Family moving to Colorado for medicinal marijuana for daughter

Hannah Loew has a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome which causes hundreds of seizures a day. Her family is moving to Colorado in order to obtain medicinal marijuana treatments for her condition. Hannah Loew has a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome which causes hundreds of seizures a day. Her family is moving to Colorado in order to obtain medicinal marijuana treatments for her condition. Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Family moving to Colorado for medicinal marijuana for daughter 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

As a last resort attempt to save her daughter’s life, a Crosby mother is moving her family to Colorado in order to get her medicinal marijuana treatments.

Amber Loew wants to get medicinal marijuana for her three-year-old daughter, Hannah, who has been diagnosed with Dravet’s Syndrome which causes uncontrollable seizures. She suffers from 50 to 100 seizures a day, according to her mother.

Loew recalled that Hannah had her first notable seizure when she was three months old.

“Looking back, she has been having them since birth,” she said.

After her daughter was diagnosed with the condition, she found support groups online and with social media. Loew found out about the possible marijuana treatment from other parents who have children with Dravet Syndrome.

“We have a close support network online and on Facebook that have the same syndrome or similar conditions,” said Loew. “That is how we met each other. We are all working with a nonprofit organization helping us through the process called Realm of Care.”

Realm of Care, according to their website, uses concentrated medicinal cannabis oil to treat patients with illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.

“It’s an oil form that she can take by mouth,” she said. “She won’t be smoking. It helps reduce seizures. We know families in Colorado whose children are on this marijuana. The seizures have been reduced from 300 to one per week. In addition to seizure control, they’ve been able to stop all pharmaceutical medications. They’ve also made great strides in cognitive and mental abilities.”

Loew explained that in order for her daughter to get medicinal marijuana she has to have a red card, which is issued by Colorado, and she has to be a state resident. The red card is issued after two separate doctors have approved medicinal marijuana for a patient, according to Loew.

“This is a last resort,” said Loew. “We’ve exhausted all options.”

Loew explained that there are doctors in Colorado that prescribe medicinal marijuana and they will be treating Hannah.

“Now, we are running on donations to make the trip,” said Loew. “We don’t own a home, but rent. We are packing up everything and moving to Colorado.”

Loew has been a lifelong resident of Crosby. She has two other children, in addition to Hannah, who are seven and nine years old. Her husband, Paul, has put in a transfer request with his company, but hasn’t received a response yet. Loew is a stay-at-home mom.

“Time is of the essence,” she said. “She has gone into respiratory failure two times in the last two weeks where she has gone without breathing for eight minutes,” said Loew. “It’s pretty scary and very stressful. You don’t know if she’s going to come out of it and be ok.”

The condition worsens as she gets older.

“We don’t have a life expectancy with her,” said Loew. “They just tell us that this is what she has. Most children pass away at an early age.”

The condition has caused developmental issues with Hannah and dramatically impacted her life, according to Loew.

“We try to provide as normal of a life as possible,” she said. “In summer months, she can’t go outside without a cooling vest because it’s too hot. She can walk but she’s very unstable. She talks very little. Her speech has been affected. She doesn’t have any control to hold a pencil or a crayon. She can’t draw or identify shapes. She loves to laugh and loves to give hugs and kisses.”

Loew wants to move to try to save her daughter’s life, but explained that the move will be very difficult.

“It’s going to be a big transition because our family is rooted in the Crosby-Huffman area,” she said. “This is our only solution left. Once we leave, we can’t come back. She can’t cross state lines because medical marijuana is still illegal. Hannah won’t be able to come back to Texas unless the federal government approves it nationwide or if they approve travel.”

Before having to deal with her daughter’s illness, Loew said that she did not have strong feelings for or against medicinal marijuana.

“I felt that if someone legitimately needed it, who was I to keep it away from them?” she said. “Now that we have been struggling with it for three-and-a-half years, it wasn’t about a good choice or if it was a good idea.”

Loew said that she feels that she has to move to a state that she’s never been to in order to save her daughter’s life.

“When we get there, the medical marijuana is not covered by any insurance,” she said. “We will have to pay for it out of pocket along with the doctor visits. Hannah still has outstanding medical bills from Texas Children’s Hospital.”

Loew is confident that the medicinal marijuana will have a positive impact on her daughter’s health. Once she is stabilized and having fewer seizures, Loew plans to become an advocate for medicinal marijuana to help others with children that have the same illness.

“I don’t want them to have to make the same difficult choices we’ve had to make,” she said.

Loew’s family is accepting donations to help with the move and to help pay for the medical treatments. She already has airplane tickets for herself and her three children for the trip. The family’s belongings will be transported by the father.

“If anyone has connections with a U-Haul truck or a car hauler, that would be helpful,” she said. “My husband will drive the 17 hour trip.”

Donations can be made through Paypal at ambergirl1082@yahoo.com

“We ask you to send as a gift so we get the full amount,” said Loew.

Donations of checks or money orders can be made out to Amber Loew and dropped off at the Family Vision Center in Crosby, located at 14700 Farm to Market Road 2100 #3, Crosby, TX 77532.