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, November 24, 2010

Making Up for Lost Time

That's what we have to do now that Caroline has missed over a week of school.  With the holidays approaching I am very concerned about catching her up on Algebra in particular.  I know that every year she will miss a couple of weeks in the fall and again in the late winter/early spring because of mood swings and med adjustments, but add in a physical health issue requiring hospitalization and I start to get very nervous.  I wish I didn't have to be responsible for her schooling but honestly there are no better alternatives right now.  Time to start the day!  I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, a peaceful one hopefully.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I understand how you feel. When my dd is unstable we're lucky to get through anything. When she is better she flies through everything. So, I try to take advantage and play catch up on every good day. Luckily she understands the reasoning behind it and is happy to catch up.

November 24, 2010 at 8:07 PM

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