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Sports Medicine (House)
Encyclopedia
"Sports Medicine" is the twelfth episode of the first season of House
, which premiered on the Fox
network on February 22, 2005. When baseball star Hank Wiggen (possibly a reference to Henry Wiggen, the protagonist of sports novels The Southpaw
and Bang the Drum Slowly
) suddenly breaks his arm (a mid-pitch break similar to the one suffered by San Francisco Giants
pitcher Dave Dravecky
in 1989), he finds out he has a bizarre case of bone loss. House rejects all of Wiggen's denials of drugs and runs him through a battery of tests nonetheless. Movie director Bryan Singer
, who is the executive producer of the series, appears in this episode as the person directing Hank in the anti-drug ad during the first scene.
At the hospital, Wilson tells House that he thinks Hank has osteopenia
but that his bones are too thin to be fixed. Since Hank is young, House and the team feel that an undiagnosed cancer is the cause. House notices that Hank put on 20 pounds after spending the previous season in a Japanese league. The doctors suspect steroids. Although the tests are negative, House believes steroids is the cause. He predicts and finds hypogonadism
(shrunken testicles), which is a side effect
of steroid use. House has them start Hank on Lupron. The medication causes respiratory failure, ruling out steroids once again. Chase suggests Addison's disease
, but House thinks the kidney damage is due to past steroid use. House issues an ultimatum to Hank, causing him to admit that five years ago his coach gave him something to cause rapid weight gain, but that he didn't try to find out what it was.
Cuddy resists putting Hank on the transplant list without confirmation, leading Lola to offer to donate one of her kidneys. Tests reveal she is a match, but pregnant, meaning she can't donate. Hank resists Lola's suggestion of an abortion.
Hank's heart starts racing. His T wave
s have peaked and his potassium
is up. Chase and Foreman give him insulin subcutaneously, D-50 glucose
and kayexalate to treat hyperkalemia
and get the potassium out. They think this will rule out both Addison's and steroids. House and Cameron arrive to find Hank's heart rate dropping precipitously. They have no idea what is afflicting Hank and they cannot stabilize his heart rate.
That night, House observes Hank and notices he is hallucinating. Wilson wonders whether it is digitalis
, which would explain the heart rate fluctuation and this new symptom, but not the earlier ones. Hank is not even on digitalis. House pays a visit to Warner (Art LaFleur
), the scout that discovered Hank and was on the set of the commercial. Warner tells House that he has a heart condition and treats it with digitalis. When he takes out the bottle to show it to House, he notices that it is almost empty, which is odd, as he just refilled his prescription a couple of days ago. House thinks Hank stole the pills and tried to kill himself with the drug.
Back at the hospital, House lays it out for Hank. He knows what he did and he is scheduling the transplant. Hank wants Lola to have the baby. Making his point, he spills some of his urine bag on House's pants. House will begin treating for Addison's, which will ruin the patient's kidney. House runs into Lola in the hallway and tells her about Hank. When he says Hank will probably die, Lola hugs him, and House tells her she should keep his baby. House wonders why she did not smell the urine that Hank splashed on him.
House tracks down his group. They eliminated environmental causes because they thought Lola was healthy, but she has not been able to smell anything for six months. The group should now consider this couple as a single patient. Their symptoms point to cadmium poisoning
. Chase visits Hank to get another urine sample and asks what they should be looking for this time. Hank admits he is still using marijuana
from the dealer he and Lola shared in Japan. She quit but he didn't. Chase points out that if there is cadmium in the soil, the marijuana can cause all of these symptoms. Chase puts Hank on treatment for cadmium poisoning. However, House writes on the medical report that it is Addison's disease so that Hank can avoid a drug ban from Major League Baseball
.
