Deborah begins to grow increasingly erratic, insisting on keeping the photo of Elsie in the front seat of her car and showing it to everyone she meets. She takes the photo of Elsie with her and thanks Paul Lurz. Given the fact that Elsie was in the hospital during this time period, it is likely that she was involved in these studies.ĭeborah is devastated by the knowledge that her sister probably died alone and in pain, but tries to keep a brave face despite being near tears.
These included procedures that involved drilling holes or inserting metal rods in the skull. Also, there were many scientific experiments done without patient consent, including particularly gruesome experiments conducted on children with epilepsy. The hospital was grossly understaffed, and often housed abusive adults in with children. The women are allowed to continue through the records. Deborah is prepared, however, and hands him legal documents showing her relationship to Elsie. Her autopsy report reveals that she spent five years at the hospital and died from internal bleeding from self-induced vomiting.Ī supervisor arrives, demanding to know why they are going through the records. In Elsie's medical record is a photo of her looking unkempt and crying, which a white woman's hand around her throat. He has saved only a few bags of them, and miraculously, Elsie Lacks' medical record is included in this pile. Rebecca and Deborah finally meet an employee named Paul Lurz, who explains that most of the medical records were destroyed when the area in which they were stored was contaminated with asbestos. They wander around the building looking for the medical records office, before Deborah finally takes matters into her own hands and starts yelling to get someone's attention. The campus is beautiful, but the two get the impression of some dark history here.
The two women drive to Crownsville, which was formerly known as the Hospital for the Negro Insane. Deborah is already a little distressed because it's mother's day and her son Alfred is in jail, but he told her that she needs to find out whatever he can about the missing members of their family. Next, Deborah and Rebecca undertake a mission to figure out what happened to Deborah's sister Elsie. Deborah tells Rebecca she has just witnessed a miracle.Ĭhapter 33. Zakariyya is quiet for much of the visit, but he thanks Lengauer and Rebecca before he leaves. She points out that the HeLa cells did a lot of good for science, but she just wishes she knew more about who her mother was. Lengauer says he thinks Hopkins really screwed up the HeLa situation, and Deborah is surprised to hear a white person finally acknowledge this. This is the closest they have been to their mother since her death nearly half a century ago, and they are very moved by it. Through the microscope, Deborah and Zakariyya watch their mother's cells divide in culture.
He also tells Deborah that her mother's cancer was caused by a virus, so she is unlikely to develop the same disease herself. He carefully explains the process of cell division, and explains that all the information that made Henrietta herself is contained within these cells, in their DNA. Lengauer takes the group to another part of the lab and shows them Henrietta's cells under a microscope. She whispers to the vial, saying that Henrietta is famous, but no one knows it. Lengauer hands Deborah a vial of her mother's cells, and Deborah warms it in her hands, saying her mother is probably cold. Deborah says that this was probably Henrietta's revenge for using her cells without permission, and everyone laughs. Lengauer points out that scientists need to be careful when handling the HeLa cells to avoid releasing them, and Deborah asks if this is related to the contamination problem, which impresses Lengauer. Deborah says that she's amazed that all those cells are her mother. Lengauer welcomes the family in, showing them the long freezers in which millions of Henrietta's cells are stored. Because his lab is located at Hopkins, they walk past the same statue of Jesus that their mother walked past on her way to treatment for cancer. In May 2001, Deborah, Zakariyya, and Rebecca head to Lengauer's lab.
0 kommentar(er)
