Eight-year-old Teagan Appleby from the town of Aylesham in Kent, England was born with Isodicentric 15, a chromosome abnormality where a child has extra genetic material from chromosome 15 and has 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46.
Delays in language development and motor skills, irregular sleep cycles, autistic-like behavior, intellectual disability, and low muscle tone are some of the common symptoms of Isodicentric 15, but a high percentage of individuals with the condition also experience epileptic seizures.
Though Teagan was born with the disease, and her battle has been lifelong, the girl’s mother Emma says that her condition has recently gotten worse.
“Her condition’s definitely deteriorating,” said Ms. Appleby. “It’s got worse over the last couple of years, but these last few months have been noticeably bad.”
Appleby has tried various drugs in attempts to treat the conditions, but nothing has seemed to help.
After Teagan experienced a series of violent seizures, Appleby took her to Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital where she is currently staying. The mother says she is now seeking a medicinal cannabis license from the UK government.
“There’s evidence that it stops seizures and it helps with epilepsy,” said Appleby. “There are trials being held in England, and it seems quite positive, so I’m fighting to get a license.”
The UK government recently began a review of cannabis scheduling and is considering license applications for exceptional cases. The move was a result of a public backlash against the Home Office after they confiscated a supply of cannabis oil that Charlotte Caldwell was bringing back for her epileptic son Billy.
“If there’s anything I can do for her, I’ll fight to do it,” says Appleby. “I just felt that I wasn’t doing enough, and by trying to get medication that could help, at least I’ve tried. Even if the government says no.”
Appleby says she thinks that now that medical cannabis is in the media more, medical legislation will happen at some point, but she is worried that it might be too late.
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