Chapter 45: Foreman, You Are Forced to Take a Holiday
Chase, who had gone to ask the Sisters for the tea bags, quickly returned.
He took out the tea bag in his hand and shook it:
"Scrophularia tea—a very common herbal stimulant. Actually pretty popular as a morning pick-me-up, even some of us drink it.
David was right. The reason for Sister Augustine's cardiac arrest had nothing to do with epinephrine dosage.
It was this tea. Combined with the epinephrine, the dual stimulant effect caused tachycardia severe enough to trigger cardiac arrest.
So we can rule out vasculitis."
After hearing Chase's conclusion, Foreman's expression in the conference room looked extremely unpleasant.
This had been the perfect opportunity to get David kicked out of here, but David had turned the tables again. Foreman was absolutely livid!
Meanwhile, House stood beside him, eyes full of mockery.
That look made Foreman feel his face burning.
After all, he'd just accused House of protecting David by fabricating the vasculitis diagnosis.
But the truth was that House genuinely hadn't shown favoritism toward David—Foreman's own performance had just looked incredibly petty.
All his recent accusations now felt like punches hitting himself in the face.
He could barely breathe from the humiliation.
Why? Why could this David always find the cause so accurately!
House had made a mistake this time, misdiagnosing it as vasculitis!
Yet David found details that ruled out vasculitis entirely!
Now all they needed was to find Sister Augustine's allergen.
Yes—as long as he could identify the allergen before David, he could regain the upper hand!
Foreman, newly energized, was about to voice his opinion when he realized that while he'd been lost in thought, everyone had already moved on to discussing the case.
The one speaking now was David, the person he despised most.
"...I noticed a skunk tattoo on her shoulder.
But according to the information the patient provided, she entered a Catholic group home at age six and lived there until entering the convent at sixteen.
There wouldn't be a tattoo parlor in a Catholic group home, so the patient must be lying.
I need to talk to the patient and see what she's hiding.
After all, not many people tattoo a skunk on themselves. A skunk tattoo represents acceptance of polygamy in certain communities, so..."
Hearing this, House interrupted David:
"Alright, enough. Go talk to her."
But Foreman stopped David as he was about to leave. He said to House:
"No, let me go.
You know I grew up in the projects, so I can tell when people are lying.
I can accurately judge whether someone's telling the truth.
This kid lacks life experience—he'll be too easy to deceive."
House nodded:
"Fine, you handle it.
David, take a break."
David shrugged, unbothered. He already knew the outcome anyway, so it didn't matter whether he went or not.
Staying here looking at Cameron was much more pleasant to the eye.
After all, the Sister currently had a full-body rash and wasn't exactly a pretty sight.
...
A while later, Foreman returned to the conference room with a frown.
Regarding Sister Augustine's hidden past, he had managed to extract it.
This Sister hadn't exactly been a good girl before.
At age twelve, she escaped from the Catholic group home and became addicted to drugs while living on the streets.
Inexperienced and vulnerable, she was manipulated into prostitution, got the skunk tattoo, and accidentally became pregnant at fifteen.
When her pimp saw she was pregnant and no longer useful, he threw her out.
Sister Augustine, finally coming to her senses, attempted a self-induced abortion and swore never to trust in love again. Eventually, after much wandering, she returned to the convent.
This was the painful past Sister Augustine had hidden.
But the critical issue was that Foreman hadn't found any information about the allergen!
After sharing this background with everyone in the conference room and seeing them all deep in thought, Foreman finally felt somewhat vindicated.
So he wasn't stupid after all—everyone was equally stumped about identifying the allergen from this information.
With that thought, he spoke:
"I think the patient's hidden past doesn't help our diagnosis at all.
This kid David's suggestion was useless except for making the patient recall traumatic memories and worsening her emotional state.
As we all know, a patient in a negative psychological state isn't conducive to treatment..."
Seeing Foreman rambling on, trying to shift blame onto him again, David immediately interrupted:
"No. You said she attempted a self-induced abortion, but the success rate for that is extremely low.
And we don't have policies here that prohibit abortion access.
So, having received help from the Sisters, she most likely did have an abortion.
We can confirm this with the other Sisters.
If true, it means she had surgery.
Then perhaps the allergen is a surgical instrument left in her abdominal cavity by some careless surgeon.
We need to do a full body scan to confirm."
House heard David's analysis and turned to Foreman:
"Didn't you verify this story with the other Sisters?"
Foreman opened his mouth, trying to explain:
"But you asked me to get the patient's history, not to—"
Hearing Foreman's defense, House's eyes filled with disappointment, and he impatiently cut him off:
"Stop. Just stop.
David, go confirm whether Sister Augustine had an abortion."
"On it."
Watching House's trust in him evaporate, Foreman's face filled with bitterness.
He just forgot to verify the information—was that really such a big deal?
Besides, how likely was it that a surgeon left an instrument in the patient's abdominal cavity?
Even if that happened, current surgical instruments are made of 316 stainless steel.
Even if left inside a patient, it's highly unlikely to cause an allergic reaction!
What were the odds of two such low-probability events coinciding?
The suggestion David just made had absolutely no basis!
Foreman was about to speak when House's voice rang out:
"Foreman, your performance lately has been seriously subpar.
We're a team, not enemies conspiring against each other.
If someone's threatening to report a colleague's mistakes to the medical board...
I think that person needs to take an extended leave to adjust his attitude."
Hearing House's 'suggestion,' Foreman understood the underlying message perfectly.
Calling it a leave was just giving him time to find work at another hospital.
After all, he'd helped House for years, and House didn't want to leave a notation in his file stating he was fired for attacking a colleague.
Foreman stood up, eyes dim, and silently began packing his belongings, preparing to leave.
As expected, his initial gut feeling had been right.
House only needed three fellows. When a newcomer arrived, the veteran's position would be threatened.
He just happened to be the unlucky one.
His role completely overlapped with David's, but David performed better!
His challenges to House were consistently wrong, but David was never wrong!
The name David Wells would likely haunt him for a long time.
Looking at David, who had returned after confirming the information, Foreman clutched his box and brushed past him without a word.
David wasn't at all surprised to see Foreman packing up and leaving.
Survival of the fittest—that's the law of the workplace. Foreman was a good doctor, but David, with his prophetic abilities, was simply better.
David shook his head and stopped thinking about that loser.
"Confirmed. She had an abortion."
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