connections, financial and nutritional awareness, increase knowledge base as well as couples and family therapy.
Once a year, H.O.P.E. has an event called Stomping Out Stress which brings 30 couples together for a free weekend including a 2-night hotel stay, food, dancing, laughter, live entertainment along with Reiki or/and Massage Therapy. This is a way for parents to recognize they are not alone, to socialize, and to reduce stress and isolation; to be part of the H.O.P.E. village!
I was touched by hope once again the day my husband called me to say he just totaled his 2nd van in a year. Anger flew all over my body, but in a split second anger dissolved when he finished that sentence with “I was just hit by an 18-wheeler”. I had hope that the van being totaled was a much better option than my husband being gone.
Hope found me again when I needed a pharmaceutical alternative to manage the pain and anxiety experienced by both me, my husband and our daughter. The side effects of diabetes caused my feet and hands to ache creating so much pain that it prevented me from being able to rest at night. I was taking over the counter pain meds and prescribed meds with no relief. For my husband, with his fractured back and hip issues, the prescribed medications seemed to be doubling by the month. His ability to engage with his family in a positive manner was declining. My daughter experienced tightness and spasms from managing Cerebral Palsy. She would get in repetitive cycles of saying “I want my mama/daddy” over and over again. Then she needed to have a play by play of her day, causing her to become overwhelmed or acting aggressively when there were changes. As a result, the doctors increased medications and changed medications, but nothing worked to ease her anxiety. I knew I needed something to shift in our lives when my 16 year old daughter was taking a higher dose of the same medication my husband was taking.
As I discussed my concerns in different villages of my life, I found a common theme, CBD. Have I tried CBD? This set my curiosity in motion. I spoke to a fellow mom, Kelly Helms; the loudest and most passionate advocate I know, as she fights to manage her son’s severe and frequent seizures with CBD/THC. In 2017, I attended a CBD event sponsored by Harvest the Good. I agreed to use CBD products from Kim Stephens with Feel Good Health and Beauty. I received testimony after testimony about the benefits of CBD/THC with autism, seizures, cerebral palsy as well as depression, anxiety and pain to name a few symptoms.
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