The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down

In addition, relying on a doctor who does not share the same beliefs as one does can become fearful. Trusting the doctor for full treatment is necessary but when from a different cultural background it can prevent them on trusting them. According to a research article, Cross- Cultural Medicine a Decade Later, clearly states “when the basic belief structure of biomedicine and another set of health beliefs differs radically, problems and frustrations almost inevitably arise” (Barker, 1992, p.249). The central purpose of the research was to show whether or not health beliefs between patient and doctor differs will they find it difficult to interpret the symptoms and treatment variations to accommodate their beliefs. However, the doctor having faith in one’s health beliefs can sometimes be beneficial for the patients because they’ll be fully understood and not misjudged as being crazy. As stated by the author, for the article Chinese Health Beliefs of Older Chinese in Canada, “the findings support the previous prescriptive knowledge about Chinese health beliefs and illustrate the intergroup socio-cultural diversity that health practitioners should acknowledge in their practice” (Lai, 2009, 38). Like the Chinese, Hmong’s too first go to their shaman for traditional treatment rather than going to the doctor; to them an illness and their healing is more of a spiritual thing that

I feel that Anne Fadiman narrated the story of Lia Lee’s and her family’s life in intimate and tragic detail. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a poignant depiction of the struggle between loving parents, hard-working medical professionals, and a very precious child caught in the middle of a tug-of-war. Ms. Fadiman very distinctly illustrates how the collision of two cultures indirectly led to the demise of a little seven- year old girl.

Born in China, I grew up with Western medicine alongside thousands-years-old Traditional Chinese Medicine. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, diseases are thought to be due to an imbalance of life energy force (qi). While it has curative treatments, such as herbal medicine and acupuncture, there’s a greater emphasis on disease prevention through balanced diet, meditation, and exercise. My upbringing meant I can appreciate that there might different approaches to medicine and healing. I moved to the US when I was eleven years old and quickly became bilingual. Being fluent in two languages makes it easier for me to not only communicate with more people, but also form deeper connections through a common language. I had the opportunity to experience two cultures, whose differences and similarities have only enriched my life. I believe my exposure to a different type of medicine as well as my immigrant experience helped to shape my worldview and can bring educational benefits to Georgetown.

Lias final seizure was a horrifying yet blameless conclusion to her extremely short life. At only four years old she went into an extremely violent seizure that lasted for hours. Nurses and doctors were unable to stop her seizing due to her size (Fadiman 143). When they were finally successful in stopping her seizure she had almost no brain activity left, and was declared brain dead and sent home to die, (Fadima 211). Following all of the previous events of her life it can be easily assumed that the Lees did not give Lia her medicine, or the doctors and MCMC complicated her regime, causing her symptoms to worsen, but that is not the case. Lia had her final seizure due to sepsis, not because she was epileptic. (Fadiman 147). The fact that her organs were shutting down was hidden by a lack of symptoms. Despite everyone finally doing what they needed to do, Lia’s fate had already been sealed at that point. The ultimate cause of her brain death was nobody 's fault at all, and it had nothing to do with culture, it was just an unfortunate accident.

With the loud noise of a slamming door the family believed that Lia’s spirit had been frightened and left the body causing the sickness she was experiencing. The family saw the seizures as an illness of some distinction. In the Hmong culture epileptics often become shamans. The chapter goes on to tell the child’s story about multiple trips to the Hospital Emergency Room. It speaks about the lack of communication surrounding the child’s symptoms. The family is unable, and the medical team unaware of the lack of communication about medical dosages. The doctors have no idea about parental refusal to give certain medicines due to mistrust, misunderstandings, and behavioral side effects. The doctors do not attempt to develop more empathy with the traditional Hmong lifestyle or try to learn more about the Hmong culture. The dichotomy between the Hmong's perceived spiritual factors and the Americans' perceived scientific factors comprises the overall theme.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (1997) is an ethnography written by Anne Faidman. It tells the story of Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, and her family’s journey with managing the condition and the cultural barriers that posed great challenges in Lia’s care. Lia was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 1. It was her family’s opinion that the condition was a spiritual gift. Lia’s parents, Nao Kao and Foua, were wary of the American medical system, preferring to treat Lia in the Hmong way. Under the more spiritually focused care of her parents, Lia continued to have severe seizures; at the age of 4 ½, she slipped into a coma that would last the rest of her life. This book serves as a testament to the importance of cultural competency

Structural Causes of Cultural Insensitivity in Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story by author Anne Fadiman, which explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia’s parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of communication between them led to tragedy.1The lack of communication due to cultural misunderstanding, mistrust, lack empathy, and poor health literacy led to care being comprised for Lia, which also affected both her parents and healthcare providers.

The story draws attention to the disadvantage that the language barrier caused in the Chapter titled “Take as Directed”. This chapter talks about how the parents don’t follow the doctor’s orders in giving Lia the proper dosing regimen. The staff and doctor’s didn’t know if her parents simply did not want to give her the medicine or if they basically didn’t know or understand what to do. Lia’s suffers a grand mal seizure during this chapter and gets intubated and placed on a ventilator to keep her alive. To make matters worse, the doctors start to believe that the seizures are causing retardation and that if Nao and Foua would give the child the medicine as directed she would be getting better. Finally a decision is made among medical staff that placing Lia under Foster care may be in her best interest in order to assure a proper dosing regimen.

1. Do you think the author was evenhanded in her presentation of Hmong culture and medical culture?

The United States is known for its melting pot of cultures, which creates one of the most contentious issues in the medical world which is the clash of cultures. The book we read “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” is a great example of how a miss communication and struggle between cultures which lead to a very dismal end. The difference in beliefs cause constant issues in communication, even though both want what is best.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down published in 1997 is a true story involving a Hmong girl named Lia Lee. At a young age, it is discovered that Lia has epilepsy, a physical disease of the nervous system. Although the book is about the Lee family, it also sheds a light on cultural barriers that the Lee family struggled with when becoming Hmong immigrants. The Lee’s were political refugees fleeing their home country of Laos in response to the "Silent War.” They ended up in California where life was much different then they once knew. Lia’s parents and her doctors struggled to meet in the middle and never truly understood one another due to both their language and cultural obstacles. Over time Lia got worse and worse and after having a

In The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, there are many different intercultural misunderstandings. A Hmong girl’s life was forever changed because of these misunderstandings and some things could have easily been avoided, had each side taken the time to better understand the other.

The book titled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: Talks about a Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures written by Anne Fadiman. Anne Fadiman is an American essayist and reporter, who interests include literary journalism. She is a champion of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, the Salon Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest. In the book, Anne Fadiman explores the clash between a county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the health care of Lia Lee. Lia Lee is a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy, whose parents and the doctors wanted the best treatment for her, but the lack of communication cause a tragedy. The essay paper will state and explain what went wrong between Lia’s family and the doctors. The central point is a lack of understanding between them leads to Lia’s tragedy.

I have to admit when I first read “The spirit catches you and you fall down” I thought it would be pretty boring turns out its one of the most interesting books I have ever read. The cultural conflicts can apply to anyone and knowing a little bit more now what the Hmong people have actually gone through can make everyone develop a great amount of respect for the culture. The Lee family continuously went full force colliding with the American ways in order to protect their traditions so they could preserve their culture. Unfortunately, in the end it didn’t help them but that was all they knew considering the fact that that the doctors at MCMC hospital didn’t really go out of their way to explain procedures it only makes sense for the Lee family to revert back to what they know in their traditions.