8 minute read
Survivor - Thriving Through Cannabis
SURVIVOR.
by Sloane Simon
Since starting my journey in the cannabis community, I have had the opportunity to meet and connect with a lot of amazing people. The biggest contributor to these introductions has been being employed by The Lettuce Bar as a Cannician in Choctaw, OK. We had teamed up with the group from The Cowboy Cup, a cannabis competition and festival out of Stillwater, as the place to drop off entries and pick up judge’s packs. Through this connection, I was able to meet this amazing human, Christian Stark (@cannaguardian on TikTok). When Christian came into the shop that day to pick up her judge’s pack, we got to talking about her current role in the cannabis community, how it’s played such a huge part in the quality of life not only for herself, but also for her daughter. Christian’s oldest daughter, Olivia, is adopted. They came into each other’s lives when Olivia was 5 years old. When Olivia, or Livi as Christian lovingly refers to her, was only a year old, she was left alone with her 2-year-old brother in the bathtub. Unfortunately, while Livi’s birth mom was out of the room, her head went under water. Livi suffered an anoxic brain injury from drowning which has led to the diagnosis of cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, epilepsy, and scoliosis from being wheelchair bound. When Livi came to live with Christian and her family she was on fifteen different prescriptions. Twelve of those prescriptions were for seizures. Over the next few years, they were able to wean her down to 5 or 6. And in 2020, they began to wean her off all of her meds. The initial weaning was possible in part to CBD, Charlotte’s web specifically. A CBD regimen has been part of Livi’s daily routine for many years.
When Christian came across Every Seed Canna Co. and their edibles, she found a company that was producing high quality medicine that would actually blend up well enough that she could administer a dosage to Livi through her feeding tube.
Finding this company, as well as Mittie’s Medicinals, completely changed both Christian and Livi’s lives. For the first time since bringing her home with them, Livi slept until 6am the next morning. So, Christian found the nearest dispensary to her house, a fortyfive-minute drive, and bought all of their Every Seed Canna Co. products, which was a couple of hundred dollars’ worth of items.
When the people of Every Seed Canna Co, found out about Christian and Livi, a job opportunity arose. Christian believes in their quality of products so much so that she is now a sales rep for them.
Weaning Livi off of all of her medications definitely was not an easy task. During the initial weaning off all of the meds, Livi spent a solid four weeks crying. She is not able to verbally communicate her needs or pains, so it was a very trying time for everyone.
Livi’s doctor felt that she may be dealing with some anxiety from all of it, and that was what was prompting her to cry uncontrollably.
So, they agreed that Livi would remain on the Trazodone to help with anxiety and depression, as well as Dantrolene for her spasticity. Livi also utilizes a vagal stimulator to help control her seizures.
While trying to provide the highest quality of care to her daughter, the difficulty in weaning with the crying started to take a toll on Christian. This was also in the middle of Covid taking over our world.
So, we have this young mother, in the middle of a global pandemic, three children at home, and life just being unpredictable for all of us at this time. It brought Christian to a breaking point.
One I think many mothers can relate to that went from sending kids to school every day, to suddenly being stuck at home, trying to navigate this strange new existence.
Christian was fighting her own battles with anxiety and depression and facing suicidal and homicidal thoughts. She would spend time alone on the Illinois river, with a gun and cannabis, contemplating what to do next. Cannabis would get her through the hard times, though.
Those loud, intrusive thoughts would shut up once she was able to get away, smoke, and have that much needed time to herself. It was around this time that she started to realize the need to understand what she was medicating with better. She started researching different strains, different terpenes and better understanding what would help her the most.
Initially, the healthcare system tried to push more antidepressants on her to curb her suicidal thoughts, but Christian was soon able to find a doctor that supported her in her desire to try to fight her illness with cannabis. “That man saved my life!” He was willing to listen to her and supported her desire to treat herself naturally. Christian soon started therapy and using cannabis medicinally.
Christian’s official diagnosis was bipolar disorder, and she has been prescribed Prozac. However, since January 1, 2021, she has been treating her bipolar with cannabis and micro-dosing mushrooms since August.
Thankfully, Christian hasn’t seen much pushback from any of Livi’s doctors. She did have one physician assistant tell her that she was slowly killing Livi’s Gaba receptors by giving her THC.
However, studies have shown that THC is very beneficial for helping with seizures. From everyone else, there has been nothing but support and encouragement because Livi’s seizures have decreased and absolutely no one wants to see her suffer through a seizure.
Since both Livi and Christian began medicating with cannabis, they both have had a huge increase in their quality of life. Livi suffers from way fewer seizures, as well as getting better sleep at night.
Christian feels that cannabis has given her a life that she could have never imagined. She feels as though it has helped her to not only be a better mother but a better wife, a stronger woman. Her younger children are aware of “mommy’s medicine,
” she does medicate in front of them and feels that it is important for them to also be educated on the positives of cannabis.
Because of the wonderful work cannabis has done in her and Livi’s lives, Christian is hoping to propose Livi’s Law eventually. Christian’s dream is that all staff members at state agencies that are care providers for cannabis patients are properly trained cannicians, meaning that they are well versed in the endocannabinoid system, the way cannabinoids and terpenes affect our bodies, and what works best for each ailment.
In knowing how the endocannabinoid system and cannabis interact, the care provider would be more capable of providing the appropriate dosage of whatever terpenes/cannabinoids interact best for the patient.
Christian has always been passionate about helping people with disabilities. Her cousin, who was also her best friend, had cerebral palsy.
He taught her how to properly love people with disabilities from a young age. Because of him, she wants to honor his life and her daughter by advocating for them and their care providers to be educated in cannabis and the many health benefits of cannabis.
AS ALWAYS, I ASKED CHRISTIAN ABOUT SOME OF HER FAVORITES. OF COURSE, SHE AND LIVI BOTH LOVE THEIR INDIA BROWNIES FROM EVERY SEED CANNA CO., BUT SHE IS ALSO A BIG FAN OF MITTIE’S MEDICINALS ELDERBERRY WATER SOLUBLE TINCTURE. SINCE LIVI IS ONLY ABLE TO TAKE HER MEDICINE THROUGH HER FEEDING TUBE, THE WATER-SOLUBLE ELDERBERRY IS SAFE TO PASS THROUGH HER TUBE WITHOUT ISSUE. THE ELDERBERRY HAS BEEN A BIG HELP IN PROVIDING PAIN RELIEF FROM MENSTRUAL CRAMPS.
As for Christian, an old-school favorite of Girl Scout Cookies gives her the nice balanced high she needs to still mom throughout the day and keep a level head. Humulene is her favorite terpene because it is an appetite suppressant.
Christian is a certified personal trainer, and if it wasn’t for cannabis, she feels she would still be fifty pounds heavier. Cannabis helped her get motivated to run a marathon while pushing Livi in her wheelchair.
This goal led her to get her education in personal training because she simply wanted to learn how to properly work out. Christian knew the importance of having a healthy body herself so she could properly take care of Livi as she grew.
So, in September of 2021, they completed their first full marathon together.
Cannabis has given both Livi and Christian a new lease on life. Now Christian will spend her life advocating not only for cannabis but for a community that doesn’t always have a voice but deserves all the best care possible.
