Kaitlyn Pogson has lived through more seizures than calendar months.
The 9-month-old’s epilepsy sends her tiny body into convulsions that last up to an hour. Right now they happen every three days, but as she grows the seizures will become more frequent — potentially topping 300 per week.
That’s one every 34 minutes.
Every time she has a seizure, Kaitlyn’s parents, Barry and Shannon, call 911 and take her to the emergency room, where doctors give her antiseizure drugs that don’t work. It’s a frighteningly repetitive routine.
Kaitlyn’s condition is so severe they have a special name for it: Dravet syndrome. Not only does it grow worse over time, it’s notoriously resistant to traditional medication.
But a growing number of doctors and families with Dravet say they’ve stumbled upon a miracle drug: marijuana.
“Kate is on morphine and three other drugs not normally given to children,” and they’re not working, Barry said. “Rules are already being broken. So why not this one?”
– Read the entire article at The Toronto Star.
