Remembering Charlotte Figi
Charlotte Figi, the inspiration behind the Stanley Brothers’ Charlotte’s Web CBD line, passed away on Tuesday. Charlotte was 13 years old.
Figi had Dravet syndrome, a condition responsible for causing sometimes dozens of seizures per day. Figi had 300 grand mal seizures a week at the height of her condition. The Figis relentlessly pursued every option to help their daughter. At one point, they even tried a ketogenic diet. It helped her seizures at first, but it came with devastating side effects like bone loss and a failing immune system. Two years into the exploratory diet, her seizures returned.
Figi’s dad, Matt, was a military contractor overseas. He spent his free time scouring the internet for anything that might have a chance of helping his daughter’s condition. At one point, he came across a video of a boy in California with Dravet syndrome. His condition was being successfully treated with cannabis. His strain was low in THC and high in CBD. Up until this point, Charlotte’s mom, Paige, had actively voted against cannabis legalization of any kind. Seeing this boy in California have such success propelled them into the decision of trying cannabis for Charlotte.
That was the first step. The next battle was finding two doctors to sign off on a medical marijuana card. Figi was the youngest patient in the state to ever apply in the state of Colorado. Figi’s mom called multiple doctors and every physician met her with the same answer: no. She finally found two doctors that agreed to meet with the family and eventually sign off on a card for Figi.
Figi’s mom, Paige, bought 2 ounces of low THC-high CBD flower for $800. It was all that was available. Her friend extracted the oil for her daughter. She quickly noticed her daughter’s lack of seizures in the first hour, then the second. She thought it had to be a fluke. But, Figi remained seizure-free for seven days.
This was amazing news for the Figi’s but their supply was quickly running out. Figi soon heard about the Stanley Brothers. The Colorado brothers were breeding a strain of cannabis high in CBD and low THC. Figi reached out and though the brothers at first expressed concern with the patient’s age, they knew upon meeting her they had to help. The Stanley Brother’s strain worked and they named their CBD line Charlotte’s Web in honor of their new friend.
Figi’s mom writes on her Facebook page, “Our family is grateful for the outpouring of love while we mourn the loss of our Charlotte…We are moved by the continual impact that Charlotte’s life has made, shedding light on the potential of cannabis for quality of life.”
Figi goes on to say their family would “like to clarify some of the information that has been shared. Our entire family had been ill for close to a month starting in early March, but did not initially fit all of the criteria for COVID-19 testing. For that reason, we were told to treat at home unless the symptoms worsened.”
Figi says Charlotte’s symptoms did worsen and she was treated as a likely COVID-19 case on the designated floor of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs.
“On Friday, April 3rd, she was tested and the results were negative for COVID-19. She was discharged Sunday, April 5th when she seemingly began to improve. Charlotte had a seizure in the early morning on April 7th resulting in respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. Seizures are not uncommon with illness and paramedics were called to return us to the PICU…Her fighting spirit held out as long as it could and she eventually passed in our arms peacefully.”
Figi says her family wants to “thank the staff at Children’s Hospital of Colorado, Colorado Springs, for their swift response and the impeccable and compassionate care that we received.”
Figi will be forever remembered by the cannabis community and beyond as a fighter and a pioneer for medicinal cannabis.
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