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, August 16, 2011

Feeling Left in a Lurch

I am so frustrated right now.  We still don't have a solution for what to do with Caroline when we drop Elizabeth off at college in less than two weeks.  Since we don't have family that can host her or stay with her at this time, we are at the mercy of friends and strangers.  I am trying to find a college girl through www.care.com , but it hasn't been easy to find someone on such short notice.  The bummer is I started working on this problem months ago and thought I had it all taken care of!  Then my college sitter backed out because she wanted to spend more time with her boyfriend.  Yeah, go figure.  Thanks.

I know that although I feel left in a lurch, so to speak, that God must have a plan.  We just don't feel that it is right to take Caroline with us and possibly throw a big wrench into this very important rite of passage for Elizabeth.  Plus the drive is 10 hours long, over 600 miles, so the car ride could be too long for her most likely.  She loses patience after about 3 hours in the car. The frustration for us is that if Caroline weren't bipolar, none of this would be hard at all.  I have no problem finding people to stay with my other "normal" kids, or folks for them to stay with, but as soon as I try to find someone for Caroline, I run into roadblocks due to the fact that 1. she doesn't have any close friends she could stay with and 2. our own close friends don't seem to be comfortable with the idea of taking her on even though she is very stable.  Do you have this problem too with your bipolar or Aspergers child?  I am just praying for a good solution to this problem so we can bless Elizabeth with a great experience in transitioning to college.  She deserves her mom and dad's undivided attention for once!

5 comments:

inactive said...

hope you find a solution. My daughter is Asperger's and Bipolar and I am a single mom, so basically I can't do anything for lack of care...I know how hard that can be. Good Luck...

GB's Mom said...

I am not sure were you live, but if you are stuck, let me know. I live in NY and I have a sister who lives in NC. She was the one I always trusted my oldest Bipolar child with.

Wrye said...

Megan - I admire your ability to prioritize Elizabeth's needs while trying to take care of Caroline. I do hope something good works out.
(((hugs)))

Cindy said...

I am a single mom of a Bipolar "almost 15" year old. She doesn't have any friends that I can ask to watch her either. I am very fortanate to have a mom that will take care of her when I really need help, but I find that I don't ask alot because I know how difficult she can be. I applaud you for considering your other child's need too. I hope something works out for you all.

Anna said...

I would think that someone who also deals with a mentally ill child would be willing if they were not in the midst of their own crisis.