Thanksgiving weekend....

We had a wonderful weekend. I haven't posted in a few days since there is nothing new to update about. We are back to daily meltdowns that do not end until Faith is passed out with exhaustion. We still cannot figure out what triggers them, I wish I knew. Faith can feel them coming but we still cannot stop them. She just cannot calm down. Lately she is screaming at the top of her lungs...it really hurts our ears. She is yelling at us to help her, but there is nothing we can do, so it is an never ending circle of arguments with her. "Mommy you are mean, you will not help me", "I will do anything I can do to help you"...followed by a bunch of possible solutions to try and help her. The hard part is it stresses everyone out...I am the one that wants to try different things, approaches, or anything since nothing is working. Renae is the opposite, she doesn't want to and thinks I am saying she can control it. It is tough to make sure we do not argue under these stressful situations. It becomes very easy to take out my anger and frustration on anyone around. The key is to make sure you talk about these situations when all is calm and no one makes decisions in haste and frustration. We have appointments on Wednesday with Faith's new doctors. I am excited to have someone offer some fresh perspectives on Faith. One thing that is also excited is that almost weekly someone contacts us to talk about something similar in their family. Even though every mood disorder is different one common denominator is we all are scared, we all have no one to talk to that understands, and we all are glad to meet someone to share our experiences and stresses with. It is nice to know there are other families out there that are walking our walk, not just talking the talk. KrisandRenae

It didn't last....

We had a good couple of days, but it has ended. Right now Faith is on the couch yelling at the top of her lungs that she is stressed and we do not understand. It is yelling that actually hurts our ears. Tess had to stop what she was doing and take Abbi upstairs because she is scared. I am not going to say what she is yelling now, just believe me if we weren't so calloused to these words and phrases coming out of her in these rages they would really hurt. She has no clue what set her off, she does not remember, she is just going from one thing to another as far as a topic. We can't talk to her, or even look at her, but she wants us in the room to hear these screams. It is crazy. Something I will never get used to as a parent. If a stranger or someone were to witness this it would probably leave an everlasting scare, or image in their mind that would never leave. How can such a sweet little girl have such anger, hate, and rage come out of her body for no reason at all? It sucks, I wish I could take it from her forever. It has been going on for thirty minutes with no sign of a letdown. I wish there was an instant medicine to give her to put her into sleep, not possible, and I believe if it was she would just wake up with and start where she left off. Hope everyone has a good evening. Kris and Renae

A great weekend.....

We had a wonderful weekend as a family. Faith made it almost two entire days now without a meltdown. She was able to get out of the house and go spend Saturday afternoon with some friends. She absolutely loves playing with them. This allowed Renae to spend the afternoon on a mommy-daughter date with Abbi. They had a blast!! Then Tess had two friends sleep over on Saturday night. The house was lively and it was one of the few times all three of my daughters got along. Renae and just laid in bed, watched football, and hung out. It was nice. Renae went shopping all afternoon Saturday and I hung out with my ladies. The things we use to take for granted are what can make a house a happy one.KrisandRenae

Looking for assistance....

I am starting today to reach out to organizations for assistance and guidance. It is a long process, but I figure I should get help from at least 1 out of every 100 I ask. Will keep you posted. Kris

A good day.....

Friday was the first good day Faith had in I don't know how long. I came home at lunch and she was bathing the dog. She made sure she came down and gave me a hug and said goodbye. She also wanted to clarify that she was going to be able to go over to her friends today and play. I came home after work and she was watching a movie marathon on ABC Family channel. In a great mood and jumping all of the place. This is the unexplainable and confusing part of Mood Disorders. There is no rhyme or reason to the moods, nor is there any warning or repreve. It was a nice quiet evening and everyone got to bed early and are sleeping in. We will see how the weekend goes. I am counting the days until November 30 when we get to meet her new psychiatrist. She is trying her hardest as are we to try to explain what is going on with our child that is causing us to be a little different. To all who say this, "she looked great last time I saw her". That is like asking a lady who looks pregnant if she is pregnant. There is no way to take it back nor will you ever be the same in that lady's eyes. It is the same when you say that to me. On another good note. I blog is working. Renae was approached by someone who is going through some similar struggles at home with a child. I know how good it felt for her to talk to someone and meet someone who understands. Please talk to us, ask us questions, or just talk to someone you know has a loved one with a Mood Disorder. Every case is different, talking about it is the only way to raise awareness. Remember, NO TWO CASES ARE THE SAME. Kris and Renae

Everyones tired.....

