Robert Celt
New Member
On a fall day in 2007, Donora native JoAnne Nagy awoke to find her 8-year-old son Michael on the floor of his bedroom, apparently suffering from grand mal seizures.
JoAnne and her husband rushed their son to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, but doctors were baffled by his condition. They put him in a medical-induced coma, trying to figure out what was going on.
They would learn, eventually, that the boy had bacterial encephalitis and meningitis in his right ear which eventually perforated his eardrum and caused epileptic seizures.
Even out of a coma, he had seizure activity. He stopped talking because the bacteria affected the portion of the brain that controls speech, and spent several months at the Children's Institute in Pittsburgh of UPMC.
"We brought home a newborn who didn't walk, talk, eat," Nagy said. "We had an 8-year-old newborn."
Michael Nagy learned to walk and eat, but has never regained the ability to speak.
He can't go outside because any noise could send him into a seizure, his mother said. Even a dog barking can send him into a seizure, and any seizure could be fatal.
Nagy, who now lives in Canton Township, said she began researching medical cannabis within the past year. She said it is a matter of people's perspective.
"When I use the term medical cannabis, people say, 'What's that?'" Nagy said. "But if I say medical marijuana, they react differently."
Nagy admits she was concerned at first because she did not want her son "getting high." But she learned about medical cannabis from a friend who also had a son who suffers from seizures.
Proponents of medical marijuana argue that it can be a safe and effective treatment for the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy and other conditions.
The state Senate voted to approve its medical use. Last week, the state House approved the bill with some amendments. The legislation now goes back to the Senate.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, was a co-sponsor of the Senate bill and offered three amendments.
"In this day and age, Pennsylvanians who are truly suffering, medically, should not be denied every opportunity to treatment," Bartolotta said. "That's why I am a cosponsor of Senate Bill 3, legislation sponsored by Senator Folmer that would allow our physicians to prescribe medicinal cannabis. While I do not support recreational cannabis, I believe the citizens in this state, particularly parents of children with extreme seizure disorders, could benefit from its regulated medical use.
"That's what this is all about – giving men, women and children with serious medical conditions the ability to live better lives."
Bartolotta said medicinal cannabis provides a safer and less addictive option for doctors to prescribe than the current use of opioids which has added to the opioid epidemic.
"In addition, there's research to suggest this could reduce heroin addictions," Bartolotta said. "During a public hearing in the last year hosted by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, testimony offered indicated that approximately 80 percent of heroin addicts can trace their addiction back to prescription opioids."
As soon as medical cannabis is made legal, she will pursue it for her son, Nagy said.
"Medical cannabis is phenomenal," Nagy said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pennsylvania: Local Family And Senator Seek Solution To Seizures
Author: Christopher Buckley
Contact: Herald Standard (information at bottom of page)
Photo Credit: Holly Tonini
Website: Herald Standard
JoAnne and her husband rushed their son to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, but doctors were baffled by his condition. They put him in a medical-induced coma, trying to figure out what was going on.
They would learn, eventually, that the boy had bacterial encephalitis and meningitis in his right ear which eventually perforated his eardrum and caused epileptic seizures.
Even out of a coma, he had seizure activity. He stopped talking because the bacteria affected the portion of the brain that controls speech, and spent several months at the Children's Institute in Pittsburgh of UPMC.
"We brought home a newborn who didn't walk, talk, eat," Nagy said. "We had an 8-year-old newborn."
Michael Nagy learned to walk and eat, but has never regained the ability to speak.
He can't go outside because any noise could send him into a seizure, his mother said. Even a dog barking can send him into a seizure, and any seizure could be fatal.
Nagy, who now lives in Canton Township, said she began researching medical cannabis within the past year. She said it is a matter of people's perspective.
"When I use the term medical cannabis, people say, 'What's that?'" Nagy said. "But if I say medical marijuana, they react differently."
Nagy admits she was concerned at first because she did not want her son "getting high." But she learned about medical cannabis from a friend who also had a son who suffers from seizures.
Proponents of medical marijuana argue that it can be a safe and effective treatment for the symptoms of cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy and other conditions.
The state Senate voted to approve its medical use. Last week, the state House approved the bill with some amendments. The legislation now goes back to the Senate.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, was a co-sponsor of the Senate bill and offered three amendments.
"In this day and age, Pennsylvanians who are truly suffering, medically, should not be denied every opportunity to treatment," Bartolotta said. "That's why I am a cosponsor of Senate Bill 3, legislation sponsored by Senator Folmer that would allow our physicians to prescribe medicinal cannabis. While I do not support recreational cannabis, I believe the citizens in this state, particularly parents of children with extreme seizure disorders, could benefit from its regulated medical use.
"That's what this is all about – giving men, women and children with serious medical conditions the ability to live better lives."
Bartolotta said medicinal cannabis provides a safer and less addictive option for doctors to prescribe than the current use of opioids which has added to the opioid epidemic.
"In addition, there's research to suggest this could reduce heroin addictions," Bartolotta said. "During a public hearing in the last year hosted by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, testimony offered indicated that approximately 80 percent of heroin addicts can trace their addiction back to prescription opioids."
As soon as medical cannabis is made legal, she will pursue it for her son, Nagy said.
"Medical cannabis is phenomenal," Nagy said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Pennsylvania: Local Family And Senator Seek Solution To Seizures
Author: Christopher Buckley
Contact: Herald Standard (information at bottom of page)
Photo Credit: Holly Tonini
Website: Herald Standard
