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, August 21, 2011

Hoping the Care.com Sitter Works Out

Well, after my sister's wonderful help in finding a sitter comfortable with special needs kids on Care.com, I have hired a grad student to stay with Caroline while we take Elizabeth to college many states away--to the tune of $300!  Well, I guess that is better than leaving her by herself for a weekend, right?  But after forking out $2200 for COBRA health insurance, and getting a bill for $700 from our mortgage company for more escrow, and a huge water bill from our burst water line,  it is kind of hard to swallow.  Oh well, you do what you have to.  I am glad that there are websites like Care.com where you can find a special needs sitter on short notice.  I wish I had known about them a when my kids were younger!  We didn't go on dates for years because we knew most sitters couldn't handle our bp kid.  So now while Caroline is stable, we go on dates every weekend to make up for about 8 years of no dates!!  Anyway, I just hope this gal doesn't cancel at the last minute.  Oh, and it looks like a tropical storm is going to hit Florida right when we need to drive there for the college drop-off.  Great.  What fun!
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2 comments:

Anna said...

GLAD YOU FOUND A GOOD SITTER.
GOOD LUCK

August 21, 2011 at 6:38 PM
GB's Mom said...

Hope it works and that you have a great weekend.

August 21, 2011 at 7:14 PM

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