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!

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Scrolling Vision Issue Solved?

Well, we tried a reduction in the Trileptal, which was at 1800 mgs since Meridell.  She is now on 1500 mgs, and guess what?  No episodes of scrolling vision!!  This has been true for the last four weeks.  So maybe the scrolling vision had nothing to do with the concussions!   If that is so, then so much of the issues she had in school last year might have been avoided, but we are still more satisfied with the online high school option.  And this makes the whole lacrosse/concussion issue look less concerning.  Not completely, but a little less.   Her moods haven't changed with the reduction either, thank goodness!  

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

College Lacrosse or No?

Such a big decision. Do we allow her to go on the recruiting circuit, with coaches contacting her from around the country, or do we put this dream to rest, as an impractical one.  Being bipolar is hard, very hard.  Life is ten times more challenging.  College will be very challenging.  Playing lacrosse plus college, maybe far too much.  As a junior, life moves very quickly through the end of high school.  She still has the SATs, the ACTS, college visits, applications, and so much more.   Yet her dream of playing college lacrosse has been what has kept her marching on despite everything.  I am not sure what would happen if that dream dies.  Praying for wisdom.