One thing that is usually overlooked when raising a child with a disability is its affect on the family. This has been a long year. We have to wait until the 30 of November to get Faith in with her other new doctor. The strain on the family with these constant mood swings is becoming apparent. Everyone is short with each other, all of our patients have disappeared. Little things at work that would never bother me are now monumental for some reason. The look on my wife's face tells the story with just a short glance. It is tough to be the strong partner and parent, but sometimes I just have to raise the white flag and admit defeat. This happens to Renae mostly because she is home all day with Faith. But we just never seem to be able to do this at different times. This is a little more understanding to family, friends, and coworkers when the children have a disability that can be seen. However the offers of help and understanding do not seem to come as often to those parents of children with hidden disabilities. In most cases a person knows there will eventually be a light at the end of the tunnel, but then some of us just have to admit that there will never be a light at the end of the tunnel. I would not have it any other way to be honest. I have learned so much, my opinions changed so much, my heart shaped so much since Faith has come into my life. A day off every now and then would be nice. When she gets better we will have that, I just hope it happens soon for her sake and sometimes mine. Kris

A new ray of light.....

I have taken a few days off from the internet and posting. I was just too exhausted mentally from this entire hospitalization. I just hung out with my kids, went to a horse show, and pretty much rearranged the entire house. Why I decided to do a spring cleaning in November, who knows. Today we were fortunate to go see a new Psychologist with Faith. Renae and I think he is exactly what we were looking for. He called Faith an A-typical case, very different, yet in a crisis mode right now. He agreed with the severe anxiety, but does not like to label children as young as her with BiPolar. He had us in his office for over two hours. I have never seen a doctor do this, he rescheduled an appointment that was in the waiting room because of Faith's current condition. He even pulled some strings to get us an appointment with a psychiatrist that he has worked with for many years on some pretty unique A-typical cases. Instead of over a month we have one on November 30. He is open to all avenues, he is going to be doing some testing that Renae has been requesting for years. He is also worried about the daily meltdowns of terror and anger she has. This is something unique that may even be something that has not yet fully shown itself. He recommended a private school that is more open to Faith's unique requirements for school to help her get back in to a classroom. We will post later what we find out about that. I am so exhausted that I cannot remember all the details. I will get Renae to start writing what is on her mind and give some more specifics on this journey. Thank you to the new friends that have donated towards Faith's service dog. We have a long way to go, but these donations are uplifting and keep us going. Little Angels emailed me yesterday that they have been approved as a Non Profit Organization by the IRS. So I will pass that info along when I receive it. Right now it is 6:30 PM, Faith woke up this morning angry and not feeling good. She had a pretty good day, made it through the long doctors appointment, ate a huge dinner of her favorite food (Ribs), but just exploded about 10 minutes ago for no reason at all. She just started running through the house screaming how much she hates us and how bad she feels. Renae took her for a ride, this seems to calm her, almost as it was when the girls were infants and we would take them for rides in the middle of the night to get them to quit crying and go to sleep. On a side note support from everywhere on Post here has been great. It seems Faith is a very A-typical case to the Army and TriCare. It seems once I raised a red flag and made the correct people aware of what is going on with us they took immediate action. This is another reason we must continue with this mission of awareness....so we can clear the path for future families. Kris

Coming home...

