Terry Foley is the boxer Gregory House bet on in the episode The Fix. He was convinced Foley had deliberately thrown the fight, resulting in House having to pay James Wilson $50. Foley convinced House that no-one would pay to have a guy who had lost his last five fights to throw a fight, so House becames convinced Foley had an underlying pathology that would explain why he was knocked out so early in the fight. Foley was played by actor Kevin Phillips
Medical History[]
The patient is a professional boxer. Although he is in excellent physical shape, he has lost his last five fights by knockout.
Case History[]
Foley lost a fight by knockout within the first thirty seconds of the first round to an opponent named Zachary although it appeared the other fighter had barely made contact with his chest. Dr. House was suspicious and approached Foley to ask if he had deliberately lost the fight. Foley managed to convince Dr. House he had been a 12-1 underdog in that fight and no-one could have made money paying him to lose and betting on the other fighter at those odds. Dr. House became convinced that Foley had an underlying pathology. Dr. House noticed something in Foley’s eyes and took a picture.
Dr. House showed the picture to Dr. Wilson. He directed Dr. Wilson’s attention to Foley’s pupils, saying Foley exhibited anisocoria. Given Foley’s age, the adrenaline surge during the fight and the fact he was still alive pointed to Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. That would mean Foley was medically unable to continue the fight and it would be a no contest. Dr. Wilson pointed out that anisocoria can be a symptom of many diseases, and Dr. House still had to prove his theory.
Dr. House managed to convince Foley to come in for an EKG. However, the results were normal. Dr. House tried to convince Foley he still had an underlying condition, but Foley felt it was Dr. House who had the problem and told Dr. House to leave him alone.
However, Dr. House came up with a new theory. He went to see Foley and told him that he had a condition that caused sympathetic overdrive. He managed to convince Foley to let him test for it. He injected Foley with adrenaline and waited for tachycardia to develop. He then struck Foley in his chest near his heart to simulate chest trauma. Although he expected Foley to lapse into unconsciousness, Foley remained conscious. When Dr. House struck Foley in the chest again, again with no effect. When Dr. House tried to hit him a third time, Foley lost his temper and threw Dr. House to the floor, warning him to get out of his life.
Instead, Dr. House came up with another theory. He told Foley that his kidneys were not working properly. The trauma from the punch sent his blood pressure down and that’s why he lost consciousness. To confirm the theory, Dr. House had Foley drink nine bottles of water. However, Foley suffered no ill effects.
But Dr. House wasn’t finished. After he accidentally hit himself in the back of the neck, he went back to see Foley. Foley didn’t want anything to do with him and started to walk away. However, Dr. House tapped the back of Foley’s neck with his cane. Foley turned around and threatened to hit Dr. House, but as Dr. House counted down, Foley collapsed on the floor unconscious as if on cue.
Subsequent scans showed Foley had a glomus tumor. When he was in a clinch, the tumor pressed on the nerves leading to the brain, sending a shock through his body which resulted in unconsciousness. He needed surgery to correct the problem, but it was unlikely he would ever be able to fight again.