According to Fox News.com, a teenage girl from Texas
suffered from multiple strokes after smoking synthetic marijuana – leaving her
brain damaged, blind and paralyzed, the Independent reported.
Seventeen-year-old Emily Bauer, from Cypress,
Texas, purchased the fake
marijuana at a local gas station with friends in December. Just 15 minutes
after smoking it, Emily said she had a migraine and wanted to lie down.
Later on, the police were called to restrain Emily, after she suffered from
a series of strokes – which ultimately triggered a psychotic state. She ended
up having violent hallucinations, running into walls and urinating on herself,
according to the Independent.
Her friends and family hoped to dissuade her from taking the drug again once
its effects wore off. But 24 hours later, Emily was still having hallucinations
and trying to hurt herself.
Doctors decided to put Emily in a medically induced coma in order to run
tests on her brain. They discovered her seizures were a result of severe
vasculitis – an inflammation of the blood vessels, ultimately restricting blood
and oxygen flow to the brain.
Over time, pressure on Emily's brain became so intense that her doctors had
to drill a hole in her skull to provide some relief. Doctors told her
family more than 70 percent of her brain was ‘dead' and she would neither
recognize her family nor be able to use her arms and legs again. However, after
the family decided to remove her breathing tube, Emily began to show signs of
recovery – even telling her mother she loved her at one point.
Emily is still paralyzed and very confused, but has recently started to
reuse her arms and legs – and even eat solid foods.
In order to educate the public about Emily's story and the dangers of
synthetic marijuana, Emily's family has created a non-profit organization
called Synthetic Awareness For Emily (SAFE).
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