Sorry for the absence of posts the last few weeks. We have had so much going on that I really just needed some time to process everything and catch my brain up to my life. On May 18th, my sweet baby turned 8. Yes 8! I can't believe that she is growing up so fast. I am so happy that I get to be her mother and she brings much joy to our family. Jon has ported in Dubai and then Bahrain (and already left them too). He is enjoying his time in foreign ports and we miss him very much.
We did cognitive and academic testing for Amara last month. We finally got the test scores back from the doctor. So we officially have a diagnosis! Before I go into what the diagnosis is, I want to say a few things. One, if your opinion is negative in any way, keep it to yourself. I have had quite the week trying to process everything on top of all the other stress I have right now. I don't need your negativity on top of it. (this isn't directed at anybody in particular, but I feel I need to say it for my own sanity). Two, our decision to use medications to help our children are our decisions, not yours. I appreciate and welcome any critiques you may have if they are meant to help. But know that we are not planning on pulling our kids off all their medications. We feel that giving them medicine is helping them be the children that God intended them to be. Three, having this diagnosis does not mean my kids are crazy, insane, broken, cracked, a danger to anyone, messed up or any other term you might think of. It just means they need help. Okay, now that I've said my piece, here goes.
The diagnosis we got back (for Amara, this has nothing to do with Tayani) is that she has Bipolar Disorder, Adjustment Disorder w/ mixed emotional features, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, ADHD (mixed type), and Specific Learning Disabilities in processing, reading and math. We are currently in the process of changing her medications to better suit her and the diagnosis. So it has been a very very rough week for me. It's one thing to know in your head that something is wrong with your child, and its a whole different story to see on paper from a doctor that what you thought is correct. I have been taking time processing this information, dealing with Amara's difficulties during her medication change, along with the stress of having a very anxious 5yr old and a husband that is deployed overseas. I am not looking for pity. I am grateful that we have a wonderful team of doctors working with us to help her, that the military pays for almost all of our medical expenses (including the thousands of dollars a month in medications), and that we have friends here in VA that are taking care of us (especially me) during this time. God is faithful and will see us through this. She will never be "better", but she can be stable. And on that note, please don't ask me if Amara is "better". BD (bipolar disorder) isn't something that you get better from, you just become more stable, she will have this for the rest of her life.
Thank you all for the love and care you've shown our family. Words are never enough to cover our gratitude. But thank you anyways! If you truly want to be a help to us, please see the links below and educate yourselves on Bipolar Disorder. I am always willing to talk about whats going on in our lives and with Amara, but please do not expect me to be able to tell you whats happening in a passing moment at church or some other function. Thank you all!
In Love,
Mya
About Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
Helping a Loved One with Bipolar Disorder
What to say and What not to say...
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