Cindy is a lot like most grandmas. She’s devoted to her family, dotes
on her only grandchild, and is proud of the four kids she raised – one
of whom is now a member of the U.S. Armed Services.
Cindy has also been diagnosed with both lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
She’s spent years managing her conditions and trying to find the
optimal treatment solution, but it’s been a tough, discouraging road.
These days, she takes her chemotherapy pills on Sunday and spends two
days incapacitated by nausea, vomiting, headaches and sweats. This
weekly ritual of pain and discomfort has gone on for five years – and
her doctors say she’ll need to continue chemo for the rest of her life.
When a family member told her that medical marijuana might be able to
help relieve her symptoms, that information transformed her from a
grandma into an activist.
She began investigating how to sign up to receive medical marijuana,
but she uncovered some devastating news: her conditions did not qualify
her for marijuana use in her home state of New Jersey.
While Cindy was discouraged, she was also determined to fight for the care she needed.
So in January 2016, Cindy started her first Care2 petition,
asking New Jersey to expand its list of qualifying medical conditions —
for herself and also for others. Her cause has gained a tremendous
amount of support from other Care2 members. In less than six weeks, more
than 79,000 people signed her petition and 13,000 shared it on
Facebook. Her adamant pursuit of justice has inspired members all over
the globe and even lead several news agencies to interview her about her
story.
We were so impressed with Cindy’s campaign that we wanted to learn
more, so we caught up with her to chat about what drives her activism,
how her friends and family feel about her campaign fame, and what it was
like starting her first Care2 petition.
Feel free to share your appreciation or questions in the comments!
What inspired you to create your petition? What was it like creating it?
I am sick as you know, and marijuana helps me eat, sleep and deal
with everyday pain. Actually, the “what was it like creating it”
question has a strange answer. I originally wrote my petition, but Care2
staff reached out to me on their own to help me put the finishing
touches on it. After I wrote it, I felt so many things: I was nervous,
excited, anxious. I didn’t know if anyone would care about my problems.
What was your reaction when you saw
how much attention your petition about medical marijuana received? How
did your friends and family react?
My friends couldn’t be happier for me. They feel I deserve access to
medical marijuana, though I honestly never told my family. I wasn’t sure
how they would react because they don’t believe medical marijuana is
acceptable. That’s with the exception of my father, who lost his wife to
cancer two years ago. I just didn’t have the heart to tell him. His
wife was the one who told me that marijuana helped her. I actually
didn’t even tell my father I was on chemo until about six months ago,
because I just didn’t have the heart to; it was too painful to make him
relive that experience.
But my reaction is just complete and utter shock at the overwhelming
support I have received from the Care2 community and the media. I think
it’s great and everyone should take a stand if they believe in
something!
What issues are you most passionate about and why?
I care about anything to do with children or animals, because they
are both helpless and need a voice. I also care about our armed service
members, because our men and women are coming home with things like PTSD
and anxiety; our service members deserve the top medical care and yet
they can’t get it. My oldest child is in the service, so that make this
issue hit especially close to home for me. I’m also really passionate
about helping anyone who is suffering with an invisible disease (like
myself). And obviously I’m deeply concerned about the laws concerning
medical marijuana in New Jersey and throughout our country.
How did you find out about Care2? What do you like about being a Care2 member?
I actually stumbled onto Care2 through a Google search! The community
here has been absolutely amazing from working with me to helping me
improve my petition, to getting my story out there. Since the petition
started I have had two stories written about me – one with NJ.com
and one with The Star Ledger. Local News 12 said they might also
interview me and of course lots of people have been asking if they can
blog about it. I couldn’t have asked for a better team if I hired them –
they are a caring, helpful and compassionate company and a pleasure
dealing with!
If there’s an issue you care about in your community, start your own petition and watch as the Care2 community rallies around your cause!
No comments:
Post a Comment