Faith gave it a valiant effort but for no reason of hers she is heading home from Louisville and the Brook. I have never seen someone want something so badly and work so hard as she did for this to work. She is just not able to make it in there without losing control. The Brook hospital has a great staff and they will not hold a child down nor will they medicate to calm them down. Faith was not able to calm down. However bad she wanted to be there and get help, when she left us she could not control her emotions. Her anxiety took control of her body and she would scream in anguish. I feel she is too young to do something like that by herself. She has had a couple of very traumatic experiences in the past that involved her being taken from us. In hind site it was a bad decision on our part, but we trusted the opinion of so called experts. Now we only trust our intuition when we make decisions. We NEVER make decisions involving her in the midst of a crisis. Prior to this we had lengthy discussions of "what ifs" with Faith. We left the building and once we got Faith calmed down we decided to give it one more try. As with people who suffer from PTSD, when certain things happen in your surroundings, without any warning or control, your body starts it "fight or flight" to protect itself. In Faith's circumstances she "flights" and to try and get out of the place that is terrifying her. Just as I am with heights, whether I can deal with them or not, my body shakes uncontrollably. No matter how many times I repel, I cannot stop the shaking. She cannot stop the fighting and terror to get out of an scary situation. We have contacted numerous doctors and they suggest major therapy work with a psychologist to help her through this transition she is unable to go through. However we must get her "feeling good" before doing that. That is why we were attempting the partial hospitalization, to get her stable enough to work on this. However we may have taken too long to get her in the hospital, at least that is what I think, she is not stable enough emotionally to tackle this issue of separation anxiety. So after lengthy discussions with the director of the Brook we have decided to bring her home, take care of her here, and start over next week to get her stable. We have an appointment with a Psychologist on Wednesday and he has been diagnosing and assisting children for over 30 years. He has been recommended to us by numerous psychiatrists and we are going to go this route now. I have received an email from someone here on post after posting an ICE complaint here. This the Army's way of allowing us to have access to the necessary people to complain and/or praise anyone or any department in the Army. I appreciate the quick response from them but maybe I missed typed it. I have learned the hard way exactly what is offered here on post and through TriCare. I am just so tired of people who do not know us or know Faith telling me what Renae and I should do with her. We will NEVER admit her to a hospital where she will be away from one of us unless she attempts to hurt herself. We have talked to her about this numerous times when she was feeling good. It is not an option for us and I do not feel it necessary to discuss this with people when I tell them that. Especially ones that do not take the time to read her file, the people at TriCare. I am also tired of being referred to some type of treatment that is going to break me financially when I am suppose to be covered under TriCare. I just learned that they will not cover Intense Outpatient therapy for her, they only cover active duty soldiers, not their dependents. Like I have said before there are all types of programs and people that are out there to help families like us. We just could really use someone to help guide us through this maze. That is where I am taking this. I am going to be that map for families with family members suffering from Mood Disorders. Faith is happy to be home, so far she is holding her own, I will post after the next doctors appointment. Thanks for all of your support, it means a lot to us. KrisandRenae

We made it past the doors but faith could not let go....now she is so upset because she wants help...she is running around the parking lot screaming that she is not going home or leaving this hospital until she gets help and feels happy again

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

Long day....

Our day started around 3am. After getting my leave papers signed and the girls off to school Renae, Faith, and I drove here to Louisville, Ky to admit Faith into the The Brook Hospital here. That is a long process, took us approx three hours. Faith was awesome in answering questions, it has to be the best I have ever seen her open up and be honest. You can really tell she is wanting this to work. We were so lucky to come to our temporary home here at the Ronal McDonald house. This is an amazing place with some amazing families and children. Words just cannot describe the warm welcome and smiles from all the families here. There are volunteers that come here every night to cook warm meals for us. What a change from the last hospitalization, hopefully this continues, we will not know for a week or so. Tonight there are two therapy dogs coming to visit the kids. Faith is so excited. She is so anxious about tomorrow that she cannot set still. I just hope she has the courage and strengh she needs to do this. I know she will for the first couple of days, but this is not easy. They do what they can to push and prod her mentally to every breaking point known. They must see her at her absolute worst so they can correctly diagnose her and get her stable. It is heartbreaking knowing what they are doing behind those doors when your child leaves, the only thing keeping me sain is know we get to have her in our arms each day at 5pm. I do not , nor do I ever, want to know how parents can let their kids go for weeks at a time. She is so tough but dang no kid should ever have to do this. It is not fair. I wish I could take all this pain from her and put it in me...so she would never have to suffer again. Keep Faith in your thoughts. She will win this battle I know...kris and renae

remae and faith

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

faith with ronald

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

checked in....

