The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

A doctor tells Deborah that her blood pressure and blood sugar were so high during her trip that she could have had a stroke or heart attack at any moment. Rebecca wonders whether this might be a medical explanation for Deborah’s strange behavior. To avoid stress, Deborah stops going on road trips with Rebecca, but continues to receive frequent reports as Rebecca researches.

Deborah begins spending all of her time planning her speech to the National Foundation for Cancer Research, although she is terrified of getting up on stage. She tells Rebecca one day that she wants to go back to school in order to learn more about what happened to her mother and sister, and she even contemplates becoming a dental assistant or radiation technologist, so she can help cancer patients.

Rebecca becomes apprehensive as the conference approaches, worried that Deborah will become ill. Deborah’s brothers, meanwhile, begin telling her not to speak at all and demanding Henrietta’s records. Alfred Jr., Deborah’s son, is charged with attempted murder, and one of Deborah’s nephews ends up in jail as well. Then September 11th strikes. The conference is canceled, and Deborah is distraught.

A few days later, Deborah has a stroke while at church. Her grandson Davon is the first to notice—he starts the engine of her car in order to take her to a fire station down the road, and he keeps her awake in the backseat. The firemen tell him that he saved Deborah’s life.

The doctors tell Deborah that she will probably recover completely, and Deborah calls Rebecca to let her know what has happened, telling her not to worry and to keep reporting, while also wishing her a happy birthday. Doctors try to educate Deborah about how to become healthier, and she plans to take classes on nutrition and diabetes as well.

Deborah’s stroke seems “to ease tension in the family,” and her brothers begin calling her every day. Deborah plans to rest so that she can continue researching with Rebecca, telling the reporter that she’s learned not to be “scared” anymore, and that she wants to learn. Rebecca explains, however, that Deborah simply does not have enough money to go back to school, and indeed she eventually gives up, focusing instead on getting the next generation of Lacks children educated.

Two months after Deborah’s stroke, Rebecca goes with the Lackses to see Reverend Pullum baptize Sonny’s granddaughter, JaBrea. Pullum calls on Rebecca to stand by him, and when she refuses, he begins speaking directly to her in front of the congregation, asking her to come up and tell the story of Henrietta. The nervous Rebecca does so, talking about Henrietta as Deborah weeps. Pullum explains that he and Deborah used to be angry at Rebecca, but that they now know that Rebecca will help Lacks children like JaBrea know who their great-grandmother was. He ends his speech with prayer.