It all started when I checked my emails on my way to work on October 26th. I am part of a mailing list for activists in the cannabis community so I get emails about relevant issues and sometimes about people needing help. I saw an email with the title "Help from a Toronto activist/advocate." Feeling like that was right up my alley, I read on.
The email was about a 40 year old man in need of help. At 17, Kurt Gengenbach was in a horrible hockey accident. He broke his 4th cervical vertebrae after going head first into the boards. This accident left him quadriplegic BUT not being able to move didn't stop Kurt from being in constant, excruciating pain. Kurt was licensed to medicate with cannabis but was having a hard time doing so. Not being able to move his hands to assist himself, he needed help. His attendant(s) didn't want to subject themselves to second hand smoke so Kurt was really stuck. He could see the medicine he needed so desperately but could not get the relief from it as he can not pick up a pipe and light it by himself. Keith Faigan from Calgary420 was the man who wrote the email. He read about Kurt on Medpot forum and felt he needed to help. He spoke with Kelly from KDK Distributors and he agreed to give Kurt a HerbalAire vaporizer, free of charge, to help him out.(You guys frickin rock!) Now Kurt's attendants would have no excuse to not help him.
The problem was Kurt had never used a vaporizer before. He needed to learn how it worked so he could teach his attendants. I had actually never used a HerbalAire vaporizer before but figured it couldn't be that hard to figure out - so I sent Keith a message saying I would love to help. Keith thanked me ( and thanked me, lol) and forwarded me all of Kurt's information. I contacted Kurt right away. I didn't want to leave this man waiting to medicate any longer. He had the vaporizer in his possession already so Kurt and I worked out a time for the following day for me and a close friend to go to his place and teach him how to use it.
We arrived at about 7:30. Kurt's attendant Mike was helping Kurt finish up his dinner. I introduced myself and my friend and asked where the vaporizer was so I could start setting it up while he ate his dinner. The instructions said we had to let the manufactures plastics and stuff burn off for about half an hour before using it so we had plenty of time to chit chat. Kurt was not too familiar with the cannabis scene in Toronto so I told him about the vapor lounges in the city and the different dispensaries he could gain access to.
Before we started using the HerbalAire, I showed Kurt and his attendant the different pieces and parts of the unit and explained how they worked. The kewl thing about the HerbalAire is that it not only has a whip, it also has a bag attachment. I was really digging this machine and so was Kurt. We tried the whip first. After a few large inhales, we moved to the bag. I showed them how to hook the air pump up to the unit and how to attach the bag. We filled that bag until it looked like it was gonna pop. I held it to Kurt's lips while he happily inhaled all the cannabis vapor. He LOVED this machine!
Before leaving I explained how to use the vaporizer a couple more times. He was confident he knew but I let him know he could call me anytime if he forgot. I also told him about a new vapor lounge opening up called Vape On The Lake that was 100% wheelchair accessible and invited him to meet me there to hang out sometime soon. I've spoke with Kurt a few times since being at his house. He's been using the whip to medicate. One of his attendants who wasn't so happy about the smoke was thrilled to see the HerbalAire vaporizer. Now there was no excuse to deny Kurt of his medicine. The other attendant will be addressed in the coming days....
The email was about a 40 year old man in need of help. At 17, Kurt Gengenbach was in a horrible hockey accident. He broke his 4th cervical vertebrae after going head first into the boards. This accident left him quadriplegic BUT not being able to move didn't stop Kurt from being in constant, excruciating pain. Kurt was licensed to medicate with cannabis but was having a hard time doing so. Not being able to move his hands to assist himself, he needed help. His attendant(s) didn't want to subject themselves to second hand smoke so Kurt was really stuck. He could see the medicine he needed so desperately but could not get the relief from it as he can not pick up a pipe and light it by himself. Keith Faigan from Calgary420 was the man who wrote the email. He read about Kurt on Medpot forum and felt he needed to help. He spoke with Kelly from KDK Distributors and he agreed to give Kurt a HerbalAire vaporizer, free of charge, to help him out.(You guys frickin rock!) Now Kurt's attendants would have no excuse to not help him.
The problem was Kurt had never used a vaporizer before. He needed to learn how it worked so he could teach his attendants. I had actually never used a HerbalAire vaporizer before but figured it couldn't be that hard to figure out - so I sent Keith a message saying I would love to help. Keith thanked me ( and thanked me, lol) and forwarded me all of Kurt's information. I contacted Kurt right away. I didn't want to leave this man waiting to medicate any longer. He had the vaporizer in his possession already so Kurt and I worked out a time for the following day for me and a close friend to go to his place and teach him how to use it.
We arrived at about 7:30. Kurt's attendant Mike was helping Kurt finish up his dinner. I introduced myself and my friend and asked where the vaporizer was so I could start setting it up while he ate his dinner. The instructions said we had to let the manufactures plastics and stuff burn off for about half an hour before using it so we had plenty of time to chit chat. Kurt was not too familiar with the cannabis scene in Toronto so I told him about the vapor lounges in the city and the different dispensaries he could gain access to.
Before we started using the HerbalAire, I showed Kurt and his attendant the different pieces and parts of the unit and explained how they worked. The kewl thing about the HerbalAire is that it not only has a whip, it also has a bag attachment. I was really digging this machine and so was Kurt. We tried the whip first. After a few large inhales, we moved to the bag. I showed them how to hook the air pump up to the unit and how to attach the bag. We filled that bag until it looked like it was gonna pop. I held it to Kurt's lips while he happily inhaled all the cannabis vapor. He LOVED this machine!
Before leaving I explained how to use the vaporizer a couple more times. He was confident he knew but I let him know he could call me anytime if he forgot. I also told him about a new vapor lounge opening up called Vape On The Lake that was 100% wheelchair accessible and invited him to meet me there to hang out sometime soon. I've spoke with Kurt a few times since being at his house. He's been using the whip to medicate. One of his attendants who wasn't so happy about the smoke was thrilled to see the HerbalAire vaporizer. Now there was no excuse to deny Kurt of his medicine. The other attendant will be addressed in the coming days....
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