We finished with faith's admission and arrived to her and renae's new home for a while...the ronald mcdonald house in louisville. What an awesome and warm reception we had...to include a warm home cooked dinner for all the families by some wonderful ladies.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

louisville kentucky

We are in louisville at the brook hospital getting faith admitted...say your prayers for her to have strength and courage.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

Children with PTSD

Yes it is true...the military servicemembers are not the only ones suffering from PTSD. Children even suffer from it!!!! PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a traumatic event or ordeal in which grave physical, psychological, or sexual harm occurred or was threatened. When in danger, it's natural to feel afraid, and this fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to prepare to defend against the danger, or to avoid it. This "fight-or-flight" response is a healthy reaction meant to protect a person from harm. But in PTSD, this reaction is changed, damaged, and often over activated. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened even when they're no longer in danger. People with PTSD tend to: Experience sleeping problems, including bad dreams Stay away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the experience Feel strong guilt, depression, or worry Lose interest in activities that were enjoyable in the past Feel detached or numb Be easily startled

Facts about Mood Disorders

These are borrowed from http://bringchange2mind.org/pages/learn-the-facts LEARN THE FACTS One of the best ways you can help someone with mental illness is by understanding what it is — and what it isn't. After all, myths about mental illnesses contribute to stigma, which in turn prevents those who are living with one from seeking help. The fact is, a mental illness is a disorder of the brain — your body's most important organ — and 1 in 6 adults lives with a brain-related illness including depression, bipolar disorder, PTSD and schizophrenia. Like most diseases of the body, mental illness has many causes — from genetics to other biological, environmental and social/cultural factors. And just as with most diseases, mental illnesses are no one's fault. The unusual behaviors associated with some illnesses are symptoms of the disease — not the cause. But most importantly, mental illnesses are treatable through medication and psychosocial therapies — allowing those who suffer from them the opportunity to lead full and productive lives. FACT VS. FICTION FICTION: People living with a mental illness are often violent. FACT: Actually, the vast majority of people living with mental health conditions are no more violent than anyone else. People with mental illness are much more likely to be the victims of crime. FICTION: Mental illness is a sign of weakness. FACT: A mental illness is not caused by personal weakness — nor can it be cured by positive thinking or willpower — proper treatment is needed. FICTION: Only military personnel who have been in combat can suffer from PTSD. FACT: While PTSD is prevalent in men and women who have seen combat, experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event can trigger PTSD, including violent personal assaults such as rape or robbery, natural or human-caused disasters, or accidents. FICTION: People with a mental illness will never get better. FACT: For some people, a mental illness may be a lifelong condition, like diabetes. But as with diabetes, proper treatment enables many people with a mental illness to lead fulfilling and productive lives. FICTION: Children don't suffer from mental illness. FACT: Millions of children are affected by depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. As a matter of fact, 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness. Getting treatment is essential. FICTION: "Mental illness can't affect me!" FACT: Mental illness can affect anyone. While some illnesses have a genetic risk, mental illness can affect people of all ages, races and income levels, whether or not there is a family history. BIPOLAR Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. Symptoms of bipolar disorder are more severe than the normal ups-and-downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance, and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated. A combination of professional counseling and medication helps most people live productive and fulfilling lives. Bipolar symptoms are sometimes not recognized as parts of a larger problem, so it can be years before a person is properly diagnosed and treated. While some experience symptoms during childhood, bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years. It has been reported that at least half of all cases start before age 25. Like diabetes or heart disease, bipolar disorder is a long-term illness that must be carefully managed throughout a person's life. Bipolar mood changes are called episodes, and people usually shift from manic to depressive episodes. People with bipolar disorder tend to experience: Excessively "high", euphoric mood Extreme irritability Unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers, such as feeling able to control world events Decreased need for sleep without feeling tired Racing thoughts or fast speech Distractibility or difficulty concentrating Agitation Spending sprees Increasing sadness or feeling very "down" Worried or empty feelings Difficulty concentrating A tendency to forget things a lot A lost interest in fun activities and a tendency to be less active Trouble sleeping Thoughts about of death or suicide

