Kaitlyn Pogson has lived through more seizures than calendar months.
The 9-month-olds 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.
Thats one every 34 minutes.
Every time she has a seizure, Kaitlyns parents, Barry and Shannon, call 911 and take her to the emergency room, where doctors give her antiseizure drugs that dont work. Its a frighteningly repetitive routine.
Kaitlyns condition is so severe they have a special name for it: Dravet syndrome. Not only does it grow worse over time, its notoriously resistant to traditional medication.
But a growing number of doctors and families with Dravet say theyve stumbled upon a miracle drug: marijuana.
Kate is on morphine and three other drugs not normally given to children, and theyre not working, Barry said. Rules are already being broken. So why not this one?
Dravet syndrome, also known as Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy of Infancy (SMEI), is a catastrophic form of epilepsy that occurs in one in every 30,000 births. Besides leading to developmental delays, the syndrome is also associated with higher rates of sudden unexplained death.
When Kaitlyn had her first seizure at barely 2 months old, Barry didnt even know what a seizure looked like. Now, between hospital visits and work, hes been researching online and discovered the story of a little girl in Colorado who was able to reduce her seizures by more than 99 per cent.
With a small dose of marijuana extract administered orally three times a day, little Charlotte went from being flaccid, lying in her mothers arms and unresponsive, to a walking, talking little girl, said Dr. Alan Shackelford, who oversaw her treatment.
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Medical marijuana: Could pot stop this baby's seizures?