Waiting in fear: A migrant mother struggles to find health care in Chicago

Esperanza Mendez worries she may be dying, though she doesn’t say it out loud to her two young children.

There is a cyst on her neck, which she said feels like it’s putting pressure on her brain and causing pain in her head.

The lump has been growing for three years, and now her whole body aches, especially her arms and legs. She has trouble opening and closing her fists.

“I feel terrible. My head hurts so much,” she often says while pressing her thumbs on her temple. “Me siento muy mal. Me duele mucho la cabeza.”