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, April 8, 2009

Moving a Step Closer to an RTC

Today we met with Caroline's psychiatrist's P.A. who had gotten the health insurance paperwork, and agreed that an RTC would be a good move for Caroline.  Her psychologist sent over her evaluation to add to the documents needed.  I think we have a good case for approval, but we'll see what happens.  We have decided that the RTC in Texas, the Merridell Achievement Center, is our top choice based on their neurobiological-based psychiatric approach, using brain imagery and scans to guide choices of medications.  I would love for them to do a med wash where they basically start all over again from scratch, because she is on ten different medications.  We leave for a big vacation on Saturday and I am just hoping she will be able to handle it.  She's acting a little too happy/irritable right now (rapid cycling?) so are bringing things to calm her down if we need too.
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