Help Me (House)

"Help Me" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the sixth season of the American medical drama House. It first aired on May 17, 2010. The episode covers a crane collapse in which House tries to save one of the victims, Hanna, who is trapped in rubble. "Help Me" was positively received by critics.

House (Hugh Laurie), gives Cuddy a book written by her great-grandfather as a housewarming present. He then arrives at a downtown building, where a crane collapsed and caused an accident that injured numerous people. House, Cuddy, and House's team roam the area diagnosing and treating victims, until they come across the crane operator, who ostensibly fell asleep despite being overloaded with caffeine. House deduces the operator must have passed out and sends him to Princeton-Plainsboro to be diagnosed. He attempts to go with him, but is held back by Cuddy.

While taking a break, House hears a sound similar to that of a person banging on a steel pipe. He informs the emergency officials, who attempt to communicate with anyone possibly trapped beneath the rubble, but they give up after receiving no response. House decides to go looking himself, and crawls under the mountain of rubble until he reaches a deep cavity and finds a trapped woman named Hanna.

As House treats Hanna while waiting for reinforcements, he also begins the differential on the crane operator through the phone and speaks with Cuddy, who reveals that she has gotten engaged to Lucas. House suggests that the crane operator has a brain lesion and orders an MRI. The situation is exacerbated when the emergency official realizes the support beam pinning Hanna (China Shavers), the trapped woman, is also under a mountain of rubble that could collapse. The equipment that can free her is hours away from arriving, so the official suggests amputation. Both Hanna and House refuse.

The crane operator begins bleeding from the eyes during the MRI and House attempts to return to Princeton-Plainsboro to diagnose him, but without his presence Hanna suffers a panic attack. Too much time has now passed and Hanna is at severe risk for crush syndrome.