Bigotry confines their trans daughter at home. Her parents worry what she'll do when they're gone

[Demovictory9]

He starts his shift before dawn working three industrial fryers at a frozen food factory. Jose Morales lifts a basket of burritos out of one vat of oil, hangs it to dry and dunks another in, all day juggling hot metal that has left mottled scars on his inner arms.

After work, he guides his 30-year-old stepdaughter Sandy Vazquez in a wheelchair through an out-patient clinic in Willowbrook. Jose is well short of 5 feet, his slight stature common in the part of Mexico where he grew up, where indigenous Nahua blood runs deep.

While he can barely see over Sandy’s head as he pushes, he has always been the big man in her life, the one who took her to Toys R Us to get her first princess Barbie dolls, the one who chased her tormentors away — and who never once questioned her when she said she was a girl.

For Jose and his wife, Reyna, their transgender daughter brought out an iron sense of purpose: they had to protect her until she found her own safe place.

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Her parents hoped she might be able to find a job and, some day, a partner who loved her.

The last year battered those hopes. The family caught COVID-19 in December and Reyna almost died of it before recovering. And in May, Sandy faced the prospect of losing her foot and lower leg from an infection.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-07-13/los-angeles-parents-survive-covid-worry-about-trans-daughter

[Blue Dawn]

1. I read the entire article.

I have the utmost respect for Jose. What an incredible man he is. This family is going through such a tough time. I wish I had lots of money because I would be thrilled to be able to help them out.

The photos added a lot to the story. Thank you for sharing this, Demovictory9.

[Demovictory9]

2. yes. the father has been through a lot..

[Blue Dawn]

3. He certainly has.

The one photo of him just broke my heart, the one where he looks as if he is crying and in despair. I honestly don't know how he manages working all day and then taking care of his wife and his daughter. He has so many responsibilities that are overwhelming. Many men would abandon their families altogether if they had the burdens that Jose has.

I wish everyone would read this article. People like Jose deserve our respect and our assistance. This article will be on my mind a long time.

[Raine]

4. My heart breaks for the father

he works such hard jobs and then comes home and takes care of the family. They really needs some help.