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, July 21, 2011

A Postcard from Camp

Thankfully, Caroline seems to be doing really well at the YMCA camp.  Today we received a postcard which said, "I have made a really great friend her name is 'Kim' and she's my new best friend; we're like sisters right now. :) Oh, and this is the most epic camp ever! I'm having such a blast and I've never had so much fun in my life!!! :) Everyone here is so nice and friendly....I love it here!!"  So with only one more full day ahead tomorrow, in record heat, we are thinking she is going to be just fine.  I did check with the Health Center to make sure she was getting all of her meds on time and they said everything was going great, she wasn't missing doses, and that a few other girls in her cabin took meds too.  She seemed quite happy to them.  So maybe this will be an annual camp for her.  There is a three week session, but we shall see.  This is enough for right now.

The heat here is unbelievable.  I had a migraine all day from just watering my outside plants this morning.  Stay cool!
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2 comments:

NikDuck said...

This is GREAT news!

July 21, 2011 at 7:26 PM
claire said...

That is great! I had a lot of issues as a child and camp is one of the shining memories I have. When she is older I would look into an outward bound type camp if she is into that. Lots of fun!

July 21, 2011 at 9:10 PM

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