Hide Transcript Show Transcript

WEBVTT WHEN WE FIRST MET SCARLETT LEISURE’S DAUGHTER, SAVANNAH, THE 3-YEAR-OLD WAS A BUNDLE OF PLAYFUL ENERGY. AMAZING. WE WERE TOLD SHE’D NEVER WALK, AND SHE’S WALKING. TODD IN THE MONTHS SINCE THAT INTERVIEW, SAVANNAH HAS LEARNED TO RUN AND CLIMB STAIR , REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS FOR A LITTLE GIRL WHO HAS A RARE AND DEBILITATING FORM OF EPILEPSY. >> SHE’S DEFINITELY COMPLETEL DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THE DOCTORS THOUGHT SHE WOULD BE. TODD: LEISURE, WHO CONSIDERS HER DAUGHTER A MEDICAL MIRACLE, SAYS CANNABIS DESERVES ALL THE CREDIT. I SPOKE TO LEISURE THIS WEEK VIA FACETIME FROM HER NEW HOME IN COLORADO SPRINGS >> WE WOULD LIKE TO COME HOME FOR FAMILY-WIS TODD: BUT LEISURE APPEARS TO HAVE LEFT HER FAMILY IN HIGHLAND COUNTY FOR GOOD. THAT’S BECAUSE SHE SAYS SAVANNAH IS RECEIVING THE KIND OF CARE SHE NEVER RECEIVED AT CINCINNATI’S CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. >> AFTER BEING HERE AND HOW MUCH BETTER SAVANNAH’S QUALITY OF LIFE IS IN COLORADO, WE WON’T BE COMING BACK. TODD: LEISURE SAYS SAVANNAH’S DOCTORS IN THE QUEEN CITY PRESCRIBED SEIZURE MEDS LIKE TOPAMAX, PHENOBARBITAL, AND GABAPENTIN. LEISURE SAYS THE DOCTORS GAVE SAVANNAH THOSE HEAVY AND ADDICTIVE DRUGS EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW MARIJUANA HELPED SAVANNAH GO SEIZURE-FREE FOR WEEKS ON EN >> EVEN WHEN THEY KNEW SHE WAS ON IT, WE JUST DIDN’T TALK ABOUT IT, AND THAT WAS PRETTY MUCH IT. TODD: COMPARE THAT SILENCE TO THIS SCENE IN A COLORADO HOSPITAL. SAVANNAH, WHO STILL HAS SEIZURES ON OCCASION, HAD TO BE ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL IN AUGUST. ABOUT 30 SECONDS AFTER HER MOM GAVE NASAL SPRAY CONTAINING CANNABIS, SAVANNAH’S BODY CALMED DOWN. THIS MEDICAL CANNABIS CAN REPLACE A LOT OF $4000 A MONTH MEDICINES. TODD: BACK HERE IN CINCINNATI, TIM THRESS IS ONE OF THE FEW DOCTORS I’VE MET ALREADY RECOMMENDING CANNABIS PATIENTS WITH CERTAIN CONDITIONS, EVEN THOUGH OHIO’S MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS. HE DOESN’T KNOW LEISURE, BUT UNDERSTANDS WHY SHE TOOK HER DAUGHTER OUT WEST. >> I SEE PATIENTS A LOT OF TIMES THAT THE PHYSICIAN SAYS I HAVE NOTHING LEFT FOR YOU. IT’S LIKE THE ISLAND OF MISFIT TOYS. TODD LEISURE AND SAVANNAH MAY HAVE FELT LIKE MISFIT TOYS HERE, BUT IN COLORADO, THEY FEEL RIGHT AT HOM >> IT WAS HARD LEAVING FAMILY, BUT IT’S ACTUALLY BEEN SUCH A RELIEF BEING HER TODD: I WANTED TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL ABOUT THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND ABOUT SCARLETT AND SAVANNAH. A SPOKESMAN FOR CHILDREN’S SENT ME A STATEMENT, WHICH READS, UNTIL OHIO LAW BECOMES CLEARER, WE AREN’T COMMENTING ON MEDICAL MARIJUAN TODD DYKES, WLWT N

Advertisement Ohio woman uproots family so daughter can get medical marijuana in Colorado Scarlett Leisure credits cannabis with improving 3-year-old daughter's quality of life Share Shares Copy Link Copy

When WLWT investigator Todd Dykes first met Scarlett Leisure's daughter, Savannah, the 3-year-old little girl was a bundle of playful energy."Amazing," Savannah's mom said back in May. "We were told she'd never walk, and she's walking."In the months since that initial interview, Savannah has learned to run and climb stairs, remarkable accomplishments for a little girl who has a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy."She's definitely completely different than what the doctors thought she would be," Leisure said.Leisure, who considers her daughter a medical miracle, said cannabis deserves all the credit. Dykes spoke to Leisure this week via FaceTime from her new home in Colorado Springs."We would like to come home for family-wise," she said.But Leisure appears to have left her family in Highland County, Ohio, for good. That's because she said Savannah is receiving the kind of care she never received at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital."After being here and how much better Savannah's quality of life is in Colorado, we won't be coming back," Leisure said.Leisure said Savannah's doctors in the Queen City prescribed seizure medications like Topamax, phenobarbital, and gabapentin. She said the doctors gave Savannah those heavy and addictive drugs even though they knew cannabis oil helped Savannah go seizure-free for weeks on end."Even when they knew she was on it, we just didn't talk about it, and that was pretty much it," Leisure said.Compare that silence to a scene Leisure shared on Facebook from a Colorado hospital room. Savannah, who still has seizures on occasion, had to be admitted to the hospital in August. About 30 seconds after Leisure gave her daughter nasal spray containing cannabis, Savannah's body calmed down."It hasn't been a fight with any of the doctors (in Colorado)," Leisure said. "They are all supportive of her cannabis oil.""This medical cannabis can replace a lot of $4000-a-month medicines," Dr. Tim Thress said.In Cincinnati, Thress is one of the few doctors Dykes has met who's already recommending cannabis to patients with certain conditions, even though Ohio's medical marijuana program is still a work in progress.Thress doesn't know Leisure, but he understands why she took her daughter out West."I see patients a lot of times that the physician says, 'I got nothing left for you,'" Thress said. "It's like the 'Island of Misfit Toys,'" referring to the children's Christmas story.Leisure and Savannah may have felt like misfit toys in Ohio, but in Colorado, they feel right at home."It was hard leaving family, but it's actually been such a relief being here," Leisure said.Dykes wanted to speak with someone at Cincinnati Children's Hospital about the potential impact of medical marijuana and about Savannah's medical care.A spokesman for the hospital sent Dykes a statement that reads, "Until Ohio law becomes clearer, we aren't commenting on medical marijuana."