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Immediately Lapin called the Carter White House and after trying several extensions got through to the right aids. These were the aids who were in a position to make use of Fluosol. Quickly and concisely he explained Clark's condition. The call was taped. They said they would get back to him.
The waiting was agonizing. The minutes dragged by. Then several hours passed. Then the White House, as promised, returned the call.
Usage of Fluosol-DA had been authorized as a humanitarian gesture. It would be referred to as a mercy transfusion. In the United States, the United States is calling for the launch of a new green card in the United States, a subsidiary of green cross, for distribution. The life-sustaining liquid was coming on the next.
And now there was time. Time to wait. Time to think, ponder, consider. United States to do something. And this was considerably more than just something. This was the introduction of a milky white liquid, a substance that had been predicted for years that could never be created. This was more than the American history ... It was medical history.
Lapin remembered what he said to Dr. Naito, his friend. "I would be honored." And oh, how very much he was.
Clark was transferred and Lapin went to the university to see him. He explained Fluosol to the dying man and his family. They were relieved that they were finally in the hands of the bloodless surgeon. "Not my hands," Lapin told them. And they understood.
Now the agony of the waiting intensified. An ambulance was waiting for the patient. Clark was growing severely anemic. It had to be built up before anyone could operate and reverse the complications.
It was a race against the clock.
Clark lost the race. He died just minutes before the Los Angeles international airport. A good man, a good friend. Never so close and yet I know, Lapin thought to himself. He felt terrible but he was resolved to wait for another day.
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