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!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Upcoming Trip to RTC

On Thursday I fly out for my visit solo visit to see Caroline at Meridell. I haven't been alone with her for any extended period of time since she left. Before that, I was pretty much with her 24/7 because we could never trust her to be alone by herself for more than a few minutes. The TV and the computer were the big issues. In spite of parental controls, she would manage to find her way into something inappropriate. Anyway, I am actually starting to feel positive about spending time with her. I hope she can leave the campus. Right now she could, but as we found out with the last visit, that can change minutes before we pick her up (very annoying.)

I am thinking tonight about a fifteen year old mentally ill boy who came here to the beach on vacation with his family. He has been missing for three days from the resort. He is very athletic, a cross-country runner (like Caroline) and apparently he went running on the beach three days ago, and disappeared. Dogs picked up his scent across the border at some beach houses in North Carolina. He has been without his medications for three days, which is disastrous for anyone with a mental condition, and I am sure his family is just desperate that they find him. It has been brutally hot the last three days. I am praying for his safe return. These sorts of situations brings fear into my heart, because I can completely see Caroline doing something like this. Life can be cruel. Join me in praying for this family.

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