Joy to the World (House)
Encyclopedia
"Joy to the World" is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of House
and the ninety-seventh episode overall. It aired on December 9, 2008.
is failing for an unknown reason. In House's office, they are exchanging Christmas gifts when House receives a mysterious gift wrapped in green wrapping paper. Kutner reads the note aloud, as it says "Greg- made me think of you." The present turns out to be Dr. Joseph Bell's
Manual of The Operations of Surgery. House, annoyed, throws it in the trash. Afterwards, House conducts a differential diagnosis
, with the team entertaining ideas such as alcohol abuse
and pill-popping. None of the symptoms fit with the entire picture. When Chase and Kutner question Natalie's classmates, it turns out that they gave her magic mushrooms, prompting the doctors to think that this whole episode was induced by others. Meanwhile, Foreman and Thirteen are still involved in the Huntington's drug trial. A woman whose disease is quite advanced drops out of the trial, saying that Foreman told her to "get over it" when her medication made her nauseous. Thirteen, annoyed, accuses Foreman of being like House.
The gift House received turned out to be last year's gift from Wilson, which House never opened. Wilson accuses House of needing to create the false illusion of a gift because he just cannot be nice to anyone. They end up betting that he cannot get thanked by a patient. Later, after Natalie's tox-screen
was clean, Taub and Kutner find painkillers in her school locker, which makes them think she tried to kill herself. They later suspect tuberculosis
, thinking she may have picked up something from the soup kitchen she normally attends.
To win the bet he made with Wilson, House puts on his lab coat (only the fourth time House is seen doing so, with the other occasions being the episodes "Mob Rules
", "Sex Kills
" and "Games
") and acts very kind and caring toward his patients. A slightly dim woman, Whitney, who comes to the clinic with a terrible headache, compliments House on his hospitality, to which he responds, "If you can't be nice, why be a doctor?" He later deduces she is pregnant, much to her surprise. He then sarcastically insults her for not recognizing the common symptoms of early pregnancy, such as missing her period and putting on weight. She insists that she and her fiance are virgins, and asks for House to run a paternity test after he suggests that she has had an affair. He does run the test, but after sharing the results with them, he looks surprised, and leaves. He comes back later with the same set of results, and with a look of disbelief, states that Whitney is pregnant as a result of human parthenogenesis, a never-seen-before scientific phenomenon. Her baby only has maternal genes due to a spontaneous gene mutation which fertilized her egg, without ever needing male sperm. Her baby will be a virgin birth. Later, however, it is revealed that House faked those lab tests and just told them that story to cover up Whitney's blatant infidelity (as shown by the real results of the test), thereby saving their marriage.
Things make a turn for the worse for Natalie, as she has a seizure
, ruling out TB but bringing her brain into the differential, along with liver and lungs. Kutner suggests a mold
allergy
, to which the team goes to test her. Natalie admits to buying alcohol from her friend Simon, whom Kutner and Taub question. Taub suggests alcohol poisoning, but it turns out that she hardly even drank any of the alcohol she bought from Simon, as it was only a way to "look cool" and stay friends with him. She goes into cardiac arrest
, ruling out the alcohol theory. But her high blood alcohol level nonetheless suggests leukemia
, and Wilson is brought in to help. While Cuddy desperately tries to rule leukemia out, Wilson discusses the likelihood of it and says that she will die, even if they kill all the cancer, due to her failing heart and liver. A double transplant would not even save her. Cuddy then has an epiphany after talking with House about the pregnant couple and gravely realizes the only other disease that explains everything: post-partum Eclampsia
, which means that Natalie must have gotten pregnant and had a child. This turns out to be correct, and her friend Simon is the unknowing father. Natalie explains that she gave birth in an abandoned house but her daughter was stillborn. Cuddy searches the house and finds the baby girl, alive, being cared for by a pair of homeless squatters, and brings the baby back to the hospital where she reunites her with her mother. Unfortunately, due to the extent of Natalie's failing organs, she will die (although this is not shown in the episode). The baby ends up being in good health but is kept for observation as she is premature.
In the end, the whole team is full of Christmas spirit. Kutner finds a former classmate he used to bully and apologizes to him. During the episode he is shown to be furious about Natalie being bullied and when asked says that he was never bullied. Cuddy plans to become a foster parent and adopt the baby, as neither grandparent wants to care for her as she will recall memories too painful for them to handle, with House wishing her "Merry Christmas, Cuddy." Thirteen tells Foreman that he is not like House, after he welcomed back the woman who dropped out of the trial and is taking better care of her. Foreman and Thirteen passionately kiss.
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 ninety-seventh episode overall. It aired on December 9, 2008.
Plot
A troubled sixteen-year-old, Natalie, is singing at her school's Christmas program when she suddenly becomes disoriented and vomits. She is brought to Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where the team discovers her liverLiver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
is failing for an unknown reason. In House's office, they are exchanging Christmas gifts when House receives a mysterious gift wrapped in green wrapping paper. Kutner reads the note aloud, as it says "Greg- made me think of you." The present turns out to be Dr. Joseph Bell's
Joseph Bell
Joseph Bell, JP, DL, FRCS was a famous Scottish lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is perhaps best known as an inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holmes....
