Before & After Cannabis

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Every day, Facebook shows its users memories of photos from last year or even further back depending on how long you've been using their platform. It's usually fun to reminisce over photos from several years ago but one of Abe's photos (when he was quickly approaching his worst) popped up and it made me sad and very happy all at the same time. Sad, because it hurts my heart he had to suffer when a solution as easy as a plant made his life exponentially better. Happy, because he is living his best version of his life now BECAUSE of a plant and it makes me proud. It's a fight worth fighting for. Every time he hits a new goal or a new mile stone I celebrate because he continues to do things that doctors told us he may never do.

I made this little comparison piece to show our legislators side-by-side what big pharma and cannabis looked like for my son. I often hear from our legislators that they don't want our kids "high".  Take a peek at the photo on the left and know that my son was so high that he lost nearly all the skills he fought hard for on a drug that literally causes brain damage. It was being prescribed "off-label" and was NEVER tested on kids under the age of 18. I didn't know that the withdrawal from it is so dangerous it can CAUSE SEIZURES. I didn't know it would take longer to wean him off of it than it did for it to cause what may be irreversible damage. Not to mention it caused worsening seizures - so badly that we had to have an emergency MRI because they thought that the mass in his brain had grown. He spent weeks in the hospital every year on top of an ambulance ride after a nasty seizure and stays in level 4 epilepsy units out-of-state.

After Cannabis - we haven't seen the inside of an ER. We haven't been to the doctor for anything other than the standard things like ear aches and annual appointments. We haven't had to do anything emergency-wise for seizures since 2015.

Parents in my situation are often told by our legislators (ahem, not doctors) that we shouldn't use cannabis "because it's not FDA Approved". They are not understanding (or having empathy) that we've already tried those FDA approved drugs and they failed us. Never mind that those drugs cause more harm than good in some circumstances, like Abe's - who has bi-lateral cortical dysplasia and a genetic form of epilepsy. 

I think if they look at the photos below and imagine it was their child or their grandchild in this situation and that as a parent - you would DO ANYTHING to make your child not suffer - there would already be a law to help all of those who suffer.  We are one of the lucky ones in Iowa who have at the very bare minimum have been granted the ability to possess his medicine without fear of arrest and for that, I am thankful.