They don't trust the doctors to treat them without discrimination if they arrive on foot. What is the underlying root cause? Because the tiger represented in Hmong folktales wickedness and duplicity, this was a very serious curse. While Foua and Nao Kao usually carried Lia to the hospital, they recognized the severity of her symptoms and called an ambulance instead, believing it would make the medical staff pay more attention to her. She does not structure her book to lay blame at anyone's feet. Hospital staff tried to explain what was happening, but despite the presence of interpreters, the Lees remained confused. Stream Chapter 11 - The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down from melloky | Listen online for free on. She also suffered septic shock, fell into a coma, and became effectively brain dead. Lia Lee was born in California's Merced Community Medical Center, or MCMC, in July of 1982 to mother Foua and father Nao Kao. By classifying organisms into different species, genus or families, we try to exert control over nature. I think that's a testament to Fadiman's willingness to take on every third rail in modern American life: religion, race, and the limits of government intervention.
Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book! Lia was on the verge of death when the ambulance arrived. November 25, 1986 was the day Lia's doctors had dreaded. What effect does this create in the book?
Fadiman explores the complicated system of rituals and beliefs that govern traditional Hmong life. It has no heroes or villains, but it has an abunance of innocent suffering, and it most certainly does have a mora.... The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis. [A] sad, excellent book. Later, she points out what the doctors didn't pay attention to - her high temperature, diarrhea, and a very low platelet count - which later turned out to be signs of septic shock. • Where—New York, New York, USA. His answer is what I expected, and why I hope this book continues to get read. Categorization and classification is the 'bread-and-butter' of science.
There's much background about the Hmong people going back centuries and recent history also. The doctors did not understand that the Lee family believed, valued, or thought; and the Lee parents generally had a very different interpretation of the doctors' actions and Lia's illness. As of January 2005, in a program established by Yale alumnus Paul E. Francis, Anne Fadiman became Yale University's first Francis Writer in Residence, a three-year position which allows her to teach a non-fiction writing seminar, and advise, mentor and interact with students and editors of undergraduate publications. There is a great deal of irony in this chapter. Magazine Award - Reporting. To the very end, she was treated with unwavering love and care by her family. Chapter 11 the spirit catches you and you fall down essay. And I am fairly wedded to it, but I really appreciated this look into a culture so different from my own. It's not stupidity, it's not lack of common sense, whatever.
Anne Fadiman comments: Foua (the mother) didn't own a watch, nor did she know what a minute was. Roger Fife is liked by the Hmong because, in their words, he "doesn't cut" (p. Chapter 11 the spirit catches you and you fall down essays. 76). Then she loses consciousness but remains alive. However, through this narrative, Anne Fadiman discusses cultural challenges in medicine (and in general), immigration, Hmong history and culture, and trust in an incredibly thorough and fascinating way.
They took Lia to Merced Community Medical Center, a county hospital that just happened to boast a nationally-renowned team of pediatric doctors. With death believed to be imminent, the Lees were permitted to take her home. I'm glad I read it and I hope I keep it in mind when I encounter those from other cultures and have difficulties with how I may feel about them. Doctor: "How long have you been having these headaches? I doubt very much that this conundrum has any generic answer. There were and are no easy answers, but there always are lessons to be learned, and a lot can be learned from this book. The author says, "I was the staggering toll of stress that the Hmong exacted from the people who took care of them, particularly the ones who were young, idealistic, and meticulous" (p. 75). The Hmong are often referred to as a "Stone Age" people or "low-caste hill tribe. " At their wit's end the doctors have the little girl removed from the home and placed into foster care. Lia's tragedy is placed in context by Fadiman's thoroughly researched chapters on the history of the Hmong. They heard rumors about the United States about urban violence, welfare dependence, being unable to sacrifice animals, doctors who ate the organs of patients, and so on. Description:||ix, 355 pages; 21 cm |. He is not highly regarded by some of the other doctors, however. Several years earlier, while the family was escaping from Laos to Thailand, the father had killed a bird with a stone, but he had not done so cleanly, and the bird had suffered.