Nightmare day....

What a nightmare of a day yesterday was. However terrible it was, and I am still too mad to write about it, we got faith a bed at The Brook in Louisville, KY. We will be heading out this morning once we get Tess on the bus. It is going to be a hard and demanding month for the entire Forchione Family, but we will make it through like we always do. I know one thing for sure, when this is over I am going on the warpath to bring some issues with Tricare and mood disorders to light. That beauracracy needs help and some drastic changes. I kinda know how these soldiers with PTSD feel around here. "She looks ok to me" or "take her to the emergency room" or even the best one from a lady in California...."if she is that acute then you need to take her and inpatient her to the hospital". That lady might want to do a little research on my daughter, maybe even look at her file, before she suggests for me to do something that has already been done and scarred Faith for life. Let it be know to the world....Renae and I will NEVER let someone rip our daughter from our arms again....I don't care who or what they say...a parent knows what is right and wrong, for some that would be right, for me it is a sign of giving up and I will never give up on finding help for Faith. More to follow once we get her admitted. I will share a hospitalization for a 10 year old at a psychiatric hospital. KrisandRenae

a subtle message...

This evening was hard for faith....she played great all day...keeping her mind occupied..then reality set in this evening. Faith screamed "i made it through the weekend now PLEASE find me a hospital tomorrow". We will try baby. KrisandRenae

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

hanging with dad....

Saturday was a good day for the most part. Faith slept in and then we loaded up to go to my moms new house to finish putting the skirting on the trailer so she can move in. Faith was just mad at the world and wouldn't put a smile on her face for anything. Just out of the blue she came up to me and asked if I wanted to go to lunch with her...just me and her...well that was going to be followed by an obvious answer. So I had to break early for lunch and we went and ate at a place called Burritos, it is her favorite. Her friend Bella call that morning and asked if Faith wanted to play and she said she would after lunch. When she got off the phone we had to promise we would go get her if she called and did not feel good. Well finally at around 6:30 last night I went to get her and her little sister from Bella's house and as I pull up to the park across the street I see a little group of kids playing tackle football, and low and behold there is Faith chasing down a boy 25 pounds bigger than her and slamming him to the ground and there pops smile as big as Texas. She came running over to me and said she is having a blast and could I wait a little longer to take her home. Yep I sure did and yep she was whooping some boys butts....I think we have found a great way for her to let off some steam...a crazy yet good way. Who would have ever guessed, she is usually very timid to try new things, but she has some great little friends that attempt to understand what she is going through and try their hardest to make her feel better. That is what I love about the military, we all have so much yet so little in common, and we are like an extended family. It is crazy to see how being poor can bring some great families together!!! LOL Here's to hoping we have just as wonderful a Sunday. KrisandRenae

Another bump in the road..

