Acceptance (House)

House (TV series) episode
episode_name = Acceptance
episode_no = HOU-201
airdate = September 13, 2005
writer = Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner
director = Dan Attias
guest_star = LL Cool J as Clarence


diagnosis = Methanol poisoning and pheochromocytoma
season = 2

Acceptance is the first episode of the second season of "House" and the twenty-third episode overall. A death row inmate is felled by an unknown disease and House volunteers to investigate, over the objections of most of the staff. House also has to deal with Stacy, who is working closely with him. Cameron takes over some of House's clinic hours, and ends up with her own patient to deal with.

Plot

Clarence (LL Cool J), an inmate on death row starts seeing hallucinations of the people he killed -- his girlfriend, a rival gang member, a guard and an inmate. Clarence screams to be let out of the room and then collapses on the floor. House is intrigued to hear that the patient’s heart was beating so quickly that it pumped air instead of blood. Cuddy gives him the case in exchange for two clinic hours.

Meanwhile Dr. Cameron meets a patient named Cindy who appears to be anemic. The x-rays indicate that she has lung cancer but Cameron refuses to believe it. She goes to Wilson and House for other possible diagnoses but both dismiss it as terminal cancer.

House diagnoses Clarence as hypoxic with fluid in his lungs. He will die in an hour without a respirator. House calls for an ambulance. The warden insists that no death row inmate leave through the front doors. House has Stacy acquire a legal injunction and angers Cuddy. Foreman thinks heroin might be the cause of Clarence’s tachycardia and pulmonary edema, so House orders a drug test. The test results come back with no sign of opiates in Clarence’s system.

Foreman draws blood from Clarence’s femoral artery. The tests results indicate an anion gap acidosis, a new symptom. The team mulls over the causes of anion gap acidosis, and Cameron suggests INH, the drug for tuberculosis. House sends Chase to the prison to find Clarence’s heroin stash, but he only finds boxes of office supplies. House figures out that Clarence drank copier fluid to kill himself, and cures him with several shots of alcohol, which should bind to the methanol in the copier fluid and neutralize it. Clarence's return to health means he should go back to prison, but House asks Stacy to cover for him, thinking something else is wrong with Clarence. Stacy tells Cuddy, and when she tries send Clarence back to prison, Clarence complains of tremendous stomach pain. House pulls back Clarence’s sheets, revealing a large pool of blood on the bed.

The surgeons remove almost a foot of necrotic bowel from Clarence. House asks Clarence about why he killed his fourth victim, the only case that didn't fit or have an apparent motive. Clarence says that he felt like the guy could stare straight through him. House, Foreman and Chase ponder the sudden cause of this rage. Chase suggests adrenaline, which leads House to think about pheochromocytoma which sits on top of the adrenal gland and randomly dumps the system with adrenaline. Although extremely rare, it is the best explanation. The diagnosis is confirmed, and Clarence is cured. Afterwards, Foreman plans to testify at Clarence’s appeal hearing.

After running various tests on Cindy, and in the process going through the five stages of grief herself, Cameron is left with no other diagnosis than lung cancer. The episode ends with her hugging Cindy as she delivers the news.

Behind the scenes

At one point in the episode House (while speaking with Wilson about House's ex, Stacy) says:
*"I know you're friends with her, but there is a code...bros before hos, man." This is a favorite quote among fans of the show. Robert Sean Leonard, who plays Wilson in the show found this so hilarious that he laughed aloud, although this was not actually scripted.

External links

* [http://www.fox.com/house/ FOX.com-"House" official site]
* [http://televisionwithoutpity.com/show.cgi?show=151/ Television Without Pity-"House" recaps]
* [http://epguides.com/House/ House Episode Guide at epguides.com]
* [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/house/100213/ TVGuide's Page: Full list of House Episodes]
* [http://www.housemd-guide.com/ House M.D. Guide]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0412142/ "House M.D." IMDB Profile]
* [http://politedissent.com/archives/905 Medical Reviews of House: Acceptance]