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, March 27, 2011

A Respite Saturday Courtesy of Our Church!

Our church, as part of its Access ministry to the disabled, is offering parents a respite Saturday on April 9th from 12:30 to 4:00 for special needs kids and their siblings at no cost.  What a fabulous idea!  Volunteers will be trained to care for these kids in a structured environment, with games, crafts, snacks and other activities.  If you live in the Hampton Roads area and want more information, check out www.trinitynorfolk.com and click on Ministries, and then click on Access Ministries to register or for more info.  Caroline is a little old for something like this now at 15, but I am hoping that many other parents can take advantage of this opportunity in our city!  Thank you, Trinity Presbyterian Church and my dear friend Rebecca for heading this up!  I hope many other churches can offer this kind of support ministry for parents with kids who are a little different.
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2 comments:

Unknown said...

How WONDERFUL! I long for respite!

March 28, 2011 at 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...

We have a church here in Montgomery, AL who does it every
2nd Saturday for parents from 4-8pm. LOVE that date night for our kids.

April 4, 2011 at 11:22 AM

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