The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a book by Anne Fadiman that tells the story of Lia Lee, a young Hmong girl with epilepsy, and her struggles with the American healthcare system. The book is a poignant and eye-opening exploration of the cultural barriers that can prevent effective communication and care between patients and doctors.
Lia was born in Merced, California to Hmong refugees from Laos. The Hmong are a minority group with a rich cultural heritage and a history of political persecution. Many Hmong fled to the United States in the 1970s and 1980s as refugees. In the Hmong culture, illness is believed to be caused by spiritual factors and is treated through a combination of traditional remedies and rituals.
When Lia was three months old, she had her first seizure. From then on, she lived with constant seizures and developmental delays. Lia's parents, Foua and Nao Kao, sought medical help for their daughter, but they often found themselves at odds with the healthcare system. They did not understand the Western medical terminology and treatments being used, and doctors did not take the time to explain things in a way that the Lees could understand.
As Lia's condition worsened, tensions between the Lees and the healthcare system only grew. The Lees refused to follow the doctors' recommendations, believing that the medications were harmful to Lia's body and spirit. The doctors, on the other hand, saw the Lees' refusal to comply with their instructions as a lack of cooperation and concern for Lia's health.
The situation came to a head when Lia was six years old and she was placed in foster care. The Lees were devastated, but they eventually regained custody of Lia and continued to care for her at home. However, the damage had been done, and Lia's health continued to decline. She eventually died at the age of 31.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a heart-wrenching tale of a family caught between two cultures, each with its own beliefs and ways of life. It is a reminder of the importance of understanding and respect in the healthcare system, and the devastating consequences that can result when those things are lacking. It is a must-read for anyone working in the medical field or anyone interested in cultural differences and the challenges they can present.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
There were also differences between Foua and I. In what ways was their new life better or worse than their old life? Systems allow you to live in a proactive rather than in a reactive way. The book is about a small Hmong child named Lia Lee, who had epilepsy. The Lees believed that through animal sacrifices, traditional tvix neeb ceremonies and traditional Hmong medicines, that Lia would be cured. The spirit catches you and you fall down: a Hmong child, her American doctors, and the collision of two cultures. This sort of treatment was the norm for the Lee family and almost all the Hmong people who had lived in America, so despite their efforts, they were considered less important and probably lesser humans.
The spirit catches you
Despite living alone on the margins of society, he is actually clever, courageous, resilient, and a virtuoso of the qeej, a highly esteemed musical instrument. The second is to interpret literature both personally and historically, that is, to show how a great book generally reflects not only the author's life and thought but also the spirit of the age and the ideals of the nation's history. They take pride in their culture, their society, and the way they view how government should run. Major Causes of the Great Depression From 1929 through 1939, the U. Neglect of Reasonable Truths A Chinese girl Lia looks like a personification of a unique personality that is different from most peers and is forced to experience severe consequences of her illness. The first thing that would allow two cultures, such as the Hmong and the United States medical culture, to effectively communicate is knowing what their core values, core distinction, and some key elements to their culture in regards to value dimensions.
The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Essay
During the next four years, her anticonvulsant medicines were changed about 25 times, which would have been hell for any family. Don't use plagiarized sources. From cultural practices, beliefs, values, biases, attire, to past history and experience, our world is shaped in many dissimilar ways. Ward a female Anthropologist went to this Island to study its inhabitants. When Lia became sick, they tried using their own ways of healing to make her well, but were told they were wrong. As part of the Hmong culture, they are naturally very violent and are not deterred by being outnumbered. This is what living in Cambodia during the Cambodian Genocide was like.
