Watching House

Man - don’t get sick … I promised a recap for Wednesday and look how long it’s been. I’m sorry!

Ok here goes …

Fetal Position Originally aired: Tuesday April 3, 2007 on FOX, Season Three

Emma, a pregnant photographer arrives at a photo shoot for rock star Tyson Ritter, but she can’t read the writing on a prop chalk board. She’s starts slurring her speech and says she’s having a stroke before passing out.

Cut to the hospital where House visits Emma, who is lying in her hospital bed. He runs some tests and determines her kidneys have shut down, and resolves to find the underlying cause of the stroke. Emma is interested in taking photos of House, and the staff is interested in House’s photo. House has the staff run tests to determine if she has a clot in her heart, while he discusses his vacation plans, and Cameron wonders why House didn’t say anything about seeing her and Chase together. They confirm House’s diagnoses and prepare to put in a balloon to clear the clot.

The staff clears the clot but Emma’s kidneys are still shut down and the staff runs various diagnoses. They come up with five possible conditions but they all test negative. House confronts Emma and warns that there’s something wrong with the fetus.

It’s back to the white board where House explains that explains the fetus is dying and could take the mother with it. House decides to paralyze the fetus and Cuddy confronts him on it. He tells her that Cameron and Chase are making out in the hospital, then agrees to let House get Emma’s consent… and accompanies him. Emma agrees and Cuddy reassures her that House is the person to handle the situation. The subsequent tests show the bladder is four times normal size because of a urinary tract and Cuddy takes over the case. She talks to Cameron about her dating Chase and warns that Chase won’t be the one to get hurt.

Cameron finds House relaxing in a hyperbaric chamber and building up his tolerance for high pressures for his upcoming vacation, and she confronts him about talking to Cuddy. He ducks the matter while Cuddy tells Emma about the treatment they have planned to relieve the pressure on the fetus’ bladder. She then finds House in her office and he questions her diagnosis of bladder blockage, warning the first two tests will be inconclusive. He suggests that Cuddy is sympathizing with Emma as their both older women having a baby through insemination. Cuddy decides to hand the case back to House.

The third test proves positive and Chase gives the results to Emma, who is thankful things will turn out okay. Emma realizes that Chase is having an affair with Cameron. They prepare to treat the baby but discover she is jaundiced and her liver is shutting down. House believes the fetus “lied�? and the urinary tract infection is just a sign of something else. With time running out, House suggests there is only one sure cure: to deliver the baby at 21 weeks, two weeks earlier than when it is viable. House breaks the news to Emma and she wants to wait the two weeks, but House warns she won’t last two days. She refuses to have an abortion and demands House fix it so they can both live.

House goes to Cuddy who refuses to go to Emma and back House. It’s back to differential diagnosis with Cuddy running the board. Cuddy suggests a treatment and Cameron reluctantly backs her, suggesting they go through the veins in the neck to get to the liver. House mentions Cameron and Chase are dating out, much to Foreman’s surprise. They go with it while Cuddy suggests that an unenthusiastic House go on vacation. Chase and Foreman go with the procedure but the fetus’ heart rate drops and Emma goes into pre-term labor. They manage to get the contractions to subside but warn they’ll have to remove the fetus. Cuddy insists on finding the problem and suggests they have to check the undeveloped lungs. Cuddy suggests they use steroids to increase the lung growth and the staff refuse. Cuddy goes off to do it and Emma has another seizure. Wilson goes in to suggest it’s time to terminate and Cuddy tells him to help or get out.

Later a concerned Cuddy goes to Wilson and admits that everyone was right and Emma’s lungs are shutting down. She wants to know what House would do if he was in her position, and Cuddy concludes that Emma doesn’t need her lungs because she’s on a machine, so she’s put the fetus back on steroids. Cuddy goes to House who is packing for his vacation and agrees to look at the tests now that the baby’s lungs have expanded. They go back to the hospital and try to figure out a way to examine the lungs more thoroughly. They finally decide to do exploratory surgery and explain things to Emma. She agrees and they take her into surgery where House is present for the operation. During the operation the baby’s hand emerges and briefly grasps House’s hand. They find lesions in the baby’s lungs but Emma goes into defib. House prepares to cut the umbilical but Cuddy insists on applying the paddles until Emma revives.

House informs Emma that the baby is now fine and Emma thanks him. House tells her to thank Cuddy because he would have killed the kid. Chase meets with Cameron who notices a photo that Emma took of him, one that shows him “glowing,�? from earlier when he was talking about Cameron. Cuddy gives House a ticket for a vacation in Canada and he tells her she made the wrong call and got lucky. Cuddy is fine with her decision and tells him to go get happy. House goes home and rips up the ticket, then takes the phone off the hook and settles down for a night of television and Vicodin… while he considers where the baby touched him. Much later, Emma is hanging up photos of the staff and taking care of her baby at her home.

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