Charlotte Figi was only 3 months old when she had her first seizure. It lasted about 30 minutes, and needless to say, it terrified her parents. These seizures continued to happen, and they could last between 2 and 4 hours. She was hospitalized repeatedly, and finally, doctors were able to diagnose her with Dravet Syndrome: a type of epilepsy unable to be controlled by medication.
And, in spite of all these, Charlotte still developed fairly normally; talking and walking at an adequate pace.
But, as the seizures got worse, she started to decline, cognitively, at the age of 2. That's when she was further diagnosed with an SCN1A gene mutation (the bad kind, not the Jean Grey kind), making this the worst case scenario for poor Charlotte.
Charlotte's parents tried all sorts of drugs, diets, and treatments, but to no avail. Charlotte's seizures could not be kept at bay. That's when they decided to take an alternative route.
While Charlotte's parents had initially been staunchy against the use of medicinal marijuana, stories of the drug helping kids with Dravet, in other parts of the country, might have changed their minds. Especially now that Charlotte had lost the ability to talk, and walk, and eat; they thought it might be worth a shot. Or a toke.
However, the family was terrified to use a federally illegal drug substance to treat their child, the stunning results quickly removed their qualms. The seizures stopped almost immediately!!! The seizures which, at their worst were occurring 300 times a week, had now stopped for 7 days!!!
The supply of medicinal marijuana was running low. Charlotte's mother then heard about the Stanley brothers, one of Colorado's largest marijuana growers, and dispensary owners.
These guys were crossbreeding a strain of marijuana low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC (which, of course, causes the psychoactivity), and high in cannabidiol, or CBD (which has all the good, medical properties while not having any of the psychoactive stuff). Paraphrasing, a weed high in healing properties, but low in high-ling properties, if you will.
Now, with the purpose for this strain of weed, the brothers started the Realm of Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides cannabis to adults and children suffering from an array of diseases. More and more people have since started using the marijuana strain, which is now called Charlotte's Web (possibly because it has helped Charlotte so much).
Charlotte is growing and learning more everyday, and is now down to only 2 or 3 seizures a month, and mostly in her sleep; which is pretty good for a disease that was declared untreatable by medication.
And, in spite of all these, Charlotte still developed fairly normally; talking and walking at an adequate pace.
But, as the seizures got worse, she started to decline, cognitively, at the age of 2. That's when she was further diagnosed with an SCN1A gene mutation (the bad kind, not the Jean Grey kind), making this the worst case scenario for poor Charlotte.
Charlotte's parents tried all sorts of drugs, diets, and treatments, but to no avail. Charlotte's seizures could not be kept at bay. That's when they decided to take an alternative route.
While Charlotte's parents had initially been staunchy against the use of medicinal marijuana, stories of the drug helping kids with Dravet, in other parts of the country, might have changed their minds. Especially now that Charlotte had lost the ability to talk, and walk, and eat; they thought it might be worth a shot. Or a toke.
However, the family was terrified to use a federally illegal drug substance to treat their child, the stunning results quickly removed their qualms. The seizures stopped almost immediately!!! The seizures which, at their worst were occurring 300 times a week, had now stopped for 7 days!!!
The supply of medicinal marijuana was running low. Charlotte's mother then heard about the Stanley brothers, one of Colorado's largest marijuana growers, and dispensary owners.
These guys were crossbreeding a strain of marijuana low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC (which, of course, causes the psychoactivity), and high in cannabidiol, or CBD (which has all the good, medical properties while not having any of the psychoactive stuff). Paraphrasing, a weed high in healing properties, but low in high-ling properties, if you will.
Now, with the purpose for this strain of weed, the brothers started the Realm of Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides cannabis to adults and children suffering from an array of diseases. More and more people have since started using the marijuana strain, which is now called Charlotte's Web (possibly because it has helped Charlotte so much).
Charlotte is growing and learning more everyday, and is now down to only 2 or 3 seizures a month, and mostly in her sleep; which is pretty good for a disease that was declared untreatable by medication.
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