Jonathan exasperated by his morning at home reaches the office only to be told that his wife Melinda is on the telephone. "Honey, I have asked you repeatedly to try and handle the problems that arise at home and not call me at the office. I have only just now sat down. What could possibly have happened in the thirty minutes since I left you with Carol and Jerry?"
Melinda, crying answers her husband, "Jonathan, honey Carol's appointment with the doctor is at 11:00 and I wanted to go over what I am going to tell the doctor about her symptoms." Jonathan shaking his head in dismay and unbelief pleaded with his wife, "sweetie, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Carol. Last month when you kept insisting that there was something wrong with Jerry, you took him to three specialist and they could find absolutely nothing wrong with him." Jonathan concluded with a puzzling question, "Why do you keep up on taking them over and over to the doctor?"
Melinda answered Jonathan. "Because there really is something wrong with them. I just know there is. If we don't find out what it is, that means we are bad parents Jonathan. Carol has a rash, I want to know what is causing it, Jerry has trouble sleeping, and we need to find out why. Why aren't you supporting me in this endeavor Jonathan?"
Melinda really does see every symptom that her children have as something psychologically challenging as well as emotionally devastating. Jonathan who has a normal outlook on illness sees symptoms as something that will come and go regularly in a human being and as normal for his children to portray. The problem Jonathan sees in his home is his wife's reactions to his children's symptoms... not his children's symptoms.
"Now Melinda, why don't you stop making the children so many appointments and make an appointment for yourself instead? I will go with you and we will talk with the doctor about how you see their problems as something you cannot see as normal, but I do see as normal," Jonathan pleads with his wife. Melinda continues to cry. She feels as if no one (even her husband) understands. She hangs up the telephone saying, "sorry to bother you at the office honey, I'll see you when you get home."
Carol and Jerry are sitting in the kitchen waiting on Mommy to finish talking with daddy. Jerry asked Mommy, "Mommy, why can't I have another hot dog? I am still so hungry. Mommy please we haven't had anything since yesterday." Jerry looking sadly at his mom is really wondering why he cannot have enough to eat. Melinda answers, "Jerry one hot is enough, now go on and get in the car with your sister Carol and let us go tell the good doctor all about your tummy ache."
