Could NOT Resist...

As indicated in the header to my blog, I ain't no fan of Emily Perl Kingsley's "Welcome to Holland" that every freshly diagnosed parent gets thrown at them. I do NOT find it inspiring at all. In fact, I find it very very very condescending, and it completely trivializes what our kids go through (and hello?? I am DUTCH. I KNOW what Holland looks like, and what dear Emily describes ain't it)

There was/is a little FB discussion going on where two pieces were referenced that are much more up my alley: "Holland Schmolland" by Laura Krueger Crawford, and "Welcome to Beirut" by Susan F. Rzucidlo.

Welcome to Holland & Holland Schmolland can be found HERE.
Welcome to Beirut can be found HERE


What on earth made me (re)post these today?
Well, I have one child who for the past 4 days has been blurting out "Ding Dong, Hit the Monkey" or "Jingle Bells, Monkey Smells" (almost Tourette's like) every time he gets anxious or stressed out.. which has been about every 45 seconds or so (there is a reason why I avoid OTC meds with Salamander like the plague.. until I really have no options left - they really f#ck with his GABA/glutamate biochemistry, and epi/norepi ('fright flight') balance and his ACE pathway. And I wouldn't be surprised if we have a (hopefully temporary) spike in Gamma Strep levels). You can all imagine how well THAT is going over in school (his friends think he's hilarious and just being the class clown.. school staff? Not so much. TG they have past experience with his vocal outbursts and the 'OTC meds phenomenon') - which of course is adding to Salamander's stress, which then of course makes makes the vocalizations worse...

Update on Feb 6, 2009; 11 am. I am happy to report that Salamander's involuntary vocalizations have stopped.. I think his biochemistry is stabilizing again...Will be keeping a close eye on things though..

And then Potatey (as I really boosted his antiviral and immune system supplements to hopefully stave off a repeat of the Flu Chronicles) has gone into a more intense viral (and I suspect metals too) detox, which is triggering a lot of anxiety (oh, the stress on that good ole' ACE pathway) - as soon as I move more than 2 steps away from him, or God Forbid, disappear from his vision, he totally and completely FREAKS out. [just got a UTM back for Potatey for a sample I took on Jan 27 - at just about the time he started showing 'flu' symptoms. Elevated lead excretion!! And arsenic is up too]

It'll pass (or more precisely, I'll get things back under control), it always does. But right now, "Ding Dong, Hit the Monkey", "Jingle Bells, Monkey Smells" and "MOOOOOOOOM, Where ARE you!!!!" on a never ending continuous LOOP don't make for a "Trip to Holland."