What is the main theme of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down?

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is a critically acclaimed book describing the importance of understanding cultural influence on health care and health outcomes.

Is Lia Lee still alive?

Deceased (1922–2011)
Lia Lee/Living or Deceased

What’s Lia’s initial diagnosis?

The youngest child, Lia, began having seizures when she was three months old and was eventually diagnosed with epilepsy. Over a period of several years, differing opinions about her condition and care resulted in repeated conflicts between her parents and the medical staff at the local hospital.

What was the revealed cause of Lia’s brain death?

The immediate cause was pneumonia, Ms. Fadiman said. But Lia’s underlying medical issues were more complex still, for she had lived the last 26 of her 30 years in a persistent vegetative state. Today, most people in that condition die within three to five years.

What is the spirit catches you and you fall down about?

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Summary. Her family continued to love and care for her, and each year a tvix neeb held a ceremony to ease her suffering. Interspersed in Lia’s story are chapters on the history and culture of the Hmong, which help to explain the Lees’ point of view. The ethnic group originated in China,…

Who is Lia in the spirit catches you and you fall down?

Lia, who is epileptic, struggles in the American medical system, a drama that inspires Fadiman to consider the nature of American medicine while also providing a comprehensive ethnographic study of Hmong culture.

What did Jeanine do in spirit catches you and you fall down?

Jeanine was thankful that this tragedy hadn’t happened while Lia was in foster care, or the Hmong community would have blamed her and CPS for Lia’s death. On Lia’s second day at MCMC, Nao Kao demanded that the doctors remove Lia’s IV and discontinue all medications.

Who are the foster parents in spirit catches you and you fall down?

Concerned for Lia’s safety, Neil notified Child Protective Services (CPS) and had the child placed into foster care. While her foster parents were kind, the separation was traumatic for both Lia and her parents. Lia’s social worker, Jeanine Hilt, taught Foua how to administer Lia’s medication so that the family could be reunited.