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!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

A Surprise Letter from Caroline

I just had to post this letter to remind myself that all in all, Caroline is doing remarkably well considering all she faces.  She left this for me to find this morning taped to the coffee maker:

"Dear Mommy,

I just want you to know what an amazing, beautiful, awesome, outstanding, incredible and irreplaceable, wonderful mom you are to me and my sisters. God truly created a masterpiece when He made you.

Just know that I love you in every part of my being and I'm amazed everyday at at how you push on through the toughest of times.  Through my emotional outbursts, Mae's whining and all the other drama we put out on a regular basis.

How you manage to do all that and look your gorgeous self while doing it is a huge mystery to me.

Please know that I pray for you every single day and I someday wish to me like you.  I'm blessed straight from God to have you as a mother that's for sure.

'Dear God, please bless, encourage, and positively motivate my precious Mommy who I love so very dearly.  Give her peace in this crazy life that can be so incredibly difficult at times.  Jesus give her guidance and de-stress her day-to-day in life because i know it would be so very helpful in her life right now.  Thank you.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.'

With love and constant prayer,

Caroline

or Your C.C."

No I didn't make this up.  She really wrote that.  After a week of me blowing up at her because I was struggling with depression.  That is how she is in the depth of her heart, a sweet kid who really loves us and knows we try our best to love her and help her even when we seem "mean."  God is faithful and has done marvelous things in her life and in ours.

8 comments:

NikDuck said...

That is absolutely beautiful! You are blessed to have her and she is blessed to have you as her Mom.

Anonymous said...

What a treasure!!! You should frame that!

Cindy said...

Such a wonderful blessing. As difficult as this illness is to deal with, it can be just as wonderful. I have received similar letters and poems from my daughter, Katie, and they are deeply treasured. Thank you for this blog. I am reading and feeling comforted that someone out there understands.

Fighting for my Children said...

Awww...how precious!

Dee said...

That is awesome!

Momma Dukes said...

If my BP daughter sent me a letter like that there would be no doubt in my mind that she would want something - lol. Thanks for sharing your child's BP experiences and life with us online. Just remember God does not give us anymore than we can handle; although I wonder sometimes how much he thinks one person can bear. I notice you have posted resource links on your wall, however, if you research executive dysfunction in neurology, which contributes to autism, ADHD, Tourette's, mood disorders, you may come across some new information. I not only have a BP daughter but an autistic son.

Megan said...

Momma Dukes--Thanks for the comment. if you have a good link to executive functioning disorder that you like a lot, please send it along!

domandkat said...

I was in tears reading that...and I couldn't have said it better myself. It's how I've felt about you for YEARS! And so glad she does too.