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!

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sorrow

We are having a down day here.  Caroline told us she feels fat, ugly, and friendless.  Her one new friend apparently is into the wrong stuff, so she doesn't want to hang out with her.  We tell her she is beautiful and wonderful.  I don't think she believes us.  I am hoping she will go to the FCA meeting this week (Fellowship of Christian Athletes.)  She needs some new friends, fast.  
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My daughter is 17 and she is beautiful. She is bipolar. She checked out of school this morning to come home and change. She left feeling fat and ugly. She cried the whole time she was changing and trying to fix her hair. Nothing was going to be right. It didn't matter what I said. She would just say she didn't understand how in the world I could say she was beautiful and her outfit was adorable and she was not fat at all. I mostly just try to sit quietly and let her have her episode. She said probably no one would even notice she left school. She feels like she doesn't exist to all of her friends. My heart breaks for her.

October 2, 2013 at 1:29 PM

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