A medical journey
MDS Harris pays, but so might your sanity
The tourniquet is tight, tighter
than I like it. But the needle slides in
easy, as if my arm was slotted to
receive it - which, by this time, it may
well be, the phlebotomist’s deft
method notwithstanding.
Theh I take my place in the next
line, waiting to swallow noxious goo
from an oversized syringe (no nee
dle).
Ahead of me a large, handsome
lab tech tells a seated young woman,
“Wrap your lips around this and raise
your hand if I’m going too fast.” I
can’t take my eyes from her pale, pret
ty face as she swallows, swallows,
swallows, and the plunger pushes a
viscid, white paste.
It is a dreamily nauseous moment
and I gag in sympathy.
The rest of our morning goes like
this: 8:50, blood; 9:05, blood; 9:20,
blood; 9:35, blood; 10:05, blood;
10:35, blood; 11:35, blood; 12:35,
blood, lunch.
Over cold cans of caffeine-free
soda and a tater-tot casserole that
would do any school lunch lady proud
we discuss our side effects like
hypochondriacs do their symptoms.
Finding we have friends, acquain
tances, interests in common, we break
off into mild cliques for the weekend.
One long, lost weekend, blood
draws punctuating the tedium of
movies on TV. Headaches, dizzy
spells, hives and rambling, rainy after
noon conversations turning on the
well-oiled hinges of sex, relation
ships, politics and religion.
And money, of course, we talk
about the money. In this case more
than $1500 worth. It’s the price teg on
our weekends, our well-worn patience
«
We are guinea
pigs, human lab rats,
weekend warriors in
the fight against
AIDS and we huddle
together in the gray
bowels of MDS
Harris, Lincoln s
pharmaceutical
testing grounds. We
are paid volunteers,
mercenary medical
test pilots.”
and a quart of blood taken in easy
installments.
We are guinea pigs, human lab
rats, weekend warriors in the fight
against AIDS and we huddle together
in the gray bowels of MDS Harris,
Lincoln’s pharmaceutical testing
grounds. We are paid volunteers, mer
cenary medical test pilots.
We’re pretty lucky, this time, to be
doing something useful. I mean, the
world can live without another anti
histamine for a while but a better
treatment for HIV would be some
thing worth having.
But there are other studies going
A_
on as well: segregated from our group
a contingent or brave volunteers
undergoes some kind of radioactive
therapy. If one of them accidentally
wanders into our area to piss in the toi
lets the whole place will have to be
decontaminated.
Then there’s the incontinence
group - though I should state here, for
the record, that none of us are sick,
none of us have the various conditions
these medications have been designed
to treat In fact, that’s one of the crite
ria: you have to be healthy to partici
pate.
Healthy and just the least bit nuts;
some studies require a tube up the
nose or an intravenous catheter in the
back of the hand. Some medicines can
make you feel pretty sick and then, of
course, there’s all those blood draws.
“It’s a living hell,” one veteran
explained, “and better than any job I
ever had.”
And for those who may be tem
peramentally or otherwise unsuited
for day-job existence, MDS Harris
offers quick payback on a moderate
investment of free time. Hey, we all
got blood, right? And weekend studies
bring extra income to the working
class.
Me, I’m one of those sensitive,
artsy types you find stealing toilet
paper from coffeehouses and licking
die last of the tuna fish right out of the
can. Life in the Labs seems pretty
comfy by comparison.
And there’s plenty more like me -
disaffected, young intellectuals get
ting bled, one way or another, to pay
the rent. c
So we wait, wincing, for the nee
dle.
South Pointe Mall builds cineplex
■ The six new theaters
provide less downtown
traffic and easy access
for Southwestern
Lincoln.
By Patrick Kelly
Staff Writer
Ah, the sounds of summer:
waves crashing on the beach, the
crack of the baseball meeting the bat
and of course, the explosions from
the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
For the past three decades, sum
mer has meant big business for
movie theaters. This summer is cer
tainly no exception. Those who live
in tiie southwestern part of Lincoln
have a new venue open for their cin
ematic needs, the South Pointe
Theater in the South Pointe Pavilion
Mall. This multiplex located at 27th
and Pine Lake features six screens
equipped with Dolby Surround
Sound
Until now, Lincoln moviegoers
were limited to the downtown area
or the East Park multiplex. The
South Pointe Pavilion marks the sec
ond multiplex in the Lincoln area
and offers a closer alternative for the
residents of southwestern Lincoln.
The theaters will not be used
solely for showing movies. The
space will also be for rent for con
ventions and parties.
Employees at the new theater are
enthusiastic about the potential of
the summer box-office returns.
“So far business has been doing
well and should increase with the
release of more summer movies,”
said Kerry Kuenning, manager of
the South Pointe Theater. Films such
as “Star Wars Episode 1”, “Austin
Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me”
and “Wild Wild West” will no doubt
mean big business for the blossom
ing theater.
So when the summer heat kicks
up put on some sunscreen and pass
the popcorn.
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