Jimmy

by Renee
(Monroe, NC)

Our son, Jimmy, has always been tough to handle. As an infant he rarely slept, and cried a lot! Through the toddler years, most would say "OH, he is all boy", "he is very strong willed", or "you just need to break him of that". Mainly leaving us with our mouths open, speechless. But little knew the rage he would only share with us. We were in constant contact with his doctor, who assured us that what he needed was stronger discipline. Once he was able to communicate, he would tell us of a black man (shadow) in his room. We always passed this off as him needing more attention.
For years the hallucinations, anger, agression, talks of death, obsessions, and hyper activity became worse. We swallowed our pride and demanded help from his pediatrician, we knew this was not a parenting issue. He listened and then our real journey began.
He is now 14 and more stable than he has ever been in his whole life. It was not a quick fix, it was many trial and error of medicines, and many trips to the hospital for MRIs, CAT scans, EEGs, EKGs, and blood work. Some combination of meds worked for a while then quit. And a hospitalization that failed him tremendously!!
Just know to trust your gut, learn all you can about bipolar disorder, and never give up. If you find that you are at the beginning of this journey, remember there are people out there to help you and know what you are going through! Don't be afraid to ask for help!