Born in grief

A mother’s death highlights pandemic’s racial disparities.

She would have turned 36 in August, but for COVID-19.

Family decided to gather for her birthday anyway, coming together on a sunny evening to decorate the grave of Aurora Chacon-Esparza with balloons and flowers.

Alongside the plot marked with a simple white cross, they placed a bassinet with the most precious gift of all — the baby girl she was carrying when she was struck by the virus.

“We never thought my wife would have gotten this sick,” Juan Duran-Gutierrez said softly, his eyes shielded by sunglasses. Continue reading.