3.17 Fetal Position

And the adoption thing - word, that's a complaint of mine in other eps too. I can't think of a single instance on the show where its been raised (mind you, my memory sucks). I suppose you could say it was raised in Paternity -- but only because they needed to know genetics, not because they were advocating for or against it. sweet fern, while I understand your issues with foreign adoptions (and, to an extent, agree with them), one reason a lot of people do it is because of time. The wait, especially for a newborn, can be enormous in this country. After a few years of fertility treatments, people might feel they will be too old by the time they get a "domestic" baby. Of course, the newborn requirement is a separate issue and, as someone who will never be a mother, it's probably unfair of me to rail against people who want the entire experience, including sleep deprivation (parents) and colic (baby.) My favorite moment in this episode was when Cuddy comes to House's apartment and he slams the door in her face. You just know he's the type of person who ends phone conversations (except, maybe, with his mom) by hanging up when he's done talking. My least favorite moment in this episode was when House is watching tv and rubbing his fingers together, contemplating the "touched" thing. I wouldn't have had a major problem with the alien moment. I did the transcript of this one for clinic_duty. You can't imagine how many times I had to rewrite that one contact to allow people their own interpretation. My instinct was to write something like: The anesthetized, one-pound fetus takes advantage of the opening in the womb to reach out and grab House's finger, thereby informing House of it's intense desire to be given this chance to live. (And, if you believe that, I have some lovely swampland for sale.)

one reason a lot of people do it is because of time. The wait, especially for a newborn, can be enormous in this country. ...only because they want the "product" of their choice rather than a local kid of whatever age and condition who actually needs parents and somehow a little chinese girl is so much more "sexy" than a crack-addicted mixed race american ghetto kid...(I did warn you not to get me started.... :roll: ) Not that this is by any means the typical or only case in foreign adoptions, just the worse case senario which the subject brings to my bitter evil mind.

one reason a lot of people do it is because of time. The wait, especially for a newborn, can be enormous in this country. ...only because they want the "product" of their choice rather than a local kid of whatever age and condition who actually needs parents and somehow a little chinese girl is so much more "sexy" than a crack-addicted mixed race american ghetto kid...(I did warn you not to get me started.... :roll: ) Not that this is by any means the typical or only case in foreign adoptions, just the worse case senario which the subject brings to my bitter evil mind. There are definitely lots of kids out there that need good homes but it doesn't seem fair to chastise parents that want to start fresh with a newborn rather than tackle an older kid that will undoubtedly come with some atypical problems. Most potential parents go into adoption because they want an infant to raise as their own, not a social experiment. Not every parent is equipped to deal with the needs that the hypothetical child in your description would have; financially, medically, emotionally, etc. Very few people want to raise their OWN crack-addled kid, let alone someone else's. There are those angelic people out there that take something like that on and more power to them. They deserve a round of praise from all of us. My 6-year-old nephew is adopted and while my brother and his wife were investigating various avenues of adoption, they were presented with the option of older kids from troubled homes. While their hearts were breaking, they decided that they didn't have it in them to jump into first time parenting in that manner. I don't think less of them for coming to that conclusion. (One toddler that was living with his grandmother after being ditched by his parents. The grandmother was ill-equipped to raise him. In addition to offering out the kid to adoption, she offered my brother a set of steak knives if they'd take him.) What does this have to do with Fetal Position? Oh yeah....that episode was full of suck, despite a few great House moments. "My Uncle was a giant turtle" still cracks me up. And the closing scene was heartbreaking (as usual) for House.

