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Boy, 9, delivers letter to Prime Minister pleading for medicinal cannabis prescription for epileptic brother
Thomas wrote to the Prime Minister in a bid to get his little brother, Eddie, a prescription for the treatment
The brother of a severely epileptic boy penned an emotional letter to the Prime Minister in his plea for a medicinal cannabis prescription.
Nine year old Thomas Braun, from Farndon, Cheshire, told Boris Johnson that his parents should not have the ‘added worry of having to find lots of money to pay for his medicine,’ according to the BBC.
His younger brother Eddie can suffer up to 100 seizures a day, and his family currently spend around £800 a month on his medicinal cannabis treatment, which they say is ‘life changing.’
Thomas, who said his brother means ‘everything’ to him, asked the prime minister to help his parents ‘and the other mums and dads’ who have to fundraise each month to meet the medical bills.
Ilmarie Braun / Facebook
He wrote: “My mum and dad love us both, and they have to help Eddie a lot and sometimes I have to help too.
“They have the added worry of having to find lots of money to pay for his medicine. Lots of our friends help. But getting the medicine from the government without having to do lots of things to find the money would help them a lot.”
Thomas admitted that he ‘felt nervous’ delivering the letter to Downing Street but he said ‘it was also very exciting, because this is my chance to actually help change my brother’s life and my family’s life.’
Medicinal cannabis can be prescribed on the NHS but only in ‘exceptional’ cases.
Ilmarie Braun / Facebook
The treatment was made legal with a prescription in 2018 for those with an ‘exceptional clinical need.’ But since then, only three NHS prescriptions have been issued, forcing families to spend thousands of pounds on private treatments.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said licensed cannabis-based medicines were ‘funded by the NHS where there is clear evidence of their safety and clinical effectiveness.’
She said specialist doctors could now prescribe ‘unlicensed cannabis-based products for medicinal use where it is clinically appropriate and in the best interests of patients.’