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, December 20, 2011

New Therapist in the New Year

Caroline thinks that she has found the new therapist.  We met her today for the first time and she loved her. I thought she would just by the look of her:  young, sporty, kind of funky.  She will start seeing her in early January, and during same time slot in which she used to see her other therapist, so it is perfect!  Yay!

Still no job.  My husband has aged so much in the past year.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make a job appear tomorrow.  Unemployment is no fun.

Hope your preparations for the holidays are going well.  I think I have done everything except shop for Christmas Eve and day dinners.  I am so tired that I am seriously thinking about doing Chinese food.  Ok, just kidding, my kids would kill me.  But they do love the movie "A Christmas Story."  So maybe....

4 comments:

Wrye said...

Happy to hear you've found a new therapist that Caroline likes! Things started getting amazingly better for Lily when we started with a new care team last summer. I can hardly believe the difference. I wish you a peaceful and happy Christmas.

Anonymous said...

I can relate to the aging thing, my husband went gray when he was unemployed, I even lost weight when I wasn’t even trying, stress is a brutal thing to our bodies! I hope the new year brings you success in all areas of your life!

mamaGoose said...

Merry Christmas Megan! Have been thinking of you and the good things the new year will bring! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas together.

domandkat said...

Megan,

Chinese food is a STAPLE for Christmas Eve dinner at our house! It's basically the only place open on Christmas Eve and we are too tired to hang with friends after the service, so we go home and get Chinese takeout on the way. You could do far worse!