During the episode, House manages to secure two $1,000 tickets to a monster truck show and wants Wilson to come with him. However, Wilson says that he has to speak at an oncology
dinner the night of the show and cannot make it, so House asks Cameron (who has no idea what a monster truck is). During his conversation with Cameron, she reveals that Wilson had canceled his speech weeks ago. When he brings this up to Wilson, he admits he canceled to have dinner with Stacy Warner, House's ex-girlfriend. (In the episode, he just refers to her as "Stacy the constitutional lawyer," and a specific link between her and House, though hinted, is not made clear until the later episode "Three Stories
".) Wilson offers to cancel the dinner, but House asks him to go through with it. At the end of the episode, House and Cameron are seen at the monster truck show enjoying themselves.
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...
, which premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on February 22, 2005. When baseball star Hank Wiggen (possibly a reference to Henry Wiggen, the protagonist of sports novels The Southpaw
The Southpaw
The Southpaw was the first of the Henry Wiggen baseball novels by Mark Harris, published in 1953. Wiggen, star pitcher and narrator of the novel, tells of his early years in baseball and his debut with the New York Mammoths. It was followed by Bang the Drum Slowly ....
and Bang the Drum Slowly
Bang the Drum Slowly
Bang the Drum Slowly is a novel by Mark Harris, a sequel to The Southpaw . It was first published in 1956, and was later made into a 1956 U.S...
) suddenly breaks his arm (a mid-pitch break similar to the one suffered by San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
pitcher Dave Dravecky
Dave Dravecky
David Francis Dravecky is a Christian motivational speaker, author, and former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants...
in 1989), he finds out he has a bizarre case of bone loss. House rejects all of Wiggen's denials of drugs and runs him through a battery of tests nonetheless. Movie director Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer
Bryan Singer is an American film director and film producer. Singer won critical acclaim for his work on The Usual Suspects, and is especially well-known among fans of the science fiction and superhero genres for his work on the X-Men films and Superman Returns.-Early life:Singer was born in New...
, who is the executive producer of the series, appears in this episode as the person directing Hank in the anti-drug ad during the first scene.
Plot
A baseball player named Hank Wiggen shoots an anti-drug commercial but it is not going well. Hank is told to tell the story of his drug-addicted past. On the next take, Hank throws a pitch and his upper arm breaks. His comeback is over.At the hospital, Wilson tells House that he thinks Hank has osteopenia
Osteopenia
Osteopenia is a condition where bone mineral density is lower than normal. It is considered by many doctors to be a precursor to osteoporosis. However, not every person diagnosed with osteopenia will develop osteoporosis...
but that his bones are too thin to be fixed. Since Hank is young, House and the team feel that an undiagnosed cancer is the cause. House notices that Hank put on 20 pounds after spending the previous season in a Japanese league. The doctors suspect steroids. Although the tests are negative, House believes steroids is the cause. He predicts and finds hypogonadism
Hypogonadism
Hypogonadism is a medical term for decreased functional activity of the gonads. Low testosterone is caused by a decline or deficiency in gonadal production of testosterone in males...
(shrunken testicles), which is a side effect
Adverse effect
In medicine, an adverse effect is a harmful and undesired effect resulting from a medication or other intervention such as surgery.An adverse effect may be termed a "side effect", when judged to be secondary to a main or therapeutic effect. If it results from an unsuitable or incorrect dosage or...
of steroid use. House has them start Hank on Lupron. The medication causes respiratory failure, ruling out steroids once again. Chase suggests Addison's disease
Addison's disease
Addison’s disease is a rare, chronic endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce sufficient steroid hormones...
, but House thinks the kidney damage is due to past steroid use. House issues an ultimatum to Hank, causing him to admit that five years ago his coach gave him something to cause rapid weight gain, but that he didn't try to find out what it was.
Cuddy resists putting Hank on the transplant list without confirmation, leading Lola to offer to donate one of her kidneys. Tests reveal she is a match, but pregnant, meaning she can't donate. Hank resists Lola's suggestion of an abortion.