My four year old Abigail called me on the phone yesterday around 11am and with a scared voice told me to come home that mommy needed me because Faith was really not feeling good. I could hear Faith yelling in the background and Renae trying to console her. I was at the hospital at the Referral office trying to get some assistance getting her admitted into a hospital as soon as possible. The only thing I learned there was that Faith should have been assigned a behavior case manager to guide and assist us through this bureaucracy call health care so that we could focus on her and the rest of our family instead of struggling to get her into a hospital. This should have happened after her first stay in a psychiatric hospital. Now they tell us????!!!!!!! So my next stop was to the TriCare office where Renae met me with Faith. The lady there was awesome. She stopped what she was doing and spent 30 minutes calling around to everyone she knew to try and get us a case manager as fast as possible so we could try and get Faith admitted this weekend maybe. However unsuccessful this was, we were able to leave a message on the manager of the behavior case workers in California. She actually called us back within an hour and then the bombshell was placed upon us. She informed us that TriCare would not pay for Renae to stay with Faith during her partial hospitalization. Even though this is what her doctor wants and the previous stay at the hospital showed is the only thing that would work. My unit in the Army has to pay for Renae's part of the hospitalization because TriCare considers this type of hospitalization as "outpatient treatment". What makes it even more amusing is that in the Behavior Health Pamphlet handed out at their office has a few pages on outpatient hospitalizations and how they are a recommended form of treatment. They just do not cover what happens if one of those facilities is not in your region. Faith has a combination of disorders that require a very specific type of treatment. The outpatient treatment is the only one that will work for her because of her severe anxiety that is fueled by her BiPolar. So her mom right now is her safety blanket that we hope to be replaced by the service dog. She has had a couple of traumatic experiences that she is afraid to relive which also fuels her anxiety. One of which is her getting ripped out of our arms one day because we were naive enough to believe a principal and a teacher at a school that this was what was needed to get her into school. Unaware of her mood disorders we allowed it to happen. Now she relives that experience with weekly nightmares that wake her in cold sweats. We have both promised Faith that we will never let that happen again. So when someone tells me to do an inpatient treatment, and that they " have workers standing by ready to take her back" I really just want to punch them in the face and walk out, but Faith needs the help so I just give them a serious stare and say " no thank you, next option". These people get to go home at night, we get to live with this hidden disability the rest of our lives. This is where I am determined to help remove this stigma of mood disorders and how people just don't understand how serious they can be. So once we were told this wonderful news from the lady in California, I went to the one person who came through for us last time Faith was in the Hospital and we were told TriCare was not going to pay for it. In the Army they have what is called an Ombudsman. They are there to help service members and their families with ANY issue that we cannot figure out. Our ombudsman was not too happy when Faith and I went into his office and told him we were sent to yet another hospital without being told that Renae's expenses would not be covered. TriCare told us last time it was because we were under 100 miles from the treatment facility and yesterday they said it was considered an outpatient treatment. Maybe I should have just put Faith on a plane by herself so she could get the treatment she needed??? Well to make a long story short he took Faith and I to the hospital to see a very high ranking gentlemen who stopped what he was doing and spent about an hour getting us the answers we needed. It turns out this was a loophole in the system that pretty much every person he spoke to was unaware of. People were making calls from home on a Friday evening and talking to him on speaker phone trying to get help for Faith. From the beginning he said "we will get her and your wife where they need to be, we just have to figure out exactly how to do it". Not only did he work it out, his top priority is to have a plan in place for us and other children in the future so this will never happen again. The Army is a wonderful organization that truely does care about its service members and most importantly their families. It is just hard sometimes to get through the maze of organizations and offices that are in place to assist us with anything and everything that we need. Thankfully there are wonderful employees out there that really do care and will do what is necessary to accomplish a task. Thank you Fort Campbell for helping our family and most importantly Faith on this very stressful and scary day. KrisandRenae

Another attempt...

Today Faith tried going to school. She was unsuccessful. Renae is leaving messages at The Brook to see how soon Faith can be admitted because Faith told her that she does not think she can make it much longer.

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

The toughest thing as parent.....

