Immigration Narrative

660 Words3 Pages
Not in my history class, nor my science class, nor my literature class that I learned what it means to be an immigrant. I always knew we were somehow viewed as second class citizens; however, it wasn't until last year when I met Luis that I realized how much damage it could do. In February of 2015, Luis worked two to three jobs because he had to pay for his mother's medicine in Guatemala and to support his fiance, Delma, here in the US. They lost four babies due to a medical condition Delma had before finally getting pregnant. Around the same time that Delma was pregnant Luis was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.Luis and Delma moved into my family’s apartment and leaned on us for support since they couldn’t pay rent on their own.Luis…show more content…
When they made it to my house Luis could no longer stand on his own while Delma was 5 months pregnant. My house was already full with 11 people and the dining room was used my grandparents’ bedroom. I ended up giving up my room so that Luis and Delma had a place to sleep and some privacy. This meant that I was in the living room. As time went on, I became Luis’ backbone. This meant I had to carry him everywhere because he didn’t have the strength. This became a burden on my shoulders, I had to do a lot of lifting and moving. It also was a challenge for my soul, because I knew I was supporting his life. I tried to give him his strength back by treating him like an actual person I told him that he was more than a man stuck in a bed. I wanted to show Luis that he was a strong and capable father, husband and a hard working man. One of our hardest moments was going to the doctor’s appointments. Appointments always gave me a bad feeling in my stomach because I was afraid to hear more bad news that I had to translate for Luis. The hardest appointment was the last one . “All I can tell you,” said the white-haired doctor at Boston Medical, “is that I can’t offer treatment--and nobody else can either, because it would be illegal. Unfortunately, he’ll have only about three months after his baby is born.” With that, he got up and walked
Open Document