Writer, TBI Survivor, Patients Advocate, Public Speaker
I was a typical and blessed all american girl. I was head cheerleader and homecoming queen. I graduated and went to the college of my choice, achieved my chosen career, married and had three children. I was also attending my second year of law school. It
was one of those rare times when I felt like I had truly had the world by the tail. I was wrong, we don't ever have control of all the variables in life. In one split second of time, my whole life changed forever. I was 35 years old and sharing lunch at KFC with my family. A sixteen year old backed over me in the parking lot going the wrong way against the arrows. I sustained a traumatic brain injury and cervical injury. My injury can happen to anyone at anytime, it does not discriminate.
* I am a former medically retired felony probation and parole officer.
* I am a former law student.
* I was raised by two law enforcement parents.
* I had my first Traumatic Brain Injury in 1989 when I was backed over by pick up truck
as a pedestrian.
* My brain injury induced uncontrolled seizures started in 1991.
* My severe brain injury happened in 1996 due to a medication induced fall.
*My neuropsychologist actually told me "I would never be more than a vegetable on
the couch." 1996.
* I have had life threatening seizures since 1996. I had thousands of partial complex
status seizures a month and an average of 16 grand mal seizures a month.
*I lost my teeth, gal bladder and large intestine in one decade to the side effects
of mega doses of prescription medicine.
* I was evaluated by UCLA for seizure brain surgery twice and turned down twice 1996.
* I was the first epilepsy patient to be evaluated for the vagal nerve stimulator for epilepsy
when it was only being used for Parkinson's Disease. Again I was turned down.
*I took 19 different anti-epileptic drugs in 21 years that did not work or even slow my seizures down.
* I detoxed off over 40 pills a day and a total of 12 prescription medicines daily.
* I am now saving medicaid thousand of dollars a year on my medications.
* I started medical cannabis in 2010 as my lungs had stopped twice and my heart
once due to the seizures.
* Amazingly I saw a1000% decrease in my grand mal seizures the first year.
* I was able to start CBD (cannabidiol) for partial complex status seizures in
October 2013.
* I was also able to start a medical cannabis neuro-enhancer for my dementia (CTE)
(Chronic traumatic encephalopathy) October 2013.
* Currently doing both an epilepsy and dementia medical cannabis trial that has
been medically documented every step of the way.
* My latest neuropsycholocial test and EEG showed great improvement in both my
seizures and my cognition using medical cannabis.
* My dementia is remarkably improved as far as focus, concentration, memory and gait.
My dementia has improved more than I could have hoped or dreamed.
* I have now been seizure free for 7 months for the first time in 23 years. May 5, 2014.
I have had two episodes of break through seizures in that time. It feels surreal after all the years epilepsy was interfering with my ability to live a life.
* Medical cannabis is saving my life daily and just as importantly it is greatly enhancing
my quality of life since 2010.
* My blood sugar, chronic wasting syndrome, post concussion syndrome, post concussion headaches, epilepsy, depression, pain and anxiety are all health disorders medical cannabis is currently controlling for me.
* I have been able to retire my diapers and my seizure helmet both of which unbelievably enhanced my quality of life. I currently take one pill a day a day vs 40 in addition to
the medical cannabis. I was able to go on my first seizure free vacation in 23 years last month. I got to visit with my mother, a cancer survivor of 22 years, and let her see her daughter "seizure free," for the very first time. I am able to do public speaking and poems and prose writing once again. It took me 18 years to come back from my severe brain injury but without medical cannabis I would not have survived. My life has changed 360 degrees and I feel tremendously blessed and grateful. Miracles really do happen every single day! In my 25 years of living as a brain injury survivor I have never had the over all feelings of well being that medical cannabis has been able to give me. This was an unexpected and greatly needed gift for my brain injury, dementia and epilepsy survival. Faith, courage,
and hope was the only way I survived my personal journey.
http://www.420agriculture.com/debbie-wilsons-story-and-updates/
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