him. Meanwhile, Lolita is waiting for House in the parking garage. Just when it looks like House might be stupid, Cuddy steps in. Maybe next time.
Back from Adam’s house, and Foreman has found gypsum weed under the jungle gym. Perhaps Adam’s been having a bad trip? Problem is the treatment has serious conflicts with his autism, so it’s time to be sure. House takes the obvious approach: Ask the severely autistic boy who doesn’t communicate. Well, using his usual charms, House gets Adam to pick out a picture from the line up. Unfortunately, he doesn’t pick the gypsum weed. He picks the sandbox… and then his eye rolls back into his head.
Now, House is holding court in the chapel, where Foreman steps up with an idea: micro tumors. He wants to scan Adam’s brain, and, if necessary, remove his eye.
Cuddy’s back, and she’s got Lolita locked up in her office. House is reciting Casablanca to her, and she begins to cry… milky tears. Turns out there was an earthquake when she and dad were in Fresno; and she’s inhaled some sort of spore that suppresses inhibitions.
House is hanging in Adam’s old room, when the wave toy gives him an idea. He barges into the operating room: “Don’t touch his eye.” Whoops! Wrong operating room; this is an appendectomy. Adam’s surgery was bumped, which is good, because House wants to look in Adam’s eyes.
Bingo! Parasites! Turns out Adam wasn’t the only one playing in the sandbox. Raccoons have been visiting, too, and certain raccoon worms aren’t excreted in the stool. Case solved.
Meanwhile, Wilson has homed in on why House is so interested in the case. He reads Cuddy the definition of Asperger’s Syndrome, a mild form of autism that in many ways sounds remarkably like House. Wilson theorizes that House sees himself in Adam. On their way out, House notes mom and dad are a bit subdued considering that their son was just brought back from the brink of death. Adam stops, shuffles over to House, and gives him his video game. Mom and dad are overjoyed.
…and House gets his old, blood-stained carpet back.
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POSTED IN: House Episodes, House Recaps
2 opinions for House Episode Recap: Lines in the Sand (HOU-304)
Melody
Oct 7, 2006 at 6:24 am
I loved this episode. As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I love to see the media portray our favorite characters (i.e. House) relating to people like those in our families. Well done. (Even before I saw this episode I wondered if House might possibly be slightly aspergerish!) Even more, I like it when others can get a taste of what affect autism has within families living the experience, because it is difficult to explain in words. Dr. House seems more human than ever. Thank you!
John
Dec 17, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The last moment was beautiful :)
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