During teacher workdays or days home from school being sick, I got the pleasure of watching one of three television stations. I even got to change the channel with a pair of pliers because the dial fell off. These were the days before computers, cellphones, & 100’s of tv stations-what I wouldn’t give to go back to the simpler times, except all the cigarette smoking they went on in the 80’s, I would not take that back. My choices were either The Price is Right, Card Sharks, The Mary Tyler Moore Show & Bob Newhart reruns, but one of my favorite shows to watch since my options were so limited, was Sally Jessy Raphael. I was enamored like most Americans by Sally’s lipstick red glasses & of course the people on her show & their problems. That was juicy stuff for a 5th grader! I’d hear problems of infidelity, people having sex changes, & friendship woes. How strange to go on national television I thought with your problems. Who would be so desperate to sit on tv & air their dirty laundry like that? I suppose the same could be said for my blogs, I am now like the people from Sally Jessy! I started the blogs because people asked about Jack so frequently & I always said he was hanging in there without going into detail. After the urging from some friends & family, I decided to give it a try. I’ve never like writing as I’ve mentioned before, but I always threatened to write a book one day based on strange experiences I’ve had in my life. I do have some crazy things happen to me.
In the sixth grade, we had a national writing test. This test judged your writing skills only. I was never a good student unless the subject was health & p.e., I just couldn’t get it. Math didn’t make any sense to me outside of simple things, English was a nightmare, I hated the boring stories as required reading-I was lost & diagraming sentences, forget it. History was an equal bore. I graduated because I had wonderful memorization skills & good hair. Getting back to the writing test, you could make a score of 1-4. I made a 4, whereas most everyone else including the super smart kids, made a 3. How bummed were they that the not smart kid made a perfect score. They just knew my test was misgraded (it probably was lol). I was so excited to have received one of the highest grades in our class, but the excitement was soon deflated when everyone started talking about how they couldn’t believe I made a perfect score. Where was Sally Jessy Raphael when I needed her! Maybe I was meant to write a book after all.
So I did a thing last night. I rarely get to watch Dr. Phil. Hearing about other people’s problems is not at the top of list for me & they are sometimes right foolish. I opt for one of the Real Housewives instead (makes perfect sense, right?). I’ve been saying I was going to contact Dr. Phil about our issues with Jack. I’ve seen Dr. Phil try to help many families with some similarities. I went to Phil’s website & filled out an application to be on the show. This goes to show you how desperate I am for help. The application wanted a description of your family problems. I listed that we have a disabled son with a rare & serious disease called Dravet Syndrome who is mentally impaired, too & we are terrified of him & what he may do next. We can’t sleep in peace, our other two children are afraid of Jack, we can’t work without constant bothers from him, continuously spending money on gift cards that he gives to strangers, & he can be violent. We need an intervention & I’m hoping the person that screens the email applications will realize that. I’ve seen Dr. Phil help other families by sending them to special places for help, we are praying this will be one of those cases.
Just this morning as I was getting ready for the day, Jack called me in his room no less than 50 times. Yesterday morning he developed Scooby Doo eyes as I call it, (that’s when Scooby became hypnotized & his eyes would spin in circles) on a mole on the side of my neck & tried his dangest to pull it off. I fought with him for ten minutes trying to get him to stop. I had to send Ava off to church with my aunts today because Jack won’t go to church. He is so wild in the a.m. hours, that we hate to ask someone to come stay with him unless absolutely necessary. Lee & I haven’t been on a date in a long time with just us two. And let’s not forget the sleepless nights. We need Dr. Phil! I have more faith in him than I do in the mental health system. I ask myself this question all the time, why do doctors not want to focus on the brain? The brain is what controls everything in your body. It’s our control center! If it’s not working correctly, then your body isn’t going to work right. It controls your thinking, breathing, all organs. The brain is important!!! We need less paperwork & more facilities & resources to help the mentally challenged. Our mental health system is drastically failing our nation. Maybe we can get on Dr. Phil & make a plea for the people of this country that are suffering. Families shouldn’t have to live like we do. No one should be scared to live in their own homes due to a mentally impaired person. One day I’m going to figure out how to help Jack & people like him. One day…
Cruel & Unusual Circumstances 
I spend a lot of time writing groups like NAMI about the fears I have about our mental health system. It’s failing and since I’ve experienced those failures and the gross inadequacy of that system personally, I’m in a good position to advocate for better care, better treatment, better research, better resources. It’s frightening, truly frightening, to have to attempt to navigate a government-controlled entity that is so vast and labrynthian in it’s disorganization, mismanagement and gross lacking of rhyme, reason and order. Not to mention the inability to meet basic needs. I’ll hush now. Maybe I should write Dr. Phil on your behalf. As a concerned friend and neighbor.
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I think that was a wise choice to write Dr Phil. If you don’t hear anything soon, continue to write him until they get tired of you! I’ve watched his shows and I think he has lots of resources to help. I wish you all the best! You all are still in my prayers.🙏🏻♥️
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