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!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

For Real?

Our heating system for the downstairs has died apparently.  My poor husband looks exceedingly anxious this morning, which in turn makes me feel panicked.  I feel worse for him than I do for the rest of us because I know he feels like the weight of the world is on his shoulders.  Maybe the Navy will call today and reenlist him.  I loved KLOVE's encouraging word of the day, from Isaiah 40:11, "He will feed his flock like a shepherd.  He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart.  He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." I cling to this promise today.

(To sign up for KLOVE's encouraging word of the day, go to www.klove.com.  Everything they send seems to speak to the crisis of the moment in my life.  Maybe it will encourage you too!)

2 comments:

ann said...

I am not sure if this info will help you or not. Where I live we have a Community Action Agency, this agency will come in and access if your home has any problems being up to code or broken major items such as a furnace. They will help to fix or replace what is bad if you qualify to meet thier income levels. I hope that there is something simulair to this where you are. Hang in There! I hope you know how much courage you give us all to face our days.
Ann

marythemom said...

Thank you for the info on KLOVE. I needed that!

We're in a similar place with the unemployment issues. After a couple of years of no real income, my husband finally has a job, but it's almost worse because now we don't qualify for assistance (most of which my husband was too proud to accept anyway), and everyone expects us to go back to life as usual. No one understands how much debt we accrued and how far under we are.

Anyway, just wanted you to know you are not alone.

Hugs and prayers,
Mary in TX