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!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Navel Gazing Not Intended

I realize that in our society we now have a new and annoying penchant to feel the need to say something about ourselves, whether by twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or blogging on a daily, even minute to minute basis.  I shudder at the thought of joining that throng really, because we are self-centered enough.  Please know that I write on a daily basis out of necessity not out of narcissism.  If I don't write, I implode.  And I want the world to know that early-onset bipolar disorder deserves every bit of research and attention as autism, cystic-fibrosis, Type I diabetes, leukemia and every other childhood disease out there.  So please keep reading knowing that I am always aware of my inborn tendency toward navel-gazing and that I know that I am continually called to serve others, not just my own family, whether by supporting Compassion International, or by caring for the needy around me.  Not because I am some Mother Theresa, but because we are only truly alive when we are serving.  "The glory of God is man fully alive" (Sara Groves, Add to the Beauty)
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1 comment:

pacwp said...

There are some very positive benefits to keeping a journal.

It is a form of therapy, a way to explore feelings and situations that are troublesome, helping you to see areas where God might be calling you to change, or to realize how much strength you actually do have!

In a journal/weblog you can see times when God intervined in your life....something you could not see until you reviewed your post.

You can also examine goals and milestones seeing patterns and conflict that might give you insight to what is going on in your life, or in your family with your daugther.

We can't be expected to see the forest for the trees when are in the midst of the forest: a blob/journal helps us to see life more clearly.

December 21, 2012 at 8:11 PM

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