Your Son’s Body is Falling Apart….
“His muscles are wasting away, not just the visible muscles, but also loss of muscle tone for the heart means it has reduced capacity to pump blood which means the blood vessels have a reduced capacity to deliver blood. His stomach has a reduced capacity to eat, his intestines and colon have a reduced capacity to absorb nutrients. Basically, his body is falling apart and the longer this goes on, the worst he will get. His body fluids are on a drip system of essential survival mode. If he continues like this, it will likely end very sadly.”
That’s what the scientist, Angela Stanton, said last July 2020, when my son was in the deepest depths of his illness. Not even our Dr.’s and specialists had the insight to tell it straight. His illness started Sept 2016 with severe headaches morphing into severe eye pain, intense heat rashes around his eyes and face. It would last for 6-12 weeks straight. He would be bed bound during these flares. This was grade 8, age 14. The Dr.’s deliberated, was it:
- Daily Persistent Headaches
- Trigeminal neuralgia (TACS)
- Complex Migraines
- Infectious Disease
- Undiagnosed Immunological Disorder
- Autoimmune Encephalitis
- Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)
It’s all in his head, have you seen a psychiatrist?
As the years moved along, he would be left with deteriorated vision, absence seizures, tremors, no taste, low appetite, sensitivities to chemical smells (like laundry detergent), fatigue, hypersomnia, loss of feeling in his extremities, daily pain, nausea, vomiting and more. But we managed! We dived in with remedies, treatments, diet, energy work, prayers and anything else we could find to manage the month long flares. The in-between times, he loved going to work, riding his bike, skiing, hanging out with family and friends.
But even those healthy moments would become a thing of the past in Sept 2019. This flare wasn’t like the others, this is when the seizures started. This is when he didn’t recover anymore. He didn’t get out of bed, the pain and fatigue didn’t subside. He became bedridden – in 10/10 pain for days straight with no break.
We have a diagnosis now, Dec 2020.
LYME
This is the face of Lyme, it’s complicated, relentless, it morphs, doesn’t play by the rules. Right when you think you’ve kicked it, it comes back to visit again and wreak havoc on an already suffering body. And still we press on. We have hope. We will find the cure that will work for him. One of our most joyous remedies is cannabis. We were able to get a pediatric prescription for him a few years ago. I’m so grateful that both of us can daily reap the benefits of this amazing plant. He consumes cannabis for a multitude of benefits:
- to sleep when insomnia hits
- to activate his hunger so he can eat
- to boost his mood
- to lighten the pain
- to boost energy and more
I already consume cannabis for my personal health, but I also reap a huge benefit as a caregiver. At the end of many long and stressful days, a bit of cannabis can lighten the stress load. I can physically feel the stress lift from my shoulders and a calm flood my body. My thoughts move from desperation, worry, anxiety to hope, peace, a bit of joy and I am able to rest. I’m so grateful for this tool that is keeping us going.
Are you a caregiver of someone in a health crisis? Have you considered cannabis for yourself? Make time to take care of yourself in the best way that you can. It is so important.