So Caroline has hung up her lacrosse sticks for good after a disappointing experience on her high school team the last two seasons. Basically, the coach wouldn't play her during the games more than a few minutes. This is the girl that has been pursued by college recruiters. I think it was discriminatory based on her bipolar diagnosis and on her previous concussions her freshman year. She did play last summer on a travel team, and was always a starter and got lots of play time, so the issue was definitely with this coach.
The good news is Caroline loves to run and started training for her first marathon last summer, and finished the Denver Rock N' Roll in October. Now she is training for her next marathon in Utah. Yes, this child of mine is remarkable considering the myriad of obstacles she has had to overcome since she was first diagnosed at the age of seven. She turns nineteen this week. We can hardly believe she is on her way to adulthood. When we think of the many years of complete despair and difficulty, this is a miracle indeed. Gratefulness overwhelms us.
Another positive development has been her relationship with her oldest sister. Caroline has longed for reconciliation and wrote a letter to her last fall asking for forgiveness for the many events that unfolded while she was unstable. Elizabeth, much to our surprise, embraced her sister's conciliatory note wholeheartedly, even getting a tattoo on her foot in Hannah's bold signature (not so excited about tattoos but nonetheless we are delighted.)
God is good.
I've been following your journey for awhile now. My daughter was diagnosed at age 7 with Bipolar disorder. She's now almost 11. I'm happy to say that she's been stable almost 1 1/2 years.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad Caroline is doing so well. I'm sure you appreciate all of the strides she has made because she worked so hard to get where she is.
Blessings.
In His Grip,
Cate