by Tab Moura
Happy Mother’s Day to the mamas brave enough to open the gate, bringing hope to thousands of children, never asking for applause. May you be supported and sustained to continue doing your valuable work. Thank you for standing your ground and giving your children your unconditional support.
Pediatric Cannabis Therapy: The Gate Keepers
If you had asked me when my oldest child was a baby if I would ever give my children cannabis, I would have said ‘never.’ I wouldn’t have ingested it myself, and I definitely didn’t support people using it— not even my loved ones who benefited from it. I recognize now how misinformed I was, and I don’t feel ashamed of it… I feel liberated. The wool was over my eyes and it didn’t matter how much research there was. But that changed when I found myself needing cannabis, and suddenly I could see how perhaps even my children could benefit. What followed was a journey through a gate that not many had opened before me, at least not publicly.
This month, the month of May, we celebrate mothers. In that spirit, I am focusing on the mothers of the pediatric cannabis patients. I recognize that many homes have equally involved dads out there, and we celebrate them… but I’m saving that for June.
…..While I am one you, I am going to step aside today and simply celebrate you, The Gate Keepers…..
You, the one scrolling for hundreds of hours through countless web articles, maybe even searching high and low for helpful books…
You, the one who risked travel out of state to find it.
You, the one who mentioned your idea to friends or family and were met with all kinds of questions, but you fielded them all.
You, the one who didn’t tell a soul, you just trusted your instincts and leapt.
You, the one who had the hard conversations with your doctor(s) about changing strategies.
You, the one who fired a doctor who wasn’t willing to do the work with you.
You, the one who has lost friends, but has found so many more.
You, the one who advocates at the capital, passes out petitions, hosts information gatherings and more.
You, the one who researched and experimented until you figured out how to grow, process and dose.
You, the one who vulnerably connected with enough people until you found someone with experience to help you grow, process and dose.
You, who canceled your vacation plans so you could budget for your child’s life saving medicine.
You, the one holding vigil beside your little one when their health was at it’s worst.
You, who questions everything, faces her demons and makes hard choices.
You, who wakes up everyday, washes her face, and keeps going.
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Monthly cannabis therapy tip:
While supporting pediatrics, I highly recommend finding a journaling methods that helps you quickly track your child’s cannabis therapy results. I recommend documenting this in a way that your child can understand, with colors and visuals if necessary. This helps them learn to be involved in their cannabis therapy journey by giving you visual feedback. Or as they are able, eventually letting them play a bigger role, like writing the notes themselves. Every child can give feedback, you just have to listen.
Tab Moura