Friday, September 8, 2017

A small cannabis victory and a mysterious laugh

Since Wednesday, I've been revelling in giving C. her full dose of CBD. That's when our cannabis provider notified us that the government's health authority granted us a new license with the increase we'd requested (more like begged for) in our monthly allotment of cannabis.

This license entitles us to take that extra bottle either as CBD or as THC. So we've got one bottle awaiting us for August which we'll take as THC. I intend to begin experimenting with a very low daily dose of THC.

Then, starting with our September batch, we'll opt for an extra bottle of CBD bringing our total to 11 per month.

It's unclear why the government officials acquiesced after initially refusing. But C.'s neurologist earnestly went to bat for us with a written complaint and a nudge to her colleague with some position in the government's cannabis section. Presumably her efforts played a role.

All this has renewed my pride in this country's trailblazing in the field of medicinal cannabis. Close to 30,000 citizens are license holders and we are slated to become a major medical cannabis exporter.

But back to C. She has been seizing several times a day without running a fever. That's why I intend to introduce daily THC, though the Hubby wants me to run it past C.'s neurologist first.

C. enjoyed two hydro sessions this week, one with me as therapist, the second in the heated therapy pool with a professional hydro-therapist.

Upon her return from that session she began to vocalize - a lot - until late that night. It resembled laughter. But the Hubby and I were creeped out by it. I was convinced she was just getting creative with her seizures. Her caregiver, E., insisted it was a positive step.

Here's a brief video of the sound so you can judge for yourselves.


Whatever it was, we've only heard it once more, two days later.

And as the summer draws to an end, here's a suggestion for those still enjoying hot weather: a disability-friendly beach equipped with special chairs that maneuver easily on sand and water. You just fly to Italy and ecco là: real "access to the sea".

A snap from the beach as captured in the NYT article:


Here's a description of the beach.

4 comments:

Bohemian said...

I'm so glad you had the Victory, when Need is met, even if we have to jump thru hoops to get it, it's such a relief and cause for Celebration! And the Laugh... I interpreted it as Laughter, and if anything makes one Laugh I see it as a Positive. Virtual Hugs.

Erin said...

She's totally laughing! Babies sometimes laugh in their sleep— it doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility that something occurred to C as funny and that, on this particular day, she had the clarity to revisit that thought throughout the evening. It's striking how 'normal' her laugh sounds and how melodic her voice is. She looks more relaxed in pictures and video you've posted since when she was in school.

Elizabeth said...

I agree with you about the laughter -- sounds like gelastic seizures. Sophie has them every now and then. I'm glad to hear of all the progress with the CBD and THC. It's all so exhausting, isn't it?

The Sound of the Silent said...

Thanks so much for enlightening me, Elizabeth. I had never heard of this type of seizure but good old mother's intuition told me that laughter was no cause for rejoicing.