In Chapter 18, Anne Fadiman makes an interesting point about different doctors in MCMC and their relations with their patients. She describes the relations Francesca Farr and Dan Murphy had with the Hmong as love relationships. Francesca Farr, the social worker, went against standard procedure of MCMC to take special care of the Hmong patients, and even put aside her own belief system. Dan Murphy said that "of the ten most admirable people he had met in the last decade, seven or eight were Hmong." Other people included in the list of Hmong "lovers" are Jeanine Hilt, Sukey Waller, Eric Crystal, and Dwight Conquergood. What these people also have in common is their higher success rate in communicating and dealing with the Lees.
In contrast to this, Fadiman states that Neil and Peggy liked Hmong, "but they did not love them." "Love," Fadiman concludes, "cannot be taught. It can only be granted." It is not their fault that they did not, at least in Fadiman's opinion, have this quality. They were still undoubtedly excellent doctors. However, lacking this aspect made them, in Lia's case, "Imperfect Healers." It is amazing to me how this concept really did affect the doctors' interactions with their patients. When I was trying to pinpoint what it was that made some people successful and not others, I thought of many characteristics: patience, understanding, genuine interest in other culture. But I think Fadiman pinpoints the difference between adequate and "imperfect healers" correctly, and the difference involves Love.
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I, too, was fascinated by this section of the book. Fadiman's description of these relationships helps the reader to understand how and where things went wrong with Lia's health care over the years. Lia was extremely fortunate to have some of the "lovers" that she did; I do not think that this is typical for many patients in her case.
While reading this section of the book it is almost as if Fadiman is reflecting on what she has learned from the Hmong people while completing her work. The Hmong have a certain sense of what they love, and their love is certainly undying; we see this in the way that they respect their daughter despite her medical conditions.
I also enjoyed how Fadiman pays respect to Neil and Peggy as medical professionals as Hadas points out in her post. Although these two doctors ran into much conflict with Lia, her family, and her case, they really did try to do their best. Medical professionals in our society are given complete autonomy over the medical world, and they were simply practicing what they are used to. Fadiman's label of them as "imperfect healers" really made me think - are there any "perfect or adequate healers" in today's world since America is such a melting pot of people. Love is a very powerful thing, but I would be interested in learning more about the status and success of healers who embody the characteristics that Fadiman lists in her book. How well can they do their job?
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