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!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

She graduated from High School!!!!

The day arrived and she did it!  She walked across that stage and took her hard-earned diploma today.  Praise God!  There were many times we weren't sure how she would finish high school, but she kept plugging along, and with the help of fabulous teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, mentors, and God himself,  she reached her goal.  We are so proud of her!   Time to celebrate!
Posted by at

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What great news, so happy for her and your family! I hope you enjoyed her special day!

June 13, 2015 at 7:32 PM
Anonymous said...

Wow! I just stumbled upon your blog today and I have to say it's the first time I thought to myself that I am not in this alone. We have gone through almost all of the feelings/worries/issues you have written about. The only difference is that it took us 18 years to get a diagnosis of bipolar. We have been through many different counselors, psychiatrists and schools. Also, we have tried many different medications to no avail. One question I have is when is it time to take them to a hospital? There have been times when he was very depressed and I was worried he would hurt himself, so I made appointments at the various doctors offices. I feel like a horrible mother that we didn't have this figured out years ago.

July 27, 2015 at 3:01 PM
apamookowa said...

Congrats to her

September 21, 2015 at 2:53 PM
apamookowa said...

Congrats to her and your entire family

September 21, 2015 at 3:31 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)