From Seizures To Smiles: 6 Year Celebration of Cannabis Oil Use Today

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A journey with many milestones, hurdles, and obstacles that's ongoing and paved with love:

Six years ago at 5 a.m. I was woken by EMTs outside the back door of my home. I had a nocturnal grand mal seizure and wandered outside and fell where I slept until a neighbor called and the ambulance came. I was conscious and stubborn so they got turned away and I stayed at home to heal. This was Sept. 8th, 2013, and I didn’t know much about CBD, or even what it meant or stood for, nor did I know that I needed to ingest cannabis instead of just smoking it in order to treat severe epilepsy. I had a cannabis card for years and in multiple states but always used it to buy cannabis to smoke. THC was what it was all about and at one time I bought quite a few edibles. This was back in 2012 and after using them my roommates said I got too high and didn’t like it, but when looking back during the time of me overindulging in those – I wasn’t having anywhere near as many seizures – if any. I never quite had a grasp on how to use it right and back then we didn’t have very knowledgeable people selling it – it was all about what was the strongest and CBD products simply weren’t in dispensaries. For the most part, it’s THC and its cousin CBN runs my protocols along with terpenes. But CBD has become invaluable in multiple forms from ingestion to topical even more this year as I backed away from stop opioids that were revved up in a 3 year-long cancer battle. In total, it was a cessation of 24 years of pharmaceutical opioids – and strong ones.

After the incident 6 years ago, my roommate introduced me to CBD in a very intense manner. There’s a YouTube video of it I’ll share as that will save quite a bit of typing! What I thought were nothing more than more of his Korean or Chinese herbal medicines was actually CBD – but how I found out was by the cessation of seizures! He told me to ‘eat the weed’ that I couldn’t smoke and I understood that much and ate the raw cannabis along with his herbal little resin balls he’d make for indigestion and more. Often I wonder how often I actually had CBD and didn’t know it! But what I learned that’s the most important is that ingestion is a key element of almost every protocol that works in treating severe health conditions like seizures and cancers. Here’s the video that’s a must-see! There are so many recovery stories nowadays – how my own started has to be one of the most intense ones as I’ve written on many patients with fascinating stories of the change in their health, but none have wandered upon the medicine and how to use it in such a funny way! “You can’t eat it all” as he gave me the anecdote. I knew I couldn’t eat and was so frustrated as I weighed over 300 lbs. back then, but he would tell me over and over – for weeks – and he was actually saying ‘cannabidiol’! Watch!

When peering at the cover photo for this article I can’t help but feel some of those old emotions I see in that photo. I’m holding my service dog, Ollie, he was my lifeline and my best friend. Life was so lonely with severe epilepsy controlling my everyday. Even though I was motivated enough to fly across the country on a whim representing kids in special ed disputes pro bono – seizures always plagued me. People tend to look at us people with Epilepsy like there’s something wrong with us – like a contagious disease and some even will ask if it can be transmitted! For me, epilepsy awareness was so important that I had to continue doing what I did and travel to show others that I could still live with it. “E doesn’t define me” was the motto we took on as Purple Soldiers fighting the fight against seizures on a daily basis. When cannabis oils – CBD at first – came into my life all of it changed. It was so fast and so dramatic that within 45 days of starting CBD and eating my weed, I was already using full extract oils and weaning away from the first of many pharmaceuticals that would get left behind. Nearly a dozen medications in total were discontinued a single plant taking their place. Now back in late 2013 and even 2014 it wasn’t so accepted. Many people I knew didn’t like the fact I was suddenly in the cannabis movement and didn’t understand it. I had to show them why – and it was very easy. All I had to do is share my life – and I haven’t stopped since then.

From the onset of use, I thought that I was fighting epilepsy only as I didn’t know cannabis oil/THC could eradicate Lyme’s Disease – something I had for over 20 years. It was a shock to find out after multiple trips to the labs that my doctor could not find Lyme in any testing at all after 6 months of using oils and inhaling concentrates and extracts. THC and CBD at first as well as terpenes. And then the knowledge grew as life’s experiences became the teacher. From gallivanting around running a compassion program to being a vocal patient, life always kept me busy and a lot of the time on the road. Then came Genevieve. There’s so much to be thankful for today but the number one thing in my life right now that matters is family. And because of Cannabis, because of compassion and love and the willingness to give, I have a family. Many are looking for a cure-all with Cannabinoid Medicine and should remember that just because it’s legalized in many places doesn’t make it new – it’s a very good medicine that doesn’t have side effects nor any other negative aspects of pharmaceuticals and actually works.

Many will approach and ask for the ultimate product or way to use medicinal cannabis to treat their seizures, cancers, and so much more. I’ve seen the dark side of cancer multiple times and used cannabis oils to gain freedom – to go from stage 4 to remission – and it takes an individualized protocol based on the individual user and their response. The beauty of cannabis as medicine is we can change it up – we can customize what we use based on how our body reacts. Of course, aggressive cancers call for aggressive therapies which I’ve always done with myself and other patients that ask for patient-patient assistance. Sometimes we’ve got to step out of our comfort zone in order to heal – and many that are curious about cannabis as medicine or wondering if they should use it instead of or with a conventional medicine need to see both sides of the story. Cannabis is great medicine – but if the world pushing for the end of prohibition calls it a cure of course people will be thinking “No Way” – the word cure turns people who are curious away as it’s one huge claim to make that I’ll dispel with myself right now. So many are reading about seizure-free patients – which is quite the impossible claim to make without a clear EEG – and even with one there easily can be setbacks. There is no cure that comes from the plant – only awesome relief. While some prefer THC dominant protocols others seemingly have success with CBD. I tend to use both – but at different times and for different reasons. Seizure control, for me, is done with THC and other plant constituents.

Many are aware of the Cannabis Love Story – it was recently featured in High Times. Within this story it tells about how I gave Genevieve a rescue dose of THC to stop a seizure – yesterday her mom, Anne Mari, did the same for me. Even with years of being free from the dozens and dozens of pills daily and even with having a negative EEG (brain wave study) for Epilepsy – which would mean they can’t detect it now – seizures can still happen. It was over 90 degrees out and we don’t have A/C – our home was over 85. I have a bad problem with too much heat triggering a seizure and if I’ve missed what little medication I take – it can really cause a problem. As well, if I haven’t used the cannabis I’ve replaced all the other medication with – an even bigger problem can occur and it did. So today has been a very intense inner celebration – knowing the drastic change in my life – and also knowing what can happen if I don’t stay on top of my protocols. This isn’t the first time although it is very rare in comparison to the days in which Epilepsy controlled my life and minimal. Generally, an ambulance would have been needed, instead, a small amount of THC concentrate that a friend made stopped the seizure activity immediately and within 10 minutes I was in bed awake, alert, and knowing who/what/where, etc. There’s no comparison when looking at what cannabis oil can do vs. pharmaceuticals. Without oils, I would be in the hospital today – and this is why the drive to continue to educate the masses and continue to tell my story – our story.

Compassion is love – and cannabis is the answer to so many of our issues. Everyone just needs to have access. Prohibition needs to end and a new life can begin for so many patients in need.