Sometimes I wonder what is the toughest thing about being a parent. Besides of course losing a child, nothing could be worse than that. However there are a lot of parents out there who have had some tough experiences. One thing I can never get over or out of my mind is when Faith is having a meltdown or is screaming out of control because she cannot handle the feelings inside her body and head. Sometimes she looks at Renae and me and lets out a terror filled scream yelling " please, please help me!!!! I cannot go on living like this...or I don't feel good..or I cannot stand this...please mommy and daddy pleases do something to help me!!!! " and we know we are trying our best, however there is absolutely nothing we can do to help her at that moment. We cannot lie to her and tell her we understand how she is feeling, because we don't. We cannot try to sooth her because any touching of her skin hurts her because all of her senses are extremely sensitive when she is going through one of these "episodes". We have to just sit there and ensure she does not hurt herself or one of the other kids and until she finally passes out from complete exhaustion. At ten years old she is now old enough to communicate with us and try to explain what is happening, but usually it is not enough. However she can feel when one is coming, as can we. We have just recently noticed that her pupils will open up all the way, almost to where you do not see any of her hazel eye color. When we see her eyes like that we know an episode is coming. It just breaks my heart when my daughter begs me for help and I cannot do anything to help her....especially when I have to just stand by and watch her suffer. No kid should have to go through that.....no kid should ever have to suffer...it has to be the toughest thing I have personally ever gone through and continue to go through. Just my thought for today....Kris

Parthenon in Nashville

At centennial park during family time at the marriage retreat

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0

thank you....thank you...thank you !!!!!!!

Thank you , thank you , thank you , thank you to those that have made donations towards Faith's dog!!! I cannot believe we are already at $800. We are so lucky to have friends and family like you who donated. We can promise you one thing, these donations will be passed forward and go towards not only helping Faith but also other children. What ever we receive that exceeds our expenses will go towards another dog for another child until we run out of children to help....which will be never. Thanks again and I will keep you posted as the donations grow. krisandrenae

A very long week

Well let me first start off by saying I am sorry for not posting in over a week. A lot of things have been happening and time just flew by. This past weekend the Army sent our family on an all expense paid marriage retreat. We were very hesitant to attend because of Faith's current condition, however we were so lucky to have some friends also attend who have three kids also and they all get along so well. Their son suffers from Bi-Polar also and was able to give some great words of encouragement to Faith. Renae and I learned the 5 love languages and really got to relax for the first time since I don't know when. We did not have to worry about any of the children and they had a blast. Wonderful, wonderful weekend. Thanks to our friends and my unit for allowing us to attend. It was a wonderful tune up to an already great marriage Faith lost it upon our return home. Transitions are and absolute nightmare for her. She has not recovered since. We are calling The Brook hospital daily to see if they have an opening. We hope she can hold out but we just are not sure. It really seems at times that whatever is going on in her head is slowly driving her insane. It is a never ending circle. She does not feel right, she can't go to school because she cannot control her emotions and/or rages, this stresses her out even more, which makes her feel worse. The bad feelings and anxiety fuel each other until she finally passes out. And there is nothing we can do. We finally got an appointment with a new psychologist next week who has been successfully diagnosing children's mood disorders for over 30 years. We are hoping maybe he can find something that we have been missing. We also finally, after over six months, got the referral to a neurologist at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN. Renae and I have just made a commitment to try any and everything to find out exactly what is wrong with her in the hopes that she will quit suffering so much. That is why it is so important for you to help us spread the word about this blog and Faith's Story. I talk about all of this to my friends, neighbors, co-workers and anyone who will listen since we decided to "go public" with Faith's story and no one understands or can believe this is happening to such a sweet and innocent girl. But it is true. I will do almost anything but post video of her, that would be too personal and embarrassing for her and I do not want to hurt her. I will just try to explain it with words as we go along a little more on this journey. Please talk about her to anyone and anything that will listen. I know the dog we are trying to get will not cure her, but I am sure it will help her overcome this anxiety that is fueled by her Bi-polar. I just want to be able to get her out of the house so all of us can go help other children who are going crazy on the inside but look normal on the outside. I promise to figure out again how to post paragraphs and pictures to this blog in the next couple of weeks so I can log this journey better. thanks to everyone for your support and kind words, we could not do it without you.....krisandrenae