Lia's doctors assumed she would die and allowed the family to take her home. She did not die, however, for another twenty-six years. Her family continued to love and care for her, and each year a tvix neeb held a ceremony to ease her suffering.
The Hmong's tenacity and unwillingness to surrender helped them to survive for thousands of years. However, it also made them wary of submitting to doctors' orders. A compounding factor in Hmong noncompliance was their taboo against many western medical procedures. For instance, they believed that the body has only a finite amount of blood and that frequently taking one's blood can be harmful or fatal. They thought surgery might lead to disfigurement not only in this lifetime but also in subsequent
The Hmong's tenacity and unwillingness to surrender helped them to survive for thousands of years. However, it also made them wary of submitting to doctors' orders. A compounding factor in Hmong noncompliance was their taboo against many western medical procedures. For instance, they believed that the body has only a finite amount of blood and that frequently taking one's blood can be harmful or fatal. They thought surgery might lead to disfigurement not only in this lifetime but also in subsequent