The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down By Anne Fadiman
Mid-Term Paper
The spirit catches you and you fall down, by Anne Fadiman story talks about the cultural differences between Hmong and American cultures regarding medical professional problems for Hmong child 's name Lia with epilepsy. Hmong people have their own ways to treat by tvix neeb. They believe that people get sick due to ‘deb’, which means bad soul and the soul was flee.
Starting with Lia’s birth, she was different than her other spelling. She was born in California state in Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC). Her mother used to give birth to the traditional method in Laos, where she delivered into her own hands in silence to avoid blocking the birth with noise. At Lia’s …show more content…
The separation of Lia from her parents was the main cause of her serious psychological issues and further health issues. When doctors decided that Lia should not be under her parent 's care, the doctor’s anticipations depend on what people often should do in case of sickness. People usually follow the recommendations from their doctors and keep taking medication until they end up being healthy. Otherwise, people who do not feel comfortable with the treatment plan, they would simply discuss that with their doctors. But, if they have any miscommunication, what should they do? I feel that doctors should know when the family or person did not understand what they said or planning for treatment. I suppose that it is part of their job. Lia’s family was under stress due to doctor 's decision. However, I realize that the doctor made a big mistake by treating Hmong family as other people, which he knew that their lifestyle is more different than the ordinary people. Considering that there is a mess when it is coming to a separation between Lia and her family, the doctor could not understand that this is her family way to take care of Lia by her parents. He did not ask for more explanation with the good translator, which is the good doctor would do, in my opinion. The thing that makes a clear cross culture in this story is when Lia had her first seizure. Similar symptoms, …show more content…
The thing that I would do differently, I would try to communicate with the family with all my power to understand their belief and lifestyle. Even if I would communicate by drawing or sign language using hands. I believe understanding the culture and find a solution that satisfies all parties. In addition, I like Fadiman’s ideas about the nurse to give her medication rather than foster home for Lia. Regarding Dan Murphy’s thought, I agree with him when he said if the residents who first treated Lia had tried to earn the Lees family trust by trying to find out what the family believed. Actually, I am now in my practicum with children. They have a different background than I have. So, I do all what I could to understand them and ask them what they want and what they expect. I feel comfortable regarding what I am doing. Also, I remember one day, I had a child who only speaks Spanish while I speak English during my crisis intervention time. I tried to understand the child, but I could not at the first time. Then, I realized to understand the child, so I bring a blank paper and ask him to draw what he felt right now. He only understands a few word and I used google translate to have some help words. Finally, I began to know about what his feeling and I helped him. I suppose international students understand different cultures because they live in the other country for studying which is different
Mid-Term Paper
The spirit catches you and you fall down, by Anne Fadiman story talks about the cultural differences between Hmong and American cultures regarding medical professional problems for Hmong child 's name Lia with epilepsy. Hmong people have their own ways to treat by tvix neeb. They believe that people get sick due to ‘deb’, which means bad soul and the soul was flee.
Starting with Lia’s birth, she was different than her other spelling. She was born in California state in Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC). Her mother used to give birth to the traditional method in Laos, where she delivered into her own hands in silence to avoid blocking the birth with noise. At Lia’s …show more content…
The separation of Lia from her parents was the main cause of her serious psychological issues and further health issues. When doctors decided that Lia should not be under her parent 's care, the doctor’s anticipations depend on what people often should do in case of sickness. People usually follow the recommendations from their doctors and keep taking medication until they end up being healthy. Otherwise, people who do not feel comfortable with the treatment plan, they would simply discuss that with their doctors. But, if they have any miscommunication, what should they do? I feel that doctors should know when the family or person did not understand what they said or planning for treatment. I suppose that it is part of their job. Lia’s family was under stress due to doctor 's decision. However, I realize that the doctor made a big mistake by treating Hmong family as other people, which he knew that their lifestyle is more different than the ordinary people. Considering that there is a mess when it is coming to a separation between Lia and her family, the doctor could not understand that this is her family way to take care of Lia by her parents. He did not ask for more explanation with the good translator, which is the good doctor would do, in my opinion. The thing that makes a clear cross culture in this story is when Lia had her first seizure. Similar symptoms, …show more content…
The thing that I would do differently, I would try to communicate with the family with all my power to understand their belief and lifestyle. Even if I would communicate by drawing or sign language using hands. I believe understanding the culture and find a solution that satisfies all parties. In addition, I like Fadiman’s ideas about the nurse to give her medication rather than foster home for Lia. Regarding Dan Murphy’s thought, I agree with him when he said if the residents who first treated Lia had tried to earn the Lees family trust by trying to find out what the family believed. Actually, I am now in my practicum with children. They have a different background than I have. So, I do all what I could to understand them and ask them what they want and what they expect. I feel comfortable regarding what I am doing. Also, I remember one day, I had a child who only speaks Spanish while I speak English during my crisis intervention time. I tried to understand the child, but I could not at the first time. Then, I realized to understand the child, so I bring a blank paper and ask him to draw what he felt right now. He only understands a few word and I used google translate to have some help words. Finally, I began to know about what his feeling and I helped him. I suppose international students understand different cultures because they live in the other country for studying which is different