Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks was born Loretta Pleasant in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920.
There was a practice of dividing siblings, in certain situations, between relatives as was the case with Henrietta Lacks. She was given to her grandfather, Tommy Lacks, for caring and shared a room with her cousin, and future husband Day.
Henrietta was a lovely young girl who was adored by everyone with the exception of those who were envious of her. She helped her grandfather work, harvest and sell the tobacco on their farm up until she moved out to establish a life of her own.
Henrietta was very kind and loving. She allowed relatives to reside in her home and treated them with motherly care, especially when they couldn’t afford their own housing. To Henrietta, didn’t matter that there was a limited amount of space.
Henrietta loved to dance and play games, no matter who criticized.
She was selfless. Even though she was diagnoses with cervical cancer she never complained and didn’t mention it to anyone as not to bother them.
Henrietta never asks what it is exactly that doctors are doing to her during her radium treatments. This could be due to the racial and social class civilities of the time. People just didn’t question their doctors, especially the ones who attend patients for free.
She also always visited her daughter Elsie, who had development problems and was sent to the Hospital for the Negro Insane. It seemed that Henrietta was the only one that cared enough to visit her, and she was the only one who could make her calm when she was frightened.
Toward the end, as Henrietta’s health declines and her pain increases, she is described as being ‘…possessed by the devil of pain itself’ (Skloot, 98). The sweet girl everyone knew now wailed in pain as the cancer spread inside of her. She was caring even on her deathbed. Before she died, she instructed her sister to make sure Day, Henrietta’s husband, took care of their children.
Henrietta Lacks was overall a true mother to all. She cared for everyone even if there was no need, and never seemed to ask for much in return. She is portrayed as beautiful-heart, body and soul. Henrietta grew up without her parents, though she did have her grandfather and cousins with her. She lived in a time where discrimination was prominent, a place where there was poverty and in a world that was still sexist. She had to tolerate the promiscuous behavior of her husband, the troubles her children faced with the law, and the envy of those around her. However, none of that compares to the burden of having cancer and the fact that she would die before getting to raise her children. The woman behind the HeLa cells was a strong woman in character and mind.
There was a practice of dividing siblings, in certain situations, between relatives as was the case with Henrietta Lacks. She was given to her grandfather, Tommy Lacks, for caring and shared a room with her cousin, and future husband Day.
Henrietta was a lovely young girl who was adored by everyone with the exception of those who were envious of her. She helped her grandfather work, harvest and sell the tobacco on their farm up until she moved out to establish a life of her own.
Henrietta was very kind and loving. She allowed relatives to reside in her home and treated them with motherly care, especially when they couldn’t afford their own housing. To Henrietta, didn’t matter that there was a limited amount of space.
Henrietta loved to dance and play games, no matter who criticized.
She was selfless. Even though she was diagnoses with cervical cancer she never complained and didn’t mention it to anyone as not to bother them.
Henrietta never asks what it is exactly that doctors are doing to her during her radium treatments. This could be due to the racial and social class civilities of the time. People just didn’t question their doctors, especially the ones who attend patients for free.
She also always visited her daughter Elsie, who had development problems and was sent to the Hospital for the Negro Insane. It seemed that Henrietta was the only one that cared enough to visit her, and she was the only one who could make her calm when she was frightened.
Toward the end, as Henrietta’s health declines and her pain increases, she is described as being ‘…possessed by the devil of pain itself’ (Skloot, 98). The sweet girl everyone knew now wailed in pain as the cancer spread inside of her. She was caring even on her deathbed. Before she died, she instructed her sister to make sure Day, Henrietta’s husband, took care of their children.
Henrietta Lacks was overall a true mother to all. She cared for everyone even if there was no need, and never seemed to ask for much in return. She is portrayed as beautiful-heart, body and soul. Henrietta grew up without her parents, though she did have her grandfather and cousins with her. She lived in a time where discrimination was prominent, a place where there was poverty and in a world that was still sexist. She had to tolerate the promiscuous behavior of her husband, the troubles her children faced with the law, and the envy of those around her. However, none of that compares to the burden of having cancer and the fact that she would die before getting to raise her children. The woman behind the HeLa cells was a strong woman in character and mind.