This weekend, Billy Joel’s daughter Alexa Ray was rushed to hospital after taking eight pills in an apparent suicide attempt.

That’s the bad news. The good news is that she’s going to be fine – Alexa Ray Joel was released from hospital last night and is now being taken of by her family. The weird news, though, comes in the claim that Alexa Ray Joel had actually taken Traumeel, a homoeopathic anti-inflammatory medication that’s used as much on cats and dogs as it is on humans.

But at least it’s been confirmed that Alexa Ray is going to be fine. What’s more, it’s expected that she’ll have a nice glossy coat and waggy tail after all this as well. Too far? too far.

Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel must be relieved that 2009 is coming to an end. It hasn’t been particularly pleasant for either of them – Billy Joel split up with his young wife in June, and everything Christie Brinkley has done has been tainted by the fact that her ex-husband was a teen-screwing, porn-addicted tossbag – and now it’s ended in the worst possible way.

Alexa Ray Joel – the only daughter that Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley had during their nine-year marriage – was taken to hospital on Saturday after apparently overdosing on pills. She’s been released now, and potential causes for the overdose have ranged from the romantic splits of her parents, her own romantic split with a boy who improbably goes by the name of Jimmy Riot and just a general despondency over the fact that she’s constantly in the shadow of her mother and father.

However, contrary to earlier reports suggesting that she’d overdosed on sleeping pills, a source has told EW that the truth is slightly less troubling. According to the source, Alexa Ray Joel had actually overindulged on Traumeel, a homoeopathic treatment that can be used by human, dogs, cats and horses thanks to its comparatively low doses of ingredients like echinacea:

A source close to Alexa Ray Joel is downplaying events that led to the singer’s hospitalization on Saturday. The singer took Traumeel, a homeopathic medication used often as an anti-inflammatory drug, says the source, and “became worried about her breathing, which is why 911 was called.”

Unfortunately for Alexa Ray Joel, suicidal tendencies tend to run in the family – when Billy Joel was 21, he also tried to kill himself. But luckily for Alexa Ray Joel, another thing that runs in the family is a tendency to try to end it all in massively ineffectual ways – Billy’s suicide attempt involved drinking furniture polish, which probably ranks close to low-powered pills for poorly cats in terms of effectiveness.

Still, the main thing is that she’s OK. Hopefully, if this was the suicide attempt that’s being reported, it’ll serve as a wake-up call to those around Alexa Ray Joel and make them more aware of her emotional problems. Let’s hope so, anyway, because everyone knows that Traumeel is a gateway drug to harder stuff, like organic Highland lip balm.

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