Hank's heart starts racing. His T wave
T wave
In electrocardiography, the T wave represents the repolarization of the ventricles. The interval from the beginning of the QRS complex to the apex of the T wave is referred to as the absolute refractory period. The last half of the T wave is referred to as the relative refractory period...
s have peaked and his potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
is up. Chase and Foreman give him insulin subcutaneously, D-50 glucose
Glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...
and kayexalate to treat hyperkalemia
Hyperkalemia
Hyperkalemia refers to the condition in which the concentration of the electrolyte potassium in the blood is elevated...
and get the potassium out. They think this will rule out both Addison's and steroids. House and Cameron arrive to find Hank's heart rate dropping precipitously. They have no idea what is afflicting Hank and they cannot stabilize his heart rate.
That night, House observes Hank and notices he is hallucinating. Wilson wonders whether it is digitalis
Digitalis
Digitalis is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and biennials that are commonly called foxgloves. This genus was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but recent reviews of phylogenetic research have placed it in the much enlarged family...
, which would explain the heart rate fluctuation and this new symptom, but not the earlier ones. Hank is not even on digitalis. House pays a visit to Warner (Art LaFleur
Art LaFleur
-Life and career:La Fleur was born in Gary, Indiana. He played football in 1962 as a redshirt at the University of Kentucky under Coach Charlie Bradshaw as chronicled in a 2007 book, The Thin Thirty....
), the scout that discovered Hank and was on the set of the commercial. Warner tells House that he has a heart condition and treats it with digitalis. When he takes out the bottle to show it to House, he notices that it is almost empty, which is odd, as he just refilled his prescription a couple of days ago. House thinks Hank stole the pills and tried to kill himself with the drug.
Back at the hospital, House lays it out for Hank. He knows what he did and he is scheduling the transplant. Hank wants Lola to have the baby. Making his point, he spills some of his urine bag on House's pants. House will begin treating for Addison's, which will ruin the patient's kidney. House runs into Lola in the hallway and tells her about Hank. When he says Hank will probably die, Lola hugs him, and House tells her she should keep his baby. House wonders why she did not smell the urine that Hank splashed on him.
House tracks down his group. They eliminated environmental causes because they thought Lola was healthy, but she has not been able to smell anything for six months. The group should now consider this couple as a single patient. Their symptoms point to cadmium poisoning
Cadmium poisoning
Cadmium is an extremely toxic metal commonly found in industrial workplaces. Due to its low permissible exposure limit, overexposures may occur even in situations where trace quantities of cadmium are found. Cadmium is used extensively in electroplating, although the nature of the operation does...
. Chase visits Hank to get another urine sample and asks what they should be looking for this time. Hank admits he is still using marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
from the dealer he and Lola shared in Japan. She quit but he didn't. Chase points out that if there is cadmium in the soil, the marijuana can cause all of these symptoms. Chase puts Hank on treatment for cadmium poisoning. However, House writes on the medical report that it is Addison's disease so that Hank can avoid a drug ban from Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
During the episode, House manages to secure two $1,000 tickets to a monster truck show and wants Wilson to come with him. However, Wilson says that he has to speak at an oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
dinner the night of the show and cannot make it, so House asks Cameron (who has no idea what a monster truck is). During his conversation with Cameron, she reveals that Wilson had canceled his speech weeks ago. When he brings this up to Wilson, he admits he canceled to have dinner with Stacy Warner, House's ex-girlfriend. (In the episode, he just refers to her as "Stacy the constitutional lawyer," and a specific link between her and House, though hinted, is not made clear until the later episode "Three Stories
Three Stories
"Three Stories" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on May 17, 2005. David Shore won an Emmy in 2005 for Outstanding Writing for A Drama Series for this episode. It won the Humanitas Prize in the '60 minute' category for the year 2006.-Plot:Dr...
".) Wilson offers to cancel the dinner, but House asks him to go through with it. At the end of the episode, House and Cameron are seen at the monster truck show enjoying themselves.
External links
- "Sports Medicine" at Fox.com