A sad story in the news today — a 17-year-old girl suffers stroke and brain damage after smoking synthetic marijuana. — Click to Tweet.
Emily Bauer is a girl from Cypress, Texas. She’s 17 years old, plays with her friends, dyes her hair crazy colors, and hangs out with her boyfriend.
Or that’s what she did until recently, when she purchased a product from a local gas station that’s used as synthetic marijuana. It’s sometimes marketed as “potpourri” to get around regulatory laws, but the chemicals are still the same.
After purchasing the synthetic pot, she smoked some of it with her friends and boyfriend. Just a few minutes later, she got a headache, and saying that she had a “migraine,” went to lay down.
Before long she was disoriented, running into walls and suffering hallucinations. She became violent, and her sister Blake called police to help calm her down. She was taken to Northwest Cypress Hospital.
The Family’s Plight
At first her family thought she would come down, and they could talk to her about drug rehabilitation. They waited patiently.
But 24 hours later she was still violent and prone to hurting herself. Medical staff induced a controlled coma state to prevent further brain damage, and they began testing. It was revealed that Emily had undergone several severe strokes — possibly from vasculitis, which is a contraction of blood vessels that restricts oxygen to the brain.
The situation was much more serious than her family thought. Now, instead of thinking about drug treatment options, they weren’t even sure she was going to make it.
Doctors said much of Emily’s brain tissue was dead or dying — up to 70 percent — and eventually they had to drill a hole in her skull to relieve pressure. They also predicted she wouldn’t be able to talk or recognize her family. With nearly all options gone, her family decided to take her off life support, hoping she would make it.
Hopeful Signs of Recovery
Emily did survive, despite many factors not in her favor. She even seems to be recovering much better than expected. She’s slowly regaining use of her limbs, and she’s recognizing family members. She even told her mom that she loves her.
But episodes like this could be happening all over the country if tighter regulation isn’t achieved on these substances. To fight that possibility, Emily’s family has set up a non-profit called Synthetic Awareness for Emily. Information can be found online and on Facebook.
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