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, January 24, 2010

Planning the Spring Break Trip Carefully

We want to go on a 2o hour drive to Florida for spring break week. We found an amazing deal on a condo rental in Destin, really cheap compared to everything else we looked at, including military deals, right on the beach, swimming pool and tennis courts included. With our oldest soon to go to college, we are bemoaning the fact that we have had very few "family" vacations over the last 16 years of her life that were just our immediate family, building memories together, and soon she will be gone. So we made it our goal to do something together this April, but to do it as cheaply as we can. Since Caroline wouldn't tolerate a super long car ride, we think we will fly her and me down there, and everyone else will drive in our new minivan with the DVD player and headphones! So now I am waiting for the airline prices to drop, because right now they are not cheap at all. When you have a special needs kid, you have to plan trips carefully or pay the price.
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2 comments:

Cinda said...

I have been out of touch but now back and catching up on all my favorite blogs and lives! DO take the trip! Keep every memory safe and sound!

January 25, 2010 at 12:07 AM
Corrie Howe said...

I think this is an excellent idea. I hope that you are able to find some good deals on plane tickets.

January 26, 2010 at 11:29 PM

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