Starting last year, Texas doctors were allowed to begin prescribing cannabidiol, or CBD, oil to patients with intractable epilepsy. A Round Rock mom said it has saved her 2-year-old.
Cyndee Bailey-Bryant said she tried everything to get her daughter's seizures under control, but the oil is what turned her toddler's life around.
"Zaraiah was born with several different brain disorders," Bailey-Bryant said.
For the first year of her life they caused Zariah to have more than 100 seizures a day, despite being on anti-seizure medication.
"We would have to rescue her," Bailey-Bryant said. "Her rescue drugs were narcotics and it would just knock her out. She just didn't really have a lot of quality of life."
Bailey-Bryant started looking into non-traditional ways to stop the seizures.
"I had a friend ask me if I had thought about CBD," Bailey-Bryant said. "So I looked more into it."
She learned CBD is a chemical found in hemp plants. Unlike THC, it does not produce a high. In 2015 it was legalized in Texas under the Texas Compassionate Use Act. Desperate for help, Bailey-Bryant decided to give it a try. She said the only problem was a 10-day supply cost almost $300, so she turned to ECHO Connection, an organization which provides support for families that count on CBD for help.
"They donate scholarships for people like Zariah that have an income limit and are unable to get this," Bailey-Bryant said. "We were very lucky to be able to get that scholarship."
Zariah has now been taking CBD since last summer and is now seizure free. Her mom rubs it along her jaw line and under her tongue twice a day.
"She's just been thriving ever since she's been on it," Bailey-Bryant said. "It's not only changed her life, but our lives as well knowing that she is happy and not hurting."
Now, Bailey-Bryant is trying to educate others and give hope to those suffering from seizures. She's made a Facebook page tracking her daughter's progress and posting words of encouragement for other parents.
The Compassionate Use Registry of Texas (CURT) has a new search feature, the Registered Physician Search. It gives the public ability to search for qualified physicians registered in the CURT system who have the ability to prescribe "Low-THC" cannabis.