EARLY LIFE So many historical figures have been “immortalized” to the point that we forget that they were real people. Before their renowned accomplishments or contributions most historical figures lived normal lives like the rest of us. Henrietta Lacks was an actual living and breathing person no different from you or me. She is known for her cell line, not who she was as a person. I feel that it is very important to share people’s stories to create an emotional connection. Henrietta Lacks was born with the name Loretta Pleasant in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1, 1920. Born into a black family in the South during the 1920s, life was not easy. Her mother, Eliza Pleasant, died when Henrietta was four years old and her father, Johnny Pleasant, was not willing to raise the ten children. He sent the kids to be split up between relatives in Clover, Virginia. She lived on her grandfather Tommy Lacks’ tobacco farm and that is where she presumably gained the name Henrietta. All of the children who lived there were responsible for working the fields regardless of their age. She shared a room with her older cousin and future husband Day Lacks. Neither Henrietta nor Day made it past the sixth grade because they were needed at home for farming (Skloot, 2010). Henrietta and Day had their first child, Lawrence, when she was 14 years old. Four years later they had a daughter named Lucile Elsie Pleasant who was born with what would later be called mental retardation. With two children, Henrietta and Day decided to get married on April 10, 1941. They stayed on the tobacco farm and continued to work until Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941. In Maryland, a town called Turner Station became a hub for war materials. In turn, various positions for blacks and whites opened up. Day first moved to Maryland in search of a job and a house. Henrietta and the children soon moved to Turner Station as well (Skloot, 2010). LATER LIFE & CANCER DIAGNOSIS Henrietta and Day lived in Turner Station and had three more children between 1941 and 1950. David Lacks Jr. was born in 1947 and was given the nickname Sonny. Deborah Lacks was born in 1949 and Joseph Lacks was born in 1950. Henrietta started experiencing a strange sharp pain around her womb after she gave birth to her daughter Deborah. This pain persisted for a year and even after she gave birth to Joseph in 1950. She finally decided to visit the doctor. Her doctor tested her for syphilis and she was negative. Henrietta was advised to see another doctor at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Johns Hopkins was not the closest hospital, but one of the few that treated black patients. Jim Crow laws were in effect and everything was segregated (Skloot,2010). In January of 1951, Henrietta saw Dr. Howard Jones at Johns Hopkins hospital and had sample of her cervix tested to rule out cancer or any other illness. Her test came back positive for Stage I cervical cancer. She underwent radium treatment to try and eliminate the tumor in her cervix. Dr. Lawrence Wharton Jr. performed the procedure that placed radium inserts into her cervix. Before the procedure, Dr. Wharton removed two samples from Henrietta’s cervix and had them sent off to an associate named Dr. George Gey (Gamble, 2014). After a few weeks it appeared as though the treatment was killing the cancer cells, but she began to experience even more pain. By September 1951, the cancer had metastasized to where she had tumors all throughout her body. She was admitted to Johns Hopkins permanently. All treatments were withheld and Henrietta was given only painkillers. So far I have given a decent background of Henrietta’s life and experiences with dates, places, and names. Although these details give context to her life, they are not the whole story of who she was. Real history entails what people valued and how they handled difficult situations in life. The story that truly captures who Henrietta Lacks really was, occurred near the end of her life (Skloot, 2010). Despite the excruciating physical and mental pain that Henrietta Lacks was faced with, all she cared about was her children. After she was admitted to the hospital permanently, Day would bring the children to visit. It had gotten so painful for her to say goodbye when they left that Day was advised by the hospital staff to stop bringing the children for visits. Day heeded, but he brought the children to the hospital every day to play in the yard outside of Henrietta’s window. This allowed her to stand at the window and watch her smiling children play. When the pain became too severe to even leave the bed her sister Gladys came to the hospital. The two did not get along as children, but the two made amends on Henrietta’s deathbed. The last thing that Henrietta said to Gladys was, “You make sure Day takes care of them children. Especially my baby girl Deborah. Don’t you let anything bad happen to them children when I’m gone” (Skloot, 2010 85-86). Henrietta passed away shortly after her conversation with Gladys on October 4, 1951. She left this world as a caring mother whose only concern was her children’s well-being. That is who Henrietta Lacks was. |
Background Photo: One of the few photos of Henrietta that exists, taken at some point in the 1940s (Photo 2).
Above Top: Henrietta and Day Lacks around 1945(Photo 3) Middle: Henrietta's surviving family taken in 2009 (Photo 4). 1. Sonny Lacks 2. Joseph Lacks (Later changed name to Zakariyya) 3. Lawrence Lacks Bottom Left: Deborah Lacks around age four (Photo 5) Bottom Right: Elsie Lacks around age five (Photo 6) For more pictures and videos of the Lacks family, please visit the Lacks Family Website below:
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