When Dustin brought this story to me I knew it would be one of the hardest ones to tell. Even now sitting here writing this intro I’m already tearing up. Lonnie Kessler’s story is one I’m incredibly honored to tell. It fills me with immense sadness that only now as he nears the end of life am I getting the opportunity to tell his story.

Huge thank you to Lonnie for being so open in talking with me about his health, both physical and mental during one of the hardest things you could go through. I admire him so much and feel incredibly grateful to have the chance to share who he is with all of you.

Please meet Lonnie Kessler.

The Big Thing

Outside of severe asthma, Lonnie was as healthy as can be as a kid. At least that's what they thought - until 1998 when he got a tick bite that caused Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme disease. But the big change in his health came in 2007.

Working security at a casino he started having double vision which prompted a visit to his family doctor and ultimately landed him in the hospital. 

“I had a brain mass and there was nothing they could do about it”, he stated. Just a few miles up the road another hospital had the necessary equipment and team of surgeons who could do the procedure. 

“July 27th, 2007 I had an 18-hour procedure to remove a tumor the size of a softball from my brain”, he told me. There was a remaining mass the size of a walnut. Due to the location and treatment options/side effects, he opted out and moved on with life.

But in 2008 something didn't feel right and he called the surgeon. September 9th he had another 8-hour surgery where they removed another mass the size of a golf ball. “What I'm left with today is a tumor the size of a walnut attached to both my brainstem and optic nerve”, Lonnie said. Not to mention the eye surgery rhinoplasty, septoplasty, and reconstruction of his sinuses to repair damage from the tumor. 

After the first surgery to remove the tumor, he had to learn how to walk, talk, and dress himself again. After the second surgery, he started having seizures. Lonnie found Charlotte Figi's story and started seeking a doctor to give a recommendation for CBD but none of them were willing to do it out of fear of losing their license.

Complications 

In 2020 he had a complication with an IVC filter from the first surgery. It caught a clot and it affected his right side from the abdomen to the ankle. Due to covid restrictions, they couldn’t move him so they put 2 stints in his sternum and 9 in his right leg. After a visit to an interventional radiologist, they found an aortic aneurysm the size of lime in his heart.

“When I was there for the work on my veins they kept talking about how we needed to stretch my kidney out as long as possible and I didn’t understand,” he said. After meeting with a nephrologist he found out his kidney function was at 27%. Nine months later it was down to 14%. 

Cannabis For Quality Of Life 

Through all the ups and downs with his health, cannabis was always there. He told me he was on 13 pills - but with cannabis, he’s down to 3 pills twice a day, and I'd say that's a huge improvement! But he also talked about how hard it was to open up to his family about his choice to use cannabis. “It's finding a balance between family, friends, society, and quality of life you have to choose and I choose the quality of life…Cannabis will be the one thing I use until the very end,” he said.

When it comes to what kind of cannabis he prefers it's FECO (Full Extract Cannabis Oil) all the way! With a pea-sized amount of that twice a day it has taken his seizures down to nothing, and significantly improved his sleep, and overall ability to be a person while dealing with what he’s facing.

Facing The Monster

The tumor isn’t the main concