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!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

First Team Sport Since Residential

Caroline's first basketball game with her school team on Friday night went relatively well. She got kind of over-heated over one opposing player's attitude, and had to sit out most of the second half to cool off, but she wasn't too fazed over it and continued to happily cheer for her team. We are just thankful she can play on a team and have fun doing it, so unlike the attempt last spring at club lacrosse when she was too unstable to deal with the pressure. She is looking forward to spring lacrosse again, and hopefully this time she will be able to hang with it. I remember telling her third grade school PE coach who saw her amazing athletic ability that she would never be able to play a team sport because her bipolar disorder made her so intense that every competition was seen as war to the death, and she would have horrible sportsmanship. So much has changed and we are seeing her not only able to play on a team, but being a great team player. Again, thank you God.
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2 comments:

Cinda said...

Yeah, Caroline!!! This is a huge step! And, she was able to deal with sitting out for awhile. Very awesome. I'm sure you know this but water, water and more water with the meds and sports. It's easy to forget....gee, am I someone's mama??

December 8, 2009 at 12:31 AM
Megan said...

Yes! We have discovered the hard way how easily Caroline can get dehydrated. She has been to the ER a couple of times after running too hard or racing. The Lithium makes them so much more susceptible to that.

December 8, 2009 at 11:05 AM

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