Hal Mozley - December 14, 1987

Hal was designer and window dresser. He did windows for many fine shops around town and decorated my apartment on 11th Street: very slick, very fab. He had that kind of talent that comes from being raised in the south together with the knowledge of 'fine things' and the modesty to still have his grandmother's feather bed. It was the only piece of furniture that she held onto during the depression. His love and knowledge of fine things came in very handy when he had to go broke.

In order to qualify for SSD, you had to appear broke, so people started hiding their assets. Hal cut a deal with an antiques shop on Greenwich Avenue - he bought $30,000 worth of antiques: silver, ceramics, jewelry, books. And whenever he needed cash he'd go down to the 'bank' and cash in a bijou. It worked out well~!

Hal attended to St Luke's. It was a welcome and healing place for many, especially those ravaged as much by religion as by AIDS. I can see him now: fourth pew right of center, jacket & tie; very southern, very proper. Hal got sick in the early days of AIDS and for him it was AZT every four hours. I remember many people on that hateful regimen. You could set your watch by it, promptly at 12:00 noon his pill box would go off and he would faithfully down his 4 tabs of AZT.

Hal went to the hospital once for PCP. When he was released from the hospital, he had a Porta-Cath. This was a brilliant improvement over the Hickman catheter which just hung out of the arm or chest, always getting infected. The Porta-Cath was a bulb-like device set under the skin on the ribs that drained into the sub-clavicular vein. It made it easy to take IV drugs and simple injections. You just set the injection to the Porta-Cath site. In Los Angeles, they would have them placed on the hip bone so the tell-tale bulb would be hidden under the Speedo line on the beach. I helped him a few times with the procedure, easy really, once you got used to it. They even made pressurized balls to contain the infusions.

As easy as treatments were to give, they were very harsh on the patient, and they made it easier to stay out of the hospital. Hal made Bill Donahue and I promise to keep him out of the hospital for the duration. He gave us medical power of attorney and showed the documents to each of his visiting healthcare workers. It was pretty common in those days: should a crisis arise, the healthcare worker could call the patients medical representative instead of 911. Of course you had to be there within minutes and often patients went back into emergency rooms against their wishes. I got several calls from Hal's home before the last one.

Notes on Bactrim - 15-20 mg/kg/day. Side effects include: Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue); blistered, peeling, red, or swollen skin; bloody or black, tarry stools; chest pain; chills, fever, or sore throat; decreased urination; depression; hallucinations; irregular heartbeat; joint or muscle pain; painful or stiff neck; purple patches under the skin; seizures; severe diarrhea; severe or persistent cough; severe or persistent headache; severe or persistent nausea or vomiting; shortness of breath; stomach cramps/pain; unusual bruising or bleeding; unusual tiredness or weakness; unusually pale skin; vaginal irritation or discharge; yellowing of the skin or eyes.