The Spirit Catches You

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The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is the story of Lia Lee, a child born to Hmong immigrant parents in Merced, California, in 1982. Lia was the fourteenth child of Foua and Nao Kao Lee. “When Lia was three months old, her older sister Yer slammed the front door of their apartment. A few moments later Lia’s eyes rolled up, her arms jerked over her head, and she fainted.” (Fadiman, 2012)The Lee’s knew the loud noise had frightened her soul and that it had fled from her body and become lost. They recognized this as quag dab peg, “the spirit catches you and you fall down.” (Fadiman, 2012) Translated in Hmong-English dictionaries, quag dab peg meant Lia had epilepsy. Unfortunately it wasn’t until the third visit to Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC) that they accurately diagnosed Lia as having epilepsy. Throughout the next few years Lia became what we now refer to as a “frequent flyer”. Her primary physicians were Dr. Neil Ernst and Dr. Peggy Philip. During these frequent visits her primary care physicians became very familiar with Lia. Cultural barriers and basic misunderstandings prevented Lia’s parents from giving correct dosages of prescribed medication, so doctors were never sure if she was getting the right amounts and combinations of her medicine. Lia’s parents often didn’t follow medical instruction to medicate Lia. Lia’s PCP’s had her on a very complicated regimen of medication. It was difficult for the Lee’s to understand the dosing. The Lee’s also thought that one of the medications, the Dilantin, was actually making her worse. Her parents would dose her with what they thought was working best for Lia. The Spirit is more than a story of a child; Fadiman depicts the clash of two cultures in central California. In the Hmong culture most ailments are caused by harmful spirits or Dabs, often these are cured with spiritual cures and animal sacrifices

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