House turned around and saw Dan's leg moving, which made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Interesting. Cameron, admit him to the hospital." After finishing speaking, House gestured with his eyes at the other three people, signaling them to follow him back to the examination room.
After moving a certain distance away from the boy, House finally spoke and asked, "What are your thoughts? Elion, another good idea?"
Foreman was surprised to see that House hadn't consulted him first as usual, but had instead asked the intern first.
A shadow immediately crossed his face, and his eyes turned hostile as he looked at Elion, waiting for him to formulate a response.
A sense of crisis once again seized his heart.
If he didn't perform well, this intern really had a chance to take his place!
Elion, completely uninterested in Foreman's concerns, mentally reviewed the previous events and said, "It should be an involuntary myoclonic phenomenon. This phenomenon usually occurs during sleep at night."
"When a person's respiratory rate decreases, the brain, thinking that the body is failing, produces a conditioned reflex by deliberately releasing a signal to wake up."
"However, the patient is clearly conscious, which means that the double vision and night terrors are definitely not caused by external trauma.
There must be another reason."
Dr. House nodded. "This situation indicates that the brain is losing control of the body, so what comes to mind?"
Seeing that House had finally asked him, Foreman spoke before Chase could. "I think he has a motor dysfunction or cerebral insufficiency."
"No, it might not be that serious. Maybe the boy just has a common infection." Chase directly disapproved of Elion's and Foreman's opinions.
Foreman fell into thought at that response.
House shook his head, visibly dissatisfied with the two diagnoses. He looked back at Elion and asked, "Nothing else?"
This time, not only Foreman but also Chase noticed the great interest House had in Elion.
In the past, even if their diagnoses were wrong, House would guide them back onto the right path rather than seek advice from a third party.
Is Elion really that important?
Chase began to wonder about Elion's background.
Could this guy be House's illegitimate son?
But it doesn't seem like it.
"I just looked at his test results. He didn't have a fever or an elevated white blood cell count. Under the current circumstances, I think we shouldn't rush to make a diagnosis, but rather learn the patient's precise family medical history."
"I suspect it's very likely a genetic disease." Chase laughed softly; he had expected Elion to make a surprising judgment.
But Elion's statements were the complete opposite.
Chase shook his head and continued:
"I talked to his parents while you were looking at the test results. Based on the conversation, I can confirm that there are no similar symptoms in their family's medical history."
Elion then smiled and said confidently, "What you have may be the family background of his parents, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the child's family medical history."
Chase was confused. "What does that mean?"
Elion quickly said, "There's a possibility that the boy is adopted, so since they aren't his biological parents, we don't have everything we need to begin with."
Chase frowned slightly, feeling that Elion's explanation was implausible.
It was like inventing a conclusion in order to prove that the conclusion was correct.
"Do you have any evidence?"
Just as Elion opened his mouth to speak, House raised his hand at him, signaling him to be quiet.
Then he began to speak. "In this country, approximately 30 percent of parents are unaware that they're raising someone else's child. Therefore, what Elion said could be possible."
Upon hearing this, Foreman didn't entirely agree with House's and Elion's stance.
"No, I researched this when I was in college. The percentage of parent-child relationships in this country where the child isn't biologically related to the father is only less than 30 percent, so we're basically flipping a coin."
House looked at Foreman and said, "It doesn't matter, but Mom would probably prefer your way of saying it."
Foreman found House's response extremely unpleasant.
He never expected that Cameron, who was usually combative, wouldn't fall into the trap.
"This can only be settled with a bet. Another hundred dollars that the kid is adopted?" Elion asked, slightly excited, but maintaining a serious expression toward everyone.
When Foreman saw that Elion was more than confident in his statement after House supported him, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
"Will you still buy dinner if you win?"
"Of course."
"At a good restaurant?"
"Definitely." Elion wouldn't be stingy with his superiors.
Highly energized, Foreman turned his gaze toward Chase, as if asking whether he also wanted to take the risk.
Chase thought for a moment and said, "I don't think it's related to genetic diseases; it could be a systemic disease. For example, his liver, his kidneys, and all organs except his brain."
"So?"
"I bet it has nothing to do with hereditary diseases."
Seeing that Chase had joined him in opposing Elion's diagnosis, Foreman turned to House and asked, "So how do we prove this?"
To be honest, House didn't know how to prove this medically.
The most accurate way to determine this is through DNA comparison. However, the other party's parents might not cooperate with DNA testing, and DNA tests cost money.
It's unlikely that the parents would undergo DNA comparison just for a meaningless bet and a diagnosis without solid grounds.
At that moment, Elion suddenly said, "If the DNA test is really necessary, I'll pay for it out of my own pocket. Since it's my diagnosis and I'm confident in it, I'll take responsibility."
The other three exchanged glances and all agreed with Elion's request to take responsibility for his diagnosis.
But Cameron thought this was extreme and said, "Why are you treating the intern like this?"
"What's wrong with it?" Foreman liked to compete and believed that this time Elion was wrong.
House didn't care about these meaningless bets and just wanted to see the result.