Written by Waiting for Legalization and Watching Others Medicate Isn’t Too Easy For 100’s Of Millions, Effie Is One Of Them:
As measures pass in some states and propositions in others, half of the nation still awaits some type of legalization. The majority of the nation continues to deal with very strict regulations that are ever-changing in the legal states. What seems to the world to be a green-gold rush of cannabis flowing into patients’ hands is more like a very disturbing waiting game for many in almost every state – legal or not. With Epilepsy being an overwhelming burden in her life, the possibility that any plant’s oil would help it has her wide awake and waiting for the ability to use it legally. Her state specifically outlaws CBD to this day.
Effie has been my friend on Social Media for years. A person who’s always shown great concern for others wasn’t too hip on the idea of what the people sold across the street as drugs actually being a medicine. I can remember when I first opened a group on Facebook her hesitation to the posts and immediately the interest she showed. It’s always a victory inside when someone who I know isn’t down for the weed thing realizes that there’s medicine in the plant!
Over the years she’s has stepped away from a very skeptical and conservative view on cannabis to now awaiting its legalization. Like many people who would have never considered cannabis or oils from the plant in the past, she’s made a decision to give it a whirl once the coast is clear within her extremely conservative state. She has a very compelling story to tell of how she came to be in the position she is in today.
And now for EJ’s story in her own words:
“When 6 months old, I had a high fever of 106 degrees. A lumbar tap was done to check and see if I had meningitis. The test turned out negative. Something else happened when I was age four. So I’m unsure of which time I had Scarlatina. (Especially when I can remember parts of the day I was born). I can remember being put in a bed of ice while a nurse kept using a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol, applying it to my body. I could hardly breathe from the fumes of that alcohol! Yes. She even applied to my forehead and face! My right hand would try to push hers away. I wanted to BREATHE! She would, in a soft voice, tell me to keep my hand down, while removing it out of her way. Cry? I couldn’t cry! I had little to no oxygen to breathe! This “Professional Nurse” was suffocating me! My body did not get the needed oxygen to my system! In those days (1950’s), doctors said I “burned some of the cells from my brain. That in order to NOT have ‘blackouts,’ those cells would have to be replaced.” We now know that the brain replaces dead cells every day. SO! If the cells would NOT be replaced, why load me up on pills? At age *4, I started taking Phenobarbitol under the supervision of my podiatrist. I am showing a picture of me when an infant:”
“See those bars? How many of you remember those baby cribs? I slept in that thing for my first 8 years of existence! The mattress would “rattle” every time I moved my head. I got very little sleep. And need to go to the bathroom? Forget it! I had to wait until that morning when to let out of the prison bars! My mother even slept in the same room where I was. The old man stayed in another room. Didn’t matter. His snoring was so loud, I’d be surprised if the neighbors didn’t hear him! So things were made to look like I was treated “special.” No further from the truth. Another cover-up.”
“It was given the medical name of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy. Since the name has changed to Partial Complex seizures. When 8 years old, I saw my first neurologist. He replaced the Phenobarbitol with Dilantin, saying it was “a bit stronger” and added what was called, Mysoline. Now called Primidone, the generic. This past February 2017, I got off of Dilantin! Mynow, the neurologist gave me a month to “slowly” get off of this drug. I lost over 30 pounds and almost died! But I’ll never know if this, alone was the reason. I also had two other sicknesses hit me during that time. But I do remember my first neurologist telling me that one has to decrease off of medication very slowly. I had taken Dilantin for 57 YEARS!!! I am now taking Zonisamide and Primidone twice a day–along with other pills.”
“I was put down by EVERY family member! Not one family member ever encouraged me. Not one of them said to me, “You Can Do It!” I was always told, “You Can’t!” Why? The brother got to do anything he wanted to do. I was always watched like a hawk. “You might have a ‘blackout!’” The world might come to an end, too. So why am I here? To watch everyone else have a good, “normal” time while I just exist?”
“I had a great-uncle who went to Miami Beach each year for vacation. He would always stop by before heading back to Pennsylvania, bringing me and the sibling a souvenir. One year, he gave each of us a $1.00 harmonica. I practiced and learned two songs: “Silent Night” and “There’s No Place Like Home.” This harmonica was extra special to me. I wasn’t allowed to take music in school. The old man refused to pay just $65.00 for a clarinet, where I could have taken FREE band lessons at school! He was one of the richest men in the county. I could have been a music teacher. But my dreams were always void in the eyes of the adults. A few years after marrying, I expressed an interest in a REAL Hohner Tremolo harmonica to my husband. We went to the only *Hohner Harmonica Distributors in The United States! Just a few miles from where we live! I have since played at The State Fair of Virginia. Even won some Blue Ribbons. Some have turned Purple! Now, I play in music jams whenever possible. One carries their own musical instrument(s) and plays in a group. We take turns playing favorite songs.”
“For anyone out there who is challenged with epilepsy, please remember that you Are NOT “a failure!” You ARE Special! Unfortunately, most of us do not have others say those words, “You Are Special.” Just imagine how this would make one feel? Regardless of what they are going through. So I am telling you. Stand Strong. Know that You DO have a Purpose on this Earth. That you are equally (maybe even much more) as smart as the “average person.” Whatever that means. You Are Exceptional! And You ARE A WINNER!”
Another ‘wow moment’ as I like to call them. Reading her email compelled me to share her story as written. There are so many people waiting for the laws to be passed because they’re just not willing to break it. Our government has shown enough haste in allowing the unnecessary suffering of 100’s of millions of citizens over the years. There’s no reason EJ should have to deal with a state that actually bans the purchase of any cannabis product. But, they still exist. America may still be the land of the free in some ways – but it’s the home of the brave in EVERY WAY. You’re either brave or you don’t survive.
Mike Robinson, Medicinal Cannabis Patient, Director of Communications – The American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine
www.aacmsite.org – please share with your doctor today!
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