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, April 9, 2012

Happy Easter!! (Late)

For those of you who celebrated, Happy Belated Easter!  I was driving back from the Outer Banks last night, listening to Indelible Grace, singing along, just joyful that Christ has not only risen, but lives now and forever, to redeem the lost, to make all things new by His power.  Isn't that what we long for?  For God to make everything right?  For Him to "resurrect" what is dead?  When you have a child who suffers from an as yet incurable illness, you long for the day when they will be free of it.  Easter is a yearly reminder that freedom is here and is not yet.  I believe that Caroline will be free of bipolar disorder someday, if not in this life, than in the next where there are no more tears, no more suffering, but true healing, true redemption.  Even if you don't share my beliefs about Jesus, I know you wish for a world free of mental illness.  Why do we long for something we don't have?  Maybe God put that longing in our hearts, because we know that this world is not as it should be, that something is wrong, something is terribly broken.  I believe He did give us this innate sense that things should be different, good, whole, pure, fair.  He has put eternity in the hearts of men.  Ecclesiastes 3:11
Posted by at

2 comments:

NikDuck said...

Amen...I agree. I do think that longing for more than this world has to offer is a gift that God has given us because of the suffering us and our children go through. I have met many people who have not gone through intense suffering and are content with their life on earth and do not long for heaven.

April 10, 2012 at 9:31 AM
Anonymous said...

Love this post, thank you for reminding me what is true and worth longing for.

April 10, 2012 at 11:39 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)