L48 Anthro 3283 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Status Epilepticus, Asthma
Fadiman Ch. 9 (106-118)
• The first thing her parents did when Lia came home was a sacrifice; to celebrate her
homecoming
• Americans shocked by slaughtering of animals (ritual killings) by the Hmong and other
cultures/religions; laws made against these killings later on
o In Merced, there was an ordinance that banned the slaughtering of livestock
animals and poultry
• Hmong in Merced don’t sacrifice dogs (protected by the law), but some wish they could
• Lia’s parents used 3 months of her disability money to buy a cow to sacrifice; a rare and
important event
• After a few days at her house, the parents noticed that Lia was not the same; thought she
came back in a damaged condition; she used to be smarter
• Neil and Peggy surprised when they heard that the parents believed that they took her
away because of them being mad about being noncompliant, not because of her health
• Doctors at hospital thought that Hmong did not care too much for kids health; it was the
opposite; the Lees put a lot of money to pay for Lia’s expenses that were not covered;
often had to use their public assistance and ask relatives for money
• Jeanie had empathy for the Lee family; she knew what it is like to suffer from a chronic
illness (she has severe asthma) and she admired the closeness of Hmong families
• Jeanie loved Lia; kind of had an obsession with her
• Neil’s opinion on Jeanie: “a large pain in the ass”, always asking for updates on her, but
said she was good; an incredible patient advocate; nothing she wouldn’t do for Lia
• Lia started to gain more weight; mostly because her family kept doing everything for her,
didn’t move much
• Her behavioral problems stemmed from the lack of daily structure in her life; Jeanie
posted gave the Lees a schedule to follow; but didn’t really follow it, partly because of
the differences in telling the time
• Sept 1986 – Lia fell and hit her head and went into a status epilepticus, something the
doctors feared; kept having seizure after seizure, with no intervals of consciousness
o Parental noncompliance not a factor for once
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