LeafLine

In 1989 while serving in the United States Navy, Randy sustained an injury along his cervical spine from C1 to T4. On September 21, 2016, Randy re-injured his cervical spine while undergoing patient transport that lacked the proper ventilation equipment. His injuries eventually led to marrow edema from C1 to C3. He also developed degenerative disc disease and degenerative arthritis throughout the entirety of his cervical spine, which is now progressing down into his thoracic spine into T4.

Before medical cannabis, Randy describes his quality of life as non-existent. The multitude of narcotic drugs used to treat his chronic pain robbed him of the ability to breathe on his own, forcing him to use a ventilator while sleeping due to central sleep apnea caused by Oxycodone. On a scale from 1 to 10, his pain ranged from 7 to 10 and he was sick to his stomach constantly. He would spend his days sitting in a neutral position, moving as little as possible, to subdue his nausea. More often than not, he would go several days at a time without eating, and driving a car was out of the question. At one point, he was taking over 500 pills per month.

Wanting to find a more natural, sustainable path to relief and diminish his long list of prescription medications, Randy decided to enroll in the Minnesota medical cannabis program. Once he found a physician to certify his condition, he found the process to be much easier than he had initially imagined.

Now, his pain is finally under control and he rates it from 3 to 5 rather than 7 to 10. Randy has been able to eliminate Oxycodone, Etodolac, Nortriptyline, Venlafaxine, Tizanidine, Methocarbamol, Cyclobenzaprine, and Lisinopril. Aside from an inhaler and allergy medications, he is free of pain killers and prescription medications. His blood pressure is down to a healthy level and he has been able to lose a healthy amount of excess weight. He no longer has central sleep apnea or peripheral pitting edema in his extremities and his obstructive sleep apnea seems to be going away. Finally, Randy feels as though his body is working the way that it was meant to and beginning to heal itself.“Marijuana has saved the life I was given,” Randy says, “The horror stories are wrong… it’s definitely worth trying.”