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Summary Of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down By Anne Fadiman

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The author of this book is called Anne Fadiman. It is based on a story of a Hmong child known as Lia Lee who suffered from epilepsy. The demise of this condition shows the harm that can be contributed by absence of cross-cultural communication especially in the area of medicine.
At the age of three months, the elder sister to Lia known as Yer banged a door which caused Lia to have the first seizure. Lia’s parents, Nao Kao and Foua had the believe that the loud sound made by the door led to the fleeing of her soul. The diagnosis they made was qaug dab peg to her complication, “the spirit catches you and you fall down”. In that state of concern for the safety of their daughter, Nao Kao and Foua had a believe that her sudden illness had a special transformation on her, since several people who suffer from epilepsy were appointed to be ‘shamans’ or ‘tvix neebs’ at the Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) is where they sought for treatment, though they as well used ancient methods of healing and used a tvix neeb as they tried their best to have her soul back. Due to their culture, they believed in a little neeb and a little medicine, and they were astonished that a lot of …show more content…

After getting back home and four months were over, Lia developed status epilepticus which saw her spend two weeks in the hospital. After months she experienced yet another intensified seizure, which was unending. It resulted that the child suffered septic shock, a state that made her brain to have an irreversible damage. By assuming that the child would die, her doctors permitted the family to have her stay at home. Surprising enough, the child survived for twenty-six years more. She continued to receive warm care and love from her family, and every year a tvix need conducted an event to make her suffering easy since she would feel loved and accepted (Fadiman,

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