But it leads me to today. I can’t go back and fix that moment. Although I wish I could. It was the beginning of several more difficult moments that resulted in the scariest summer that just wouldn’t stop spiraling out of control. But it was also the summer where we decided we had to take control and do whatever was necessary to literally save our boy. And this is when we turned to cannabis for him.
Here is the post from that moment in June 2015.
I was hoping to be posting how excited I was that Ty was participating in a basketball camp this week...... he did it last summer (a DIFFERENT camp)- but he was excited as he LOVES basketball!
Unfortunately, it was just too much for him - it was only 2 hour camp- but there was loud music during warm ups, so many kids, lots of "cheer" type team yelling and well......... his body just couldn't tolerate that environment- even to play basketball! He didn't even make it into the car before melting down.... he attempted to jump out of the car when I tried to drive home- Brian had to come help me as I sat parked on Oak St- with a raging boy.... and then he kicked our windshield in the middle of his rage- and broke the windshield- yep it was simply TOO MUCH for him....... yesterday was so hard- I hated seeing what was happening to my boy- haven't seen that in quite a while- this was a bad meltdown- These are the days that I hate Autism..... my boy just wanted to play basketball like other kids- it was only a 2 hour camp- but to say it sent him into absolute sensory overload is an understatement........ back to our bubble for a while to help him "calm" his being -
Cannabis was the necessary medicine to help heal our boy. Cannabis helped our boy be the little boy that he never got to be. Like everything else it was a process. It was hard work. It required patience and time. It required a lot of observation and note taking. It required a lot of reading and learning. It required love and compassion. It required laws that allowed us to have safe access to good quality whole plant cannabis. Not just one component of the plant. The entire plant.
Cannabis contains over 500 distinct compounds. These are called cannabinoids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and omega fatty acids. (“Learn About Cannabis”, UCLA Health; Cannabis Research Initiative). CBD, THC, CBDa, THCa, CBG, CBN are just a few of the cannabinoids that are unique to cannabis that have been shown to have medical benefits. Research has identified over 100 cannabinoids. More research is still needed to see if they offer any health benefits. As reference, we give our son microdose (.05ml) of indica THC. This is what has allowed him to function as all children deserve. This has allowed him to express joy, to smile and be happy, to laugh, to be in a calm enough state that allows him to breathe and be present. What a gift this is to see in him!
If our experience leading up to the summer of 2015 was any indication that our boy was desperately communicating through his struggles, his challenges, his behaviors that he NEEDED help in a way we had never seen before, I cannot even comprehend what life would be like for him if we didn’t act on his cries for help.
Our boy just turned 16. He will be starting the 10th grade in the fall. He is managing the best he can under these pandemic circumstances. He misses basketball. But he has accepted that right now, there can be no basketball team. Something out of his control, but yet he is able to maintain his control. This is what cannabis has done for our boy. Everyone should have access to try it. It is a medicine. How many more lives could be saved if more people were able to have safe access to cannabis?
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