After 25 failed epilepsy medications, Nazy Nouri had two treatment choices for her 9-year-old daughter: cutting out part of the little girl’s brain or marijuana.
“I really felt like we had nothing to lose; this was the last resort,” Nouri said. “If it doesn’t work, then we were going to maybe go with brain surgery.”
Her daughter Kiana started using an oil extract from cannabis in December. The oil comes from Realm of Caring California, a group trying to find a permanent home in the Southland after the city of Los Angeles shuttered its North Hills facility.
“After 10 days, I saw immediate results, she was more coherent, her speech was coming out,” Nouri said. “I’ve had her in speech therapy since she was 24 months old. All of a sudden she was speaking in sentences.”
Nouri never wanted to give her child marijuana.
“I was concerned, but you have to weigh what your options are,” she said.
Doctors planned to remove part of Kiana’s brain without a guarantee the drastic measure would work, Nouri said.
Her daughter’s first seizure happened at 4 months old, they increased in frequency and intensity as she aged. The constant convulsions left Kiana developmentally stunted.
