Circumstances

It is sad to read that the people who really tried to help Lia had to watch her deteriorate in front of their eyes. The mix of circumstances and confusion between all the factions that really tried to help her just exacerbated her problem. At a certain point, it seems that Peggy and Neil just pretty much gave up on Lia while her parents kept on trying. As Fadiman had mentioned, they had already lost three children and survived numerous catastrophic events. It's both astonishing and not so surprising at the same time to see that they had not given up.
Throughout the book, Fadiman continuously adds different dimensions to the story of the Lee family. The aspect of assimilation was interesting to me, in that Fadiman made distinctions between reasons why the European immigrants left (to assimilate) and why the Hmong left (to escape assimilation). Just to relate this to a current event, this is similar to what is going on now with the Tibetan situation and China. Why would these people want to assimilate if that was what they were being forced to do before and give up their cultural identity? Relating this back to Lia's situation, I think this is partly what led to the overall complicated situation. Accepting Western medicine would mean forgoing their own ideals and beliefs. At the time the book was written, the view was that Western, scientific, medicine and Eastern, mostly esoteric, medicine were exclusive and incompatible with each other.
Later, when the revelation came that Lia's deterioration was the result of the hospital's errors, everything seemed to straighten out in terms of clarity. One quote was especially interesting: "Lia was dead to her physicians...because medicine had once made extravagant claims on her behalf and had had to renounce them" (257). This doesn't seem to please her parents, as Foua just seems sad at how things have turned out. I really consider the story of Lia a sort of tragedy in that she was a victim of unusual and uncontrollable circumstances. In retrospect, it seems clear in how the situations should have been handled. Still, the complexities and obstacles that come along with two clashing cultures like the American and Hmong seemed to be mired in many things. Fadiman points out the issues with American bureaucracy, politics, history, medicine, etc., and then Hmong mindset, culture, and various practices. Maybe Lia's situation could have been avoided if a different approach had been taken respect to the consequences. Her case can only be looked at as an example for future generations who meet the same circumstances.