About our Daughter

I am mother to four wonderful daughters, ages 17, 19, 21, and 23, and wife to the greatest husband on earth. God has given us a special child to raise one who was diagnosed with early-onset bipolar disorder at the age of seven, though she showed signs of it from the age of fifteen months. She also has ADHD, Sensory Integration Disorder (sensory seeking), Dyslexia, and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder-NOS, all typical comorbidities for a bipolar child. In spite of the trials, she enjoys lacrosse, running (finished her first marathon in October of 2014!), and reading and writing her own books. I will share with you the many joys and sorrows we have faced and will face in the future with the hope that you may find better understanding about this mental illness caused by both chemical and structural abnormalities in the brain. I desire that you will be encouraged by this blog if you are also dealing with a bipolar child. Thank you for reading and sharing in our journey.

How Did You Know She Was Bipolar So Young?

I wrote a long explanation of how we came to this bipolar diagnosis in a child so young under my post of March 19th of 2009. If your child or a child you know bears similarities, please seek out a good psychiatrist and don't wait for "things to get better." Often they will simply get worse, and the longer a child is unmedicated, the more damage their brain can accrue. Early diagnoses and treatment are key to providing these children with a chance at a successful life later as a teen and an adult.
Never change, start or stop a medication without the approval of your child's physician!

Friday, May 1, 2009

A Letter for Caroline

I wrote a letter tonight for Caroline to open her first night at Meridell.  I thought I would share it with you...

Dearest Caroline,

I wanted you to have a letter from me for your first night at Meridell.  I know you must be feeling very scared and lonely and homesick already.  I am praying that God will be your comforting Father tonight.  We will miss you so much.  Contrary to what you may think, we are not sending you here because we are tired of you, or don't love you as much, but because we DO love you SO much!  We want you to have every opportunity to heal and grow so that the rest of your teen years might be a little less tumultuous.  We want you to achieve your dreams, and never be held back by bipolar disorder.  You are a beautiful, smart, funny, loving girl who brings us so much delight.  When you are happy, we are overjoyed.  I look forward to your letters and phone calls, and I can't wait til our first visit with you.  When I look at pictures of you growing up, you are just so precious to me!  God has given you many talents and gifts and we look forward to seeing how He will use them to bless many others.  I had a lot of fun on our Mother-daughter birthday weekend, seeing you get all pretty for your dinner.  You ARE feminine and beautiful--don't ever believe the lies of the enemy who wants to convince you that you aren't.  You are His dear child, and He will bring beauty out of ashes.

With so much love and hugs and kisses,

Your Mommy
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1 comment:

domandkat said...

That is so sweet!

Can she receive care packages? Can you get a list of her favorite this that and the other cookies, snacks and whatnot so we can send some to her along with cards and stuff. Will she have email? Fill us in!

May 1, 2009 at 10:41 PM

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