Kiri does not have epilepsy
So I saw this POST asking why people dislike the scene where Ronal succeeds in waking up Kiri with Na'vi medicine where Max and Norm fail with their scientific equipment. It sparked a really interesting discussion about how traditional vs modern medicine is depicted in Avatar, but I also noticed some confusion and I wanted to clarify something:
Kiri does not have epilepsy. Joshua Izzo himself confirmed it during Omaticon. Norm and Max are explicitly stated to be wrong in their diagnosis.
I believe Norm and Max explained Kiri's condition to the best of their abilities, but their knowledge of Eywa, and the extent of Eywa's capabilities and effects on those who make tsaheylu with her, is limited. This is why Ronal was successful in waking Kiri up. Ronal may not have the advanced medical knowledge the science guys have, but she has a much better understanding of Eywa. And for people who argue it was just a coincidence that Kiri woke up after being treated by Ronal, remember, this is a movie, not real life. James Cameron and co wrote that scene and made the decision to have Kiri wake up only after Ronal treated her. If this was a real life situation, I'd say it was just coincidence that Kiri woke up after receiving traditional treatment, but this is a movie and there's no such thing as coincidences when there's a room full of writers pulling the strings. Whatever the reason, James Cameron chose to have Ronal's traditional treatment succeed where Norm and Max's scientific approach failed.
However, I want to add that I do not believe Cameron meant this scene to portray traditional medicine as superior to modern medicine, at least, not intentionally. I can't speak for all countries, but in the US I know measles and other dangerous diseases have resurfaced due to a rise in people rejecting modern medicine. Spreading the ideology that we don't need modern medicine is dangerous, and I completely understand the concern that one of the biggest movies in the world is trying to spread this message. As far as I am aware, James Cameron does not support anti-vax or other harmful ideologies like that, so I believe this message was accidental and misunderstood due to him trying to get a different point across.
My understanding is that Kiri's "coma" was caused by a metaphysical experience, not a medical emergency. Sure, there was a medical aspect to it since Max picked up epilepsy-like symptoms on her brain scan, but the episode occurred while she was having a metaphysical communion with her dead mom, not because of a medical condition. I believe the whole healing scene was just Cameron trying to emphasize that Kiri's condition was metaphysical, not medical. This is further backed up by Izzo explicitly confirming that Kiri does not have epilepsy, ruling out the medical diagnosis. I believe the message they were trying to send was that a metaphysical problem needed a metaphysical solution, not that traditional treatments are better than modern medicine for every problem. Think of fantasy stories like Harry Potter where they use magical potions to heal magical injuries. When magic is used to heal in fiction, it's not meant to decry modern medicine, it's just using a fantasy element for a fantasy problem in a fantasy story. Same thing with Kiri. Na'vi problem = Na'vi solution. In fact, Cameron has gone out of his way to show that modern medicine is highly advanced in the Avatar universe since it's explicitly stated they have the technology to cure paralyzed people (for a price).
Unfortunately, I understand where the anti-modern medicine interpretation comes from and I believe Cameron could've written the scene differently to avoid that, but it's too late to change it now. I hope we will get a better explanation of Kiri's abilities and her condition in Avatar 3, one that balances a scientific understanding with Na'vi spirituality.
TLDR: In universe, it is factual that Ronal's treatment worked, Norm and Max were wrong, and Kiri does not have epilepsy. You can still dislike this scene and think James Cameron portrayed modern medicine irresponsibly, but that doesn't change the facts in universe.