Against epilepsy, child takes last dose of cannabidiol and mother calls for delivery – Capital

The last dose of cannabidiol-based anti-epilepsy medicine Lennox–Gastaut for little Leonardo, aged 5, was given today by his mother. According to her, Valquíria Ribeiro, 38 years old, there was a delay in purchasing the health plan that serves the boy, Unimed. There is a court order for the plan to purchase the medication (four bottles every two months).

Valquíria says that in December last year, when he received the four vials, she already sent a request to Unimed for purchase, informing that the authorization slips had been released. But the cooperative only did so on March 14, according to transit details of the order, which comes from the United States.

“This medication was what reduced his crises by 80%. We used others, but they had no effect. And this epilepsy he has gives him frequent seizures and I’m desperate,” he said. With no one to turn to, she looked for the Campo Grande News in an attempt to speed up the delivery process or achieve some other measure.

“Everything related to my son’s treatment or therapies, I try to speed up as soon as possible, so as not to have any problems. Whenever a shipment arrives, I contact Unimed to make the request to release the slips, so no one forgets. This time, in December, everything was fine and the pharmacist who always helped me said that she would go on vacation, but that she would leave everything organized so that the other person could make the order. But that wasn’t what happened”, lamented the mother.

In an email to the cooperative, on March 30, she told the company that “I will put it on record, if something happens to it due to an error on the part of the department that did not make the purchase, you are responsible”. She also said that “he is undergoing treatment, I cannot leave him without the medication or reduce the dosage”, concluding that “I want a solution as urgent as possible. The medicine is running out.”

The report contacted Unimed, which informed that, in the specific case of Leonardo, “[…] the patient’s medication was purchased and all possible measures were taken for immediate care, and, in the next few hours, the patient’s demand will be met.”

He also said that the cooperative “strictly complies with all court orders and adopts standard conduct, aiming to always offer the best assistance to our beneficiaries”.

In contact with the mother, she informed that Unimed was able to borrow medication from another mother whose son has the same health problem, which will guarantee Leonardo’s treatment until the new vials arrive.

Syndrome – According to the Archives of Health Investigation website, LGS (Lennox–Gastaut syndrome) is a severe childhood epileptic encephalopathy that accounts for 5% of childhood epilepsies, with onset between 1 and 8 years old.

It is characterized by progressive mental retardation, crises of multiple types. The etiopathogenesis is unclear, suggesting a nonspecific reaction of brain injury and treatment, generally ineffective, with the use of valproate and benzodiazepines. The prognosis is poor, with a small number of patients having seizure control.

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