Summary

In “La Doctora,” Hernández met Janet nine months after her baby’s birth. For months, Janet and José “waited for news of when [Luis] would be treated” (161). Because the FDA had not yet approved benznidazole, the pediatricians were waiting on “protocols from the CDC” (161). The family did not have health insurance and the process was lengthy. Janet had yet to see “an infectious disease specialist” (162). She was desperate to get better for Luis.

Hernández talked to “Robert Gilman at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,” curious about know “why so few American doctors knew about the kissing bug disease” (162, 163). He explained about Hispanic populations in the United States within the last 30 years. Many schools also “don’t offer a parasitic disease course,” and those that do not study the kissing bug disease (163).

When Luis was a month...