Desparate Times Call
For Desparate Measures
My journey with cannabis oil began on April Fool’s Day 2016. Using a crock pot and a YouTube video I made my first batch. It was one of the most frightening experiences of my life. Desperation drove me to buy that first half ounce of medical grade cannabis. I was doing everything my team of specialists suggested without benefit. I have multiple autoimmune conditions, one of which is lupus (SLE). My complications include a CVA , collapsed left lung, stage 3 kidney disease, and leaking aorta valve. These are not my only complications but they are ones which resulted in multiple ICU stays over the last 3 years. Most days I was bed bound. A few days I could use a rolling walker. Using only a cane with my left leg brace was very rare.
I had begun advocating for legalized cannabis oil here in Georgia on behalf of medically complex children. I’d been offered help acquiring the raw materials necessary,but always refused out of fear of prison. One night I was standing at the table taking my meds and woke up with my service dog Lucy trying to get her head and shoulders under my chest. I was face down in the floor with my legs caught under me. After she woke my family they got me from the floor into a chair. The next morning I reached out to friends who were gracious enough to help me get some medical grade cannabis. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I am so very thankful I began cannabis oil therapy 10 months ago. I walk using only my leg brace which I will always have due to foot drop. I was able to wean off all steroids and shed 34 pounds at a rate of a half pound per day. I can now go outside without being cooked alive by the sun. Instead of 37 tablets and capsules per day I now take 12. Four of those are my CellCept which my rheumatologist hopes to begin weaning by half a tablet every 2 weeks as tolerated. My kidney function is holding steady at 35. Hearing loss is stabilized now for the last 8 months. My cardiologist has been able to remove 2 meds and drop my metoprolol to 1/4 dose. I now have parts of my life back and feel like a human being again. My pain level is much improved and my whole outlook on life brighter. I know that I will never be cured, but I am overjoyed to be doing better!
advocacy
Angela Simmons
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