Manual of The Operations of Surgery. House, annoyed, throws it in the trash. Afterwards, House conducts a differential diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
A differential diagnosis is a systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of an entity where multiple alternatives are possible , and may also refer to any of the included candidate alternatives A differential diagnosis (sometimes abbreviated DDx, ddx, DD, D/Dx, or ΔΔ) is a...
, with the team entertaining ideas such as alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
and pill-popping. None of the symptoms fit with the entire picture. When Chase and Kutner question Natalie's classmates, it turns out that they gave her magic mushrooms, prompting the doctors to think that this whole episode was induced by others. Meanwhile, Foreman and Thirteen are still involved in the Huntington's drug trial. A woman whose disease is quite advanced drops out of the trial, saying that Foreman told her to "get over it" when her medication made her nauseous. Thirteen, annoyed, accuses Foreman of being like House.
The gift House received turned out to be last year's gift from Wilson, which House never opened. Wilson accuses House of needing to create the false illusion of a gift because he just cannot be nice to anyone. They end up betting that he cannot get thanked by a patient. Later, after Natalie's tox-screen
Toxicology
Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...
was clean, Taub and Kutner find painkillers in her school locker, which makes them think she tried to kill herself. They later suspect tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, thinking she may have picked up something from the soup kitchen she normally attends.
To win the bet he made with Wilson, House puts on his lab coat (only the fourth time House is seen doing so, with the other occasions being the episodes "Mob Rules
Mob Rules (House)
"Mob Rules" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on March 22, 2005.-Plot:House treats a man named Joey, serving as a witness in a mob case, who has passed out and entered a coma...
", "Sex Kills
Sex Kills
"Sex Kills" is the fourteenth episode of the second season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on March 7, 2006.This episode also features Hugh Laurie's Band From TV band-mate Greg Grunberg as a guest star.-Plot:...
" and "Games
Games (House)
"Games" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of House and the seventy-ninth episode overall. It aired on November 27, 2007.-Plot:Cuddy orders House to make a final decision on which two candidates he's going to hire permanently...
") and acts very kind and caring toward his patients. A slightly dim woman, Whitney, who comes to the clinic with a terrible headache, compliments House on his hospitality, to which he responds, "If you can't be nice, why be a doctor?" He later deduces she is pregnant, much to her surprise. He then sarcastically insults her for not recognizing the common symptoms of early pregnancy, such as missing her period and putting on weight. She insists that she and her fiance are virgins, and asks for House to run a paternity test after he suggests that she has had an affair. He does run the test, but after sharing the results with them, he looks surprised, and leaves. He comes back later with the same set of results, and with a look of disbelief, states that Whitney is pregnant as a result of human parthenogenesis, a never-seen-before scientific phenomenon. Her baby only has maternal genes due to a spontaneous gene mutation which fertilized her egg, without ever needing male sperm. Her baby will be a virgin birth. Later, however, it is revealed that House faked those lab tests and just told them that story to cover up Whitney's blatant infidelity (as shown by the real results of the test), thereby saving their marriage.
Things make a turn for the worse for Natalie, as she has a seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
, ruling out TB but bringing her brain into the differential, along with liver and lungs. Kutner suggests a mold
Mold
Molds are fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. Molds are not considered to be microbes but microscopic fungi that grow as single cells called yeasts...
allergy
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
, to which the team goes to test her. Natalie admits to buying alcohol from her friend Simon, whom Kutner and Taub question. Taub suggests alcohol poisoning, but it turns out that she hardly even drank any of the alcohol she bought from Simon, as it was only a way to "look cool" and stay friends with him. She goes into cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
, ruling out the alcohol theory. But her high blood alcohol level nonetheless suggests leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, and Wilson is brought in to help. While Cuddy desperately tries to rule leukemia out, Wilson discusses the likelihood of it and says that she will die, even if they kill all the cancer, due to her failing heart and liver. A double transplant would not even save her. Cuddy then has an epiphany after talking with House about the pregnant couple and gravely realizes the only other disease that explains everything: post-partum Eclampsia
Eclampsia
Eclampsia , an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, is characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures, usually in a patient who had developed pre-eclampsia...
, which means that Natalie must have gotten pregnant and had a child. This turns out to be correct, and her friend Simon is the unknowing father. Natalie explains that she gave birth in an abandoned house but her daughter was stillborn. Cuddy searches the house and finds the baby girl, alive, being cared for by a pair of homeless squatters, and brings the baby back to the hospital where she reunites her with her mother. Unfortunately, due to the extent of Natalie's failing organs, she will die (although this is not shown in the episode). The baby ends up being in good health but is kept for observation as she is premature.
In the end, the whole team is full of Christmas spirit. Kutner finds a former classmate he used to bully and apologizes to him. During the episode he is shown to be furious about Natalie being bullied and when asked says that he was never bullied. Cuddy plans to become a foster parent and adopt the baby, as neither grandparent wants to care for her as she will recall memories too painful for them to handle, with House wishing her "Merry Christmas, Cuddy." Thirteen tells Foreman that he is not like House, after he welcomed back the woman who dropped out of the trial and is taking better care of her. Foreman and Thirteen passionately kiss.
External links
- "Joy to the World" at Fox.com