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!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Where are You???

That is what I am wondering right now.  Caroline has left the house and isn't answering her cell phone.  I am sure she is at her friend's house, so I will call there now, or maybe I am not so sure.  She missed her nighttime Lamictal dose the other night and I hope she isn't acting manic right now.  I hate not knowing where she is.  She is the one kid I always worry about and always fear she is up to something bad even when she isn't.  She wants us to trust her more, but I see very few reasons to trust her at all.
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3 comments:

GB's Mom said...

Medication compliance was always the biggest issue during the teen years. I'll say an extra prayer tonight.

April 28, 2011 at 11:14 PM
ann said...

I completely understand how you feel. My sixteen old who is adhd, has a cell phone for we can keep it contact. I let him go and take walks for a few hours at a time, and give him a time to be home. If he is late of course I text or call him. He does not get that he needs to be home on time or call with an acceptable reason to be home. He has been a couple hours late a few times. It is very nerve wrecking on me when he does this. It is very hard not to be over protective with the world we live in.
My mom would just say don't go farther than you can hear me call, and I listened.
Children do not have the fear of god that we have then, and I think society is the cause of it. Hang in there raising teenagers is very hard; sometimes you wish they would just stay little.

April 29, 2011 at 12:22 PM
Fighting for my Children said...

Im assuming you found Caroline? Is she ok?

May 1, 2011 at 12:31 PM

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