AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--After enduring years of debilitating pain, San Antonio-based Texas Original patient Michelle Warren has regained her livelihood thanks to medical cannabis. She suffers from a form of neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which causes her to feel excruciating pain from the slightest touch. Her condition and corresponding pain in one of her feet rendered her unable to walk until her physician introduced medical cannabis into her treatment plan.
"Initially, I couldn't do anything," said Michelle. "I couldn't walk. I couldn't drive. I was completely dependent on my husband for everything. And now, 13 months later, I'm slowly getting back into the things I love."
After discovering dead bone and three bursas in her foot, Michelle tried physical therapy, injections and opioids—none of which reduced her pain. In 2021, she elected to have a sesamoidectomy to remove the bone, but felt pain as soon as the anesthesia wore off.
"I was so hopeless that I would have literally tried anything to make my foot feel better," said Michelle. "I thought maybe if it was amputated from the ankle down, I wouldn't feel the pain. But that wasn't an option. I was willing to go through anything I had to as long as I didn't have pain anymore."
Due to a scoliosis diagnosis at 10 years old, Michelle had a long history of opioid use which rendered her post-op treatment ineffective—her doctors reached her opioid prescription limit attempting to assuage her pain. At the peak of Michelle’s chronic pain journey, she took pills three to four times before noon. Her constant battle with pain management and opioid use forced her to withdraw from the police academy after five months of training and also halted her bodybuilding career.
Texas Original’s medical cannabis has given Michelle a safe, legal alternative for pain management. She is back on her feet and working out again with drastically diminished pain.
"I got my life back with medical cannabis," she continued. "That first moment of putting on a pair of sneakers that you haven't been able to put on in almost a year and then walking, it really is like someone who's been in jail. You get that like a breath of fresh air and think, ‘Oh, I can finally do it!’"
Under Texas’ Compassionate Use Program, medical cannabis can be prescribed to patients with qualifying conditions including epilepsy and other seizure disorders, autism, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, ALS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, PTSD and more than 100 incurable neurodegenerative diseases.
"We’re very thankful that Michelle and thousands of Texans like her have been able to access the life-changing power of medical cannabis," said Morris Denton, CEO of Texas Original. "But the sad truth is there are countless more who deserve the same opportunity, but remain excluded under the Compassionate Use Program. Having exhausted every treatment option, many patients are left with no choice but to live with excruciating chronic pain that could be managed with a medical cannabis prescription. We will not stop until that gap in our current program is filled so that every person suffering from chronic pain can access a medical cannabis prescription."
Texas Original, the state’s leading medical cannabis provider, has the largest distribution network in Texas with 15 statewide pickup locations available for patients to conveniently access medication. A full list of locations and operating times can be found on the company website here. To learn whether you or a loved one qualifies for medical cannabis, visit www.texasoriginal.com/patients.
About Texas Original
Texas Original is the leading licensed medical cannabis producer in Texas, working alongside physicians to provide the highest quality cannabis medicine to patients and families seeking relief across the state. As fellow Texans, we are dedicated to representing the integrity of this great state with our commitment to quality, consistency and purity in every product we produce. We remain committed to advancing safe, legal access to this powerful medicine. Texas Original is headquartered in Austin, with delivery throughout the entire state. For more information, visit www.texasoriginal.com.
