I am deviating away from the war hero theme to comment on treatment for people with dementia. Francis, my father suffers from vascular dementia which started the first week of Jan 2017 with a series of mini strokes. Up until this time Francis was very active for a 92 year old - he would take his scooter out around town visiting various friends and family right up until the snow started at the end of Nov. I remember the day that changed our lives forever, I was at a trade show with my coin rings and when I got home my wife told me that my father was acting strange. He was seeing things and people everywhere. By the next day he was unable to walk or find his way to even the bathroom - a check at the doctors revealed the shrinkage of the vessels to his brain, cutting down on the amount of blood his brain was receiving. Two months of various drugs and treatment did nothing to help him. A couple trips to the emergency and a few days in which many thought were his last seemed to be the norm.
A geriatric doctor visited him at home and suggested we try cannabis oil orally and put us in touch with a doctor who specializes in cannabis for dementia patients - Francis was prescribed an even mix of THC and CBD oil taken every evening - up until this time he had never slept a full night making life challenging for the family - after a week of oil he started to sleep more each night and was less agitated. After 2 weeks he started sleeping all the way through and had an increase in his appetite.
We started the cannabis oil in March of this year and 3 months later he now goes to sleep by 8 pm and wakes up 9 am every morning - he sometimes has some difficulty with confusion in the early evening but nothing like before and no violent outbursts. We have him at this time on 3 ml of 16% THC and 18% CBD given each evening around 7 pm. Life has almost returned to normal and Francis has been more inclined to go outside and even visit with family and friends more within our reality and not something his brain has decided for him. There are many studies out there concerning cannabis oil for dementia patients but I am seeing first hand the benefits of it.