Yes, I realized when I said that I would probably be thought to be accusing someone on the forum or one of their relations which is why I added: "Not that this is by any means the typical or only case in foreign adoptions, just the worse case senario which the subject brings to my bitter evil mind." I'm not going to fault anyone for not knowingly taking on a child with problems--I would never try it myself because I know I don't have the resources for it. Doesn't in my mind change the fact that people seeking to adopt find that foreign (usually third world) adoption agencies are better able to supply them with the commodity they want when they want it. And I have some reservations about how babies can become commodities in this situation. There are a number of factors which go into making a foreign adoption the best available option for someone. I just reserve the right to make my own judgements of those factors instead of being required to pretend that it is all and only nobility, rainbows and sunshine. Obviously everyone has a different take on the issue and I don't mean any offense to your family. I know personally three families who have adopted children--one with two "normal" and two special needs children, one who adopted one Korean girl (whose mother abandoned her because she was born with a hairlip) and one who adopted two vietnamese girls--and the parents in all three families were/are saints, though some in more intentional and obvious ways than others. Two of these families also had their own biological children (which to me does put rather more shine on those halos...). I don't want to insult or upset anybody--especially anybody willing to take on raising children who would otherwise have no parents--no matter where they came from--but I don't want to have to bend so far backwards that I can kiss my own ass so as to be so politically correct that any possibly unsavory implications are taboo for discussion either.

Topic? The adoption situation, while it would have been nice to mention it in Emma's context, would have been moot as a long term solution, because it would have brought the episode to a grinding halt. Maybe it will get mentioned in Cuddy's context in the future, but we'll have to wait & see. Totally agree with the idea of Cameron as 13 year old & the ducklings running off to Uncle Wilson. This episode more than many others has the feeling of House/Cuddy/Wilson as the adults & the kids running around them. In Cuddy's defense about the emotionalism & connecting to her own situation, when House calls her on it she does recognize it & turn things over to House. And she gets involved again in prt because House is off in this Neverland of "well, I know what's wrong, that's the end of the story" despite Emma's wishes to keep trying.

I suppose you could say it was raised in Paternity -- but only because they needed to know genetics, not because they were advocating for or against it. :sigh: I miss season 1, good times, good times! And may I say, much as I adore glowing Chase, I also really wanted to smack him & Cameron over their personal issues as well as Cuddy & House at times in this ep.

I was sad watching their scenes because IRL the actors who played them were in love and planning on getting married when that was filmed and now they're not. one who adopted one Korean girl (whose mother abandoned her because she was born with a hairlip) Dude, I was born with a cleft lip too. OK, back on topic. I wouldn't get too hung up on the 99% number here as I think House was just using that to be dramatic. I'd like to know what the real number is, from what Cameron said too it's supposed to be high. I tried Googling but didn't get an answer, but I did find this: "The diagnosis of Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation may have serious implications for the health of the mother. If the fetus develops hydrops, or massive fluid retention, the mother may “mirror” the sick fetus, becoming ill with signs of preeclampsia. Fetal surgery does not cure the preeclamptic state" So much for the magic cure.

Lemme guess, the eMedicine article? It's talking specifically congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation. I studied it very carefully; I'm honestly not sure if it's what the fetus in FP had, but it's pulmonary and it causes mirror syndrome. We're not going to get any more medical information out of the show, so let's just say it was. I can't call up David Shore and ask whether the baby's cysts were air-filled. I'll give it to you that it wasn't a magic cure. They shouldn't have assumed that the mother would instantly become all better if they fixed the fetus. But House was right, termination fixes the mother; it's far rarer for a woman to continue in the pre-eclamptic state after abortion. The problem is that we couldn't get a number on mirror syndrome because there haven't been many, if any, epidemiological studies of Maternal Mirror Syndrome. Quite frankly, I couldn't find any case reports of multi-organ failure from Maternal Mirror Syndrome. But the point is that even if House exaggerated, it was still wildly risky. If anything, this has taught us that even if they fixed the fetus, the mother was still in danger. The more I think about this episode, the more the patient, Cuddy, and even the freakin' FETUS annoy me.

Well, it was a very annoying fetus. To have that AND a urinary tract blockage, all before it was born. I didn't get that from eMedicine, but it may have been the same study/case/whatever.

Yeah, giving the kid both the urinary tract obstruction and the possible CCAM made Occam slit his wrists with his Razor.

Occam slit his wrists with his Razor *snert* Sorry to be OT again, but may I just issue an apology for being such an ass yesterday? :oops: I get taken that way sometimes--I don't know why. I love y'all!

half the kids of the doctors in my department were imported from Asia Snert- I have images of children arriving at the port with Made in China and Made in Republic of Korea labels attached to their diapers Occam slit his wrists with his Razor Cyber hi-five Chai

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