LIA LEE-  

The protagonist of the story who is born with epilepsy. Lia's doctors and parents struggle to find a way to keep her alive while battling a large communication barrier. Her parents endulged her every whim and subsequently spoiled her to the extreme due to the fact that Hmong believe that epilepsy made her special and one day she might become a shaman.

 

FOUA YANG AND NAO KAO-

Lia's parents. They escaped from Thailand in 1979 due to persecution during the Vietnam war. They both treated Lia like a princess no matter what she did. Foua and Nao Koa both endlessly fought the western medicinal system and American doctors mainly because they did not understand what was happening to their daughter.

 

NEIL ERNST AND PEGGY PHILP-

The two supervising pediatricians at Merced Community Medical Center who primarily worked on Lia's case. They are married to each other and share a practice. They tried very hard to provide the best medical care for Lia but it was a challenge because they knew very little about Hmong culture and never asked the Lees any questions regarding their culture until it was too late. Neil also had Lia placed in foster care believing that it was the only way to ensure that Lia received the medical attention she needed at home.  

 

JEANINE HILT-

The Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworker assigned to Lia when placed in foster care. She developed a close relationship with the Lees and taught them how to administer the medications correctly so Lia could come back home.

 

DAN MURPHY-

Dan was the first one to recognize that Lia had epilepsy. He was intrigued by the Hmong and knew a great deal about them. He often treated Lia when she came to the emergency room.

 

BILL SELVIDGE-

Bill Selvidge is a close friend of Fadimans and was the first to tell her about the Hmong in California. Anne Fadiman stayed with him while she conducted her research. Selvidge is the former chief resident at Merced Community Medical Center. He was frequently irritated by the Hmong and did not wish or care about any of their opinions. 

 

DEE AND TOM KORDA-

Lia's foster parents. They spoke no Hmong but did their best to love and care for Lia. Dee formed a close relationship with Foua and Nao Koa and their children. Dee recognized how much Lia's parents cared about her and fought for their reunification.

 

SUE XIONG-

The Hmong interpreter who came to the Lee's home with CPS. The Hmong community was not fond of her because she had assimilated into the American culture. 

 

SUKEY WALLER-

A psychologist at Merced Community Outreach services. She taught Fadiman that the best thing to do was to ask, rather than trying to follow all the rules. She explained how important it was to find a "cultural broker" to help her communicate with the Hmong.

 

MAY YING XIONG-

Fadiman's cultural broker. Her age and gender made it easier for Fadiman to conduct research because her lower social  status in the community made the Lees more likely to open up to her.

 

MAY LEE-

One of Lia's oldest sisters. Served as a translator for Jeanine Hilt.

 

TERRY HUTCHINSON-

Lia's neurologist at Valley Children's Hospital in Fresno. He was one of the few to believe that Lia became brain dead because of septic shock from the Depakene opposed to lack of compliance from her parents.

 

VANG PAO-

He considered himself a modern reformer because he supported education, criticized slash-and-burn agriculture but kept some Hmong values and customs in his everyday life.

 

MARTIN KILGORE-

A public health nurse who made house calls on Lia when she was in her vegetative state. He was a huge advocate for the Hmong, and strongly disagreed with Neil's decision to place Lia in foster care. 

 

DANG MOUA-

The first Hmong to move to Merced. Merced enticed him due to the weather and diverse ethnic groups, particularly Southeast Asians. His migration became very influential for other Hmong causing one in five people in Merced to be Hmong.