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Alicia Minshew talks about AMC's deaf storyline Monday, September 17 2007

Love it or hate it, chances are you've shed a few tears over AMC's recent baby drama storyline involving Kendall, Spike and Ian. Fans have been very vocal about Spike's deafness, his treatment options and the fact that Kendall has been near-obsessive about finding a cure for him and seemingly ignoring premie Ian. That all hit a high note last week when Kendall began medicating Spike with the help of an alternative healer and Spike had an allergic reaction to the medication.

All My Children writers have done their homework, presenting information about cochlear implants and sign language teachers. They have even hired hearing impaired actors to play various parts on the show. You can read more about that here.

Here is what fans have to say about the storyline.

SharonSki said, "Kendall is not acting rationally - she's lost it big time! Giving your child, who just got out of the hospital, an unproven substance on an unknown doctor's say-so? If that isn't crazy, I don't know what is!"

GailForceWinds said, "Kendall and Ryan should try everything not harmful to Spike."

Bigame said, "Kendall get a life and quit acting like Spike is your only child...you have one that's fighting for his life."

IamGod said, "The story line is getting out of proportion. Spike is deaf not dead!"

MrFraser said, "Kendall is a walking time bomb...she is going to explode...I really feel for her, but Spike is fine. . .she needs to focus on Ian and Zach...this storyline should come to an end - make Ian okay, Spike okay and lets move on."

Last week, I had the chance to speak with Alicia Minshew about her character. She knows just how fans are reacting, but says we should all have patience because Kendall will redeem herself.

"I get so much hate mail," said Alicia, comparing Kendall's actions toward both Spike and Ian as being very similar to survivor's guilt. "It's very much 'Why am I okay? Why are my children not?' She's dealing with so many different levels of guilt.

Alicia also told me that we will all (she hopes!) be happy with how the storyline continues to play out.

"I can tell you that (Kendall) will begin bonding with Ian and will realize that she has been neglecting him. Part of the reason is that she feels like Spike (and his current condition) is her fault. And, she is deathly afraid she will or she has hurt Ian. She's being driven by fear and guilt and she wants to protect Spike and Ian."

From the beginning, though, fans have been stunned with the depth of emotion. I wondered how Alicia got to such a deep, emotional place from day one of the storyline.

"I had to go to this place that I never really knew was there - my maternal side," she said. "I just sort of took how I feel about my mother and how she feels about us and tapped in to that. I just use the love that I know I will have for my child, a child that doesn't yet exist."

Wow! My thanks to Alicia for speaking with Soaps.com about the storyline and the Soap Cruise (read more about that here). We love hearing news from the set and we look forward to watching more of Kendall and Ian and Spike as we head into the busy fall ratings period!