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!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Prismatic Glasses

So we ordered these prismatic and tinted glasses today, which the vision doc said should help with the fluorescent light issues.  They will arrive in a week, and then we need to test her out under fluorescent lights.  I would love to see her back in school personally.  She goes back to the concussion doc next week to determine if she can play lacrosse or not, based on the report from the vision doc.  I am praying he clears her.  She has so little in her life that is positive and encouraging and affirming.  God you know what is best, but we are really praying for a yes.

1 comment:

katie said...

i can only imagine not being able to play her favorite sport (not to mention getting that physical release out) has got to be so hard for her. i am praying that these glasses will help her and she can go back to school and that she can play again soon. my husband is very sensitive to fluorescent lights - they trigger migraines for him. he was on a project for work once and was coming home every day sick - took us forever to figure out it was the light in his cube. it was miserable. hope today is am encouraging day for you! :)