Effective Alternative

Lillyann Stephen suffered from a severe brain injury at a very young age. From a coma, to living off of a feeding tube, to having up to 30 seizures every day, it has been a rough road for this poor little girl. Lillyann’s doctors predicted that she would not have a very good quality of life. Her parents tried everything their doctors suggested, but nothing offered Lillyann any relief. One day, her mother, Cassandra, made the decision to consider medical cannabis as an alternative treatment, and everything started to change for their family. Now Lillyann is three years old and thriving. CULTURE connected with Cassandra Stephen to ask her about Lillyann’s experience and how hemp oil has changed her daughter’s life.

Tell us about your daughter’s brain injury and how your doctors responded.

At seven weeks old, Lilly had a traumatic brain injury that caused her to be induced into a coma at the NICU at Johns Hopkins [Hospital]. As they were leading her out of that, they noticed that she was having seizures frequently. She was on two anti-seizure medications, which weren’t working at all. Her neurologist decided, or suggested, to put her on a third medication. That’s when I just said, “Let’s hold off on that for a second.” I did some research, and I started her on hemp oil instead.

“Real Scientific Hemp Oil (RSHO) is our miracle, it really is. Since I started giving her RSHO, she’s been seizure-free for over a year.”

What was Lillyann’s life like when she was taking these two different pharmaceutical medications?

From the time she woke up to the time she went to sleep, it was nothing but seizures. She couldn’t do anything. This may sound horrible but she was pretty much like a Barbie doll, you’d just lay her down. And there was nothing we could do, all we could do was just hold her until she came out of her seizure. She’d have maybe an hour break time, and it was right back into another one. The pharmaceutical medications weren’t working.

What was it that made you turn to medical cannabis and hemp oil in the first place?

I would see articles on social media and on the news about how medical marijuana has helped a lot of people with different diagnosis. So I thought, it’s helped other families, let’s try ours. When we first started trying it, I did have doubts as it didn’t work the first six times. But somebody was watching over us because we found our miracle Real Scientific Hemp Oil or RSHO.

What types of cannabis products have you tried, and which have been successful in helping with the seizures?

I tried six different kinds of hemp oil, even Charlotte’s Web, and nothing would help her seizures. It took me six months to find the one that actually worked. RSHO is our miracle, it really is. Since I started giving her RSHO, she’s been seizure-free for over a year. It has been life-changing seeing her progress every day. Two days after she started taking her RSHO, she was completely seizure-free.

Did you face any stigma because of your choice to use the RSHO?

We had a little bit of a rocky road because Child Protective Services was called on us for giving her RSHO. That was dropped as soon as they called our neurologist, and he said he agreed with it, and it’s not harming her. It’s been a very rocky road; it’s been a painful thing. When your child goes through something like that, you feel like you’re worthless, like you can’t help her.

How does Lillyann take the hemp oil?

She takes it orally. I just squirt a little tiny bit into her mouth once a day and that’s what’s keeping her seizure-free. All it takes is just a little, tiny bit. The only thing that we really had to figure out was how much to give her at first. Four tiny drops keep her seizure-free, so I’m happy. And the best part is that it’s completely natural, you don’t have to worry about any side effects or symptoms that you have to get another medication for; it’s just one natural oil.

“It has been life-changing seeing her progress every day. Two days after she started taking her RSHO, she was completely seizure-free.”

What would be your advice to other parents who might have children in similar situations?

Nothing is impossible. Never give up. Hemp oil could change your life. It’s made a miracle happen for us, and I’m sure it could for others as well. Lilly’s doctors have even been asking me about the RSHO that I give her, for children that they know, or even their own children that have disabilities. Don’t give up, there is always a second chance. RSHO gave my daughter a second chance.