The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
- Yes, the chapter title is the same as the book title.
- So here's the deal. Lia has her first seizure when she's three months old. Her parents blame this on her older sister, Yer: Yer had slammed the door just before the seizure happened, which in their minds scared the soul out of Lia's body.
- In Hmong culture, epilepsy is known as "quag dab peg," which means "the spirit catches you and you fall down" (3.1). While considered by some to be an illness, seizures are actually seen as a good thing. Many shamans—known as txiv neeb—use seizures to commune with the spirit realm. So we can't be that mad at Yer, right?
- Not quite. These parents land somewhere in between. Though they are proud of Lia, they walk her over to the Merced Community Medical Center (or MCMC) whenever she has a seizure.
- Some more background: MCMC is a nationally recognized teaching hospital for the University of California, so it's pretty nice. Still, the hospital is woefully unprepared for the scores of Hmong refugees that flood into Merced in the '70s.
- With about 20% of the city now Hmong—many of whom don't speak English—the hospital has a hard time effectively serving its patients. Most of the time there's not even an interpreter.
- That's certainly true the first time Nao Kao and Foua bring Lia to MCMC. Because neither parent can speak English—and Lia's seizure has stopped—the doctor doesn't realize that she's epileptic, instead diagnosing her with pneumonia (don't ask us how they got those things confused) and sending them on their way.
- Lia doesn't receive an accurate diagnosis until their third time at the hospital—luckily, they're "accompanied by a cousin who spoke some English" (3.13).
- This time, they're helped by Dan Murphy, a recent transplant to Merced who has been learning a lot about Hmong culture. Thanks, Dan.
- After a host of tests and treatments, Lia is released from the hospital. Dr. Murphy gives Nao Kao and Foua detailed instructions for Lia's new medications, but—as you might've guessed—they're written in English. You can guess how that'll end up.