Charlotte Figi, the girl who named a cannabis strain, has died

Charlotte Figi, the girl with Dravet syndrome who gave her name to a CBD-rich cannabis strain, Charlotte's Web, has died, the Colorado Sun newspaper reported today. Despite Charlotte being treated at the hospital as a case of Coronavirus, the family communicated today on her mother Paige Figi's Facebook page that Charlotte's COVID-19 test was negative, denying the first advanced news. Charlotte was 13 years old.

Charlotte's death was announced by a family friend on Tuesday night on Paige Figi's Facebook page. “This is Nichole, doing an update on Paige, Greg and Matt. Charlotte is no longer suffering. She is seizure free forever. Thank you so much for all your love”, reads the publication, which asks the public to respect the privacy of the Figi family at this difficult time.

As the mother herself had been reporting in recent weeks, the whole family would have been sick since the beginning of March, with flu-like symptoms, suspecting Coronavirus. However, during today, and given the news that were being advanced, a new update was published, stating that Charlotte's COVID-19 test was negative.

“Our family is grateful for your love as we mourn the loss of our Charlotte. Charlotte had a catastrophic form of epilepsy in early childhood called Dravet syndrome. We were touched by the ongoing impact Charlotte's life has had on the potential of cannabis for her quality of life. We would like to clarify some of the information that has been shared. Our entire family had been sick for almost a month, as of early March, but initially did not meet all the criteria for COVID-19 testing. For this reason, we were instructed to self-treat at home unless symptoms worsened. Charlotte's symptoms worsened and she was admitted to the PICU on 3 April. She was treated on the designated COVID-19 floor, using all established medical protocols. On Friday, April 3, she was tested, the results were negative for COVID-19, and she was discharged on Sunday, April 5, when she apparently began to improve. Charlotte had a seizure in the early morning of April 7, resulting in respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. Seizures are not uncommon with illness and paramedics were called, taking us back to the PICU. Given our family's month-long history of illness and despite negative results, she was treated as a probable case of COVID-19. Her fighting spirit held on as long as she could and she finally died peacefully in our arms. We would like to thank the team at Children's Hospital of Colorado, Colorado Springs, for their quick response and the impeccable, compassionate care we received.”

Also the Realm of Caring Foundation, an organization founded by Paige Figi, announced the sad news on Instagram and praised the mark that Charlotte leaves in this world: “Your work is done, Charlotte, the world has changed and you can now rest knowing that you leave the world a better place”.

Charlotte's Network

Charlotte Figi, who at age 6 became known in a CNN documentary, by naming a variety of the cannabis plant, has inspired millions of mothers around the world to try CBD oil (cannabidiol), a non-psychotropic component extracted from cannabis, as a therapeutic alternative for their children with refractory epilepsies .

Before cannabis, Charlotte spent her days prostrate and without any response to the world around her, other than the dozens of epileptic seizures that put her at constant risk of life, on a daily basis. With just one drop of CBD oil, extracted from a plant produced by the Stanley Brothers, Colorado, and christened Charlotte's Web, her life changed completely.

Charlotte was able to significantly reduce seizures caused by Dravet syndrome, a severe refractory epilepsy that can even cause death. The cannabidiol-rich oil allowed Charlotte to experience health improvements that she could not get with any other conventional medication. At the age of 5, Charlotte could no longer walk or eat on her own, having had a feeding tube inserted.

Charlotte's condition has worsened since this photo was posted on Facebook by her mother Paige Figi on April 4th.

After hearing the story of a family in California who treated their children's crises with cannabis oil, Paige Figi began researching the possibility and quickly connected with Colorado Springs medical cannabis dispensary owner Joel Stanley. Along with his brothers, the Stanley Brothers, Joey had helped develop a cannabis strain rich in cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-psychoactive compound. For that reason, the plant was not much sought after by recreational consumers and the Stanley Brothers had, in fact, called that variety “The hippie's disappointment”. The plant would be re-named in her honor, after Charlotte's visit to the Stanley brothers' facility would change her life forever. Charlotte started talking, walking, interacting with her twin and having a practically normal development.

Paige Figi tells in the CNN documentary, presented by the doctor Sanjay Gupta, that Charlotte's seizures reduced dramatically when her daughter started taking CBD oil, managing to remove several of the antiepileptic pharmaceutical drugs that her daughter took and that left her completely sedated. Her case was even featured in academic and scientific literature, and last month, Paige posted on Facebook that it had been five years since Charlotte's feeding tube had been removed.

For families around the world whose children suffered from Dravet and similar conditions, the videos were a revelation and hope, with hundreds of families moving to Colorado in search of CBD for their children. State medical cannabis laws only allow its use in some of the United States of America, including Colorado. Migration to this state was so great that families adopted the name “cannabis refugees”.
_________________________________________________________________
Featured Photo: AP Photo, Brennan Linsley on Colorado Sun