Life changes and my openness on cannabis

I wanted to take a few moments and write about a couple things that I hope will open your eyes and heart and give you some awareness. One is about something that has become a very large part of my life and caused significant changes. The other is something that could alter or improve that.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with a rare spinal disease called Syringomyelia. I don't expect many, if any, of you to know what that is, most doctors don't even know about it. It's a rare debilitating disorder that attacks the core of the spinal cord with cysts that are incurable and barely treatable. My form is from a congenital birth defect and is fairly advanced. In three months time I have gone from being perfectly normal and healthy to walking with a cane, not being able to tie my shoes and experiencing high amounts of pain 24 hours a day. My spinal cord is swelling and crushing the nerves in my spine. It's painful, debilitating and can lead to crippling of the limbs and paralysis.

Not much is known about this disease. Very little research or awareness is being done and many times patients have to teach their doctor what it is and how best to treat it. This, as expected, has changed my life forever. It's caused me to stop and rethink my goals and plans in life and begin to set new ones, and although one could become very depressed with this news (and I certainly have had my down moments) it is teaching me more everyday to appreciate the simple things in life. To slow down and enjoy the present. To learn that life isn't what is thrown at us but what we make of what is being thrown at us.

Now this brings me to my second subject and something that sparked the idea for this article in the first place. It is the right of every human being to be able to choose and use the best treatment available to them. We, along with our families and physicians are of course the best at knowing what is the best treatment for bodies and the illnesses we might face. It is not a politician, body of elected officials or any other spurious group that claims any authority over us. 

We should never allow that to happen but in fact, that is exactly what we have done.

Cannabis, among many qualities, is one of the best treatments for my disease. It not only has proven to be a great pain killer with no side effects, as opposed to the many side effects of life long treatments with prescription narcotics, it has also shown in study to help promote new spinal tissue growth which over time could possibly begin to heal the damages done to my spinal cord by this disease.

Now I am not a new advocate for the legalization of cannabis, I have supported that for many years. I am not a recreational user and never have been but I also see that as a personal choice and not of some bureaucrat who has no authority to control your life. I am now though, faced with this in a personal way. To make the decision to use a treatment for pain that will cause damage to my body as I continue to use it and only offer moderate relief or to risk imprisonment if I choose to use a medicine that will offer a safer treatment for my condition.

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A personal update on what is happening in my life

Travis Maddox Medical Expense Fund

Well I don't know where to begin. First of all I am so thankful and greatful to our dear friend Danae for setting this up. True friends are really hard to find and she's about as true as they get. For those that know me personally know I'm not the type to ever ask for anything. I tend to be a little stubborn that way. I tell myself I'm not asking for me but for my family. I'm thirty five and have a wonderful wife and four kids and have worked hard my whole life. I enjoy working and have been told I'm a workaholic. Guess my story begins with my whole life having bad headaches and pains. Usually I just tuff it out through those times and deal with it. I had been to doctors in the past but usually they would say I have a strained muscle or I'm over worked. In Oct of 2013 it began to get much worse. The back pain became severe and shot down my arms and I had a lot of numbness and started to notice difficulty with dexterity in my hands. Again I went to the doctor only to be told I had simply pulled a muscle in my back and should be fine in a few weeks. It never got better. It became very severe at times bringing me to tears. On January 2nd I was running the closing shift at my job and sneezed very hard and began screaming out in pain and ended up on the floor. My wife took me to the ER where they did a MRI and discovered that I had Syringomyelia. Of course I had no clue what that was but I knew from how the doctor was talking to me that it must be serious. Within a few days I was seeing a neurosurgeon and it seemed the news only became worse. I did have a Chiari Malformation of the brain but unlike most cases this was not the cause of my SM (sryingomyelia). He said it was a birth defect and I've had the cysts so long in my spine that the vertebras are growing around the cysts. The worst cysts was in my cervical spine area and is so large it is beginning to rupture. This he said is why my pain is so rapidly worsening and why I am daily losing the strength and the use of my body. I have my first surgery coming up soon and most likely several more after that. The pain I am going through cannot be fixed. It is something I will have to learn to live with and the loss of strength as well. Because my condition is so advanced I stand a very good chance of having some level of paralysis the doctor tells me.  I cannot work anymore and most likely never will. I am on a 5lbs weight restriction until further notice. My long term outlook isn't great. I am daily accepting this. I've already lost the ability to do so much. It's difficult not being able to pick up my children anymore or ask them for help for simple things like tying my own shoes or picking something up for me. They are troopers my kids, doing their best to understand this rapid sudden change and helping in every way they can. I know my life will never be the same and the goals I had for it are now changing. But I have not lost hope and I'm horrible at giving up. I am looking at this as a new adventure with new and exciting challenges. The one thing that does excite me is that I will be able to spend a lot more time with my family. 

The reason this fund was started was to try and help us get through this. Yes we have insurance for a while still and things like disability will kick in eventually but even with all that there are still expenses that can be difficult to cover. We live like most people pretty much from paycheck to paycheck. I'm already in need of home medical equipment. I can't stand long enough to really shower and I can't get out of a bath tub. I now use a cane to walk and soon will be in a wheel chair. I don't expect people to pay for my problems but those that are able to do a little it would be nice and lessen the stress a little for my family and it doesn't just have to be money. Your thoughts and love and friendship mean so much that no price can be put on that. Thank you all so much. I never dreamed I would be going through this but having a wonderful wife, family and friends is making all so much easier. 

I love you all so much. 

Travis 

Travis Maddox Medical Fund

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