The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Analysis

Modern Medicine, especially within America has revolutionized how patients are treated and has made breakthroughs in curing diseases. These accomplishments, however, did not come without their failures, as seen in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. The story details the life of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with epilepsy but her family, refugeed from Thailand, runs blindly into the stubborn American medical system—an experience made worse as the parents do not speak an English. Through taking the Christian perspective in our obligation to the marginalized ,examining the Baconian project of bioethics and its stance on bodily excellence, and understanding the relationships held between professionals and patients in concern …show more content…
“At first the Merced Sun-Star treated the new comers like exotic guests…soon, however, the Hmong – for whom the code word became ‘refugees’ – started to make headlines: ‘More $$$ Needed for Refugees.” The Hmong were caught in the worst financial state Merced could have been in at the time and were both blamed and outcasted because of this. This resulted even more patients coming into MCMC and eventually Lia and her parents visiting. Shuman and Volck in their discussion on the body without borders incorporate the Christian perspective when taking about hospitals, and one issue that surrounds Lia’s case is how the Hmong, as well as other marginalized communities should be treated. “We are personally and corporately responsible to the marginalized, and the shape of that obligation is embodied on the life of Jesus: we are required to reach out to the marginalized and reincorporate them into the community, the body of Christ gathers.” In this case, the hospital must see past the hate that society creates and become more by treating everyone with the same quality of care. This also includes understanding the patient, meeting them where they are, no matter their background, and providing spiritual and physical care to its fullest. We see the problems that occur when these actions are not taken early in Lia’s treatment during her first

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The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Analysis