Worst kind of mom!

Today was one of those days that left me sooooo hopping mad and wanting to wring somebody's neck or just punch someone really hard (hmm...actually the person who instigated all this could have very well been at the recieving end if it wasn't for some supreme restrain effort on my part!)!!!

This mom brought in her child claiming the child had practically every illness under the sun and insisted that I admit her.Well, to be fair the child did look sickly and emaciated but I knew something was just not right from the moment the mom opened her mouth.The child funnily also looked very comfortable being examined (unlike most kids her age!) and was already anticipating what I was about to do, ie) oral examination, general physicals and systemic examination, as if she has performed the same old routine a hundred times.

It wasn't long before I suspected Munchausen By Proxy.

(Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome (MBPS), or Factitious Disorder by Proxy, as it's listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision, also known as DSM-IV-TR).

This relatively uncommon condition involves the exaggeration or fabrication of illnesses or symptoms by a primary caretaker. One of the most harmful forms of child abuse, Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome was named after Baron von Munchausen, an eighteenth-century German dignitary known for telling outlandish stories.

What Is Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome?
In MBPS, an individual - usually a mother - deliberately makes another person (most often his or her own child) sick or convinces others that the person is sick. The parent or caregiver misleads others into thinking that the child has medical problems by lying and reporting fictitious episodes. He or she may exaggerate, fabricate, or induce symptoms. As a result, doctors usually order tests, try different types of medications, and may even hospitalize the child or perform surgery to determine the cause.

Typically, the perpetrator feels satisfied when he or she has the attention and sympathy of doctors, nurses, and others who come into contact with him or her and the child.

Because the parent or caregiver appears to be so caring and attentive, often no one suspects any wrongdoing. A perplexing aspect of the syndrome is the ability of the parent or caregiver to fool and manipulate doctors. It's not unusual for medical personnel to overlook the possibility of Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome because it goes against the belief that a parent or caregiver would never deliberately hurt his or her child.

Well, I hope I did not overlook the possibility.

Must read article of the month...FP

I had to search high and low for the magazine but worth a read!!Thanks Johhny!

Whirlwind of a month!

June/July 2006

Ode

Ode
by John Keats.

Bards of Passion and of Mirth,
Ye have left your souls on earth!
Have ye souls in heaven too,
Double lived in regions new?
Yes, and those of heaven commune
With the spheres of sun and moon;
With the noise of fountains wound'rous,
And the parle of voices thund'rous;
With the whisper of heaven's trees
And one another, in soft ease

Seated on Elysian lawns
Brows'd by none but Dian's fawns;
Underneath large blue-bells tented,
Where the daisies are rose-scented,
And the rose herself has got
Perfume which on earth is not;
Where the nightingale doth sing
Not a senseless, tranced thing,
But divine melodious truth;
Philosophic numbers smooth;
Tales and golden histories
Of heaven and its mysteries.

Thus ye live on high, and then
On the earth ye live again;
And the souls ye left behind you
Teach us, here, the way to find you,
Where your other souls are joying,
Never slumber'd, never cloying.
Here, your earth-born souls still speak
To mortals, of their little week;
Of their sorrows and delights;
Of their passions and their spites;
Of their glory and their shame;
What doth strengthen and what maim.
Thus ye teach us, every day,
Wisdom, though fled far away.

Bards of Passion and of Mirth,
Ye have left your souls on earth!
Ye have souls in heaven too,
Double-lived in regions new!

(in memory of Shaun Vikas Bhullar)

'Hantaran'

Damn....how does one pack all the stuff above and get them to India uncrushed??!!!Arrrgghhhh!But they look sooooooooooooo pretty!Colour theme:maroon,gold and silver.....such 'indian' colours though!Hahaha...

'Hantaran':exchange of gifts between the bride and the groom in traditional Malay weddings made up mostly of edibles with maybe a Quran, the 'Mehr', and a tapak sirih (betel leaves).But clothes,accessories,jewelleries and other adornmnets make up most of the 'hantarans' these days as decorative pieces 'dressed up'as eye candy for visitors of both sides of the family to ogle at.

Yummy!

The best thing about going to a Malay wedding is the food you get served after the nikkah.I especially love the pineapple,onion and red chillie (yummy-er, when extra spicy!)salad.....It's so unique really and the flavours-the sweetness of pineapple, with the crunch factor of the onions and the spicy chillies together make it sooo addictive and delectable.Last night i decided to binge on some and i did!The pineapples are fast becoming my most favourite fruit of the season.....i'm drooling again....