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After more than 13 years at Children’s, William Rusty” Lorenzen, MS, manager of Research Laboratory Support, boldly went where no other Radiation Safety Officer has gone before: to the Edge of Darkness. Starring Mel Gibson, Edge of Darkness follows a homicide detective investigating his daughter’s death by radiation poisoning. It was filmed in Boston last fall, and its producers sought a radiation expert to weigh in. “At first I thought it was a joke,” says Lorenzen. “But it really was Hollywood calling.”
Lorenzen teaches hospital staff about radiation and radiation safety, explains safety procedures and monitors exposures to make sure Children’s employees and patients are safe. His expertise helped the actors, producers, special effects and set designers make the movie more realistic. “I suggested changes to increase the scientific accuracy, like not using polonium because it isn’t detectable by the Geiger counter they wanted to use,” he says. “We also discussed radiation sickness symptoms, and they decided to wear the same white protective coveralls and radiation badges we have at Children’s.”
Lorenzen was hooked on Hollywood, and instead of a paycheck, he asked to be an extra and requested a donation to Dana-Farber/Children’s Hospital Cancer Care’s I-131 MIBG service. ”It seemed appropriate to donate to a program that uses radiation to save kids,” he says. “I hope the Child Life Specialists will use the money to entertain children receiving this treatment.”
Lorenzen won’t know if he made the final cut until the movie premiers this fall. But that’s OK with him, because while it was fun, he admits that “Children’s is where I’m meant to be.” |
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