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, January 5, 2011

Yesterday was Then, Today is Now

Our family had a really bad day yesterday, beginning with my own mood.  The morning went sour with Caroline calling us from her homeschool supplementary classes saying she felt sick.  This was her first day back and this was not a good start for her.  I was mad.  Was she sick?  Maybe.  Was she stressed out because she didn't finish the history homework that she told us she had finished?  Probably.  It all went downhill from there.  Really downhill.  The stress of no job, no income, having to tap our retirement fund, January bills looming,  Caroline's poor study habits,  her poor choice of friends, Mae's school struggles, the 10 loads of laundry piled up in the living room, the Christmas boxes everywhere, all of it just really got to me.  I was a mess all day until I fell into bed last night exhausted.

But today is a new day.  A new start, a fresh perspective.  Forget yesterday, just press on today.  This is what I am telling myself.  I have a headache already and it is 8:00 a.m.  Hopefully this day will be smoother.
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3 comments:

SarahinSC said...

Days like your yesterday are rough! Hopefully today will be much better!

January 5, 2011 at 8:15 AM
asplashofsunshine said...

Hoping for a MUCH MUCH MUCH better day for you!

January 5, 2011 at 11:40 AM
Fighting for my Children said...

hugs. I hope you kick that nasty headache and have a better day today.

January 5, 2011 at 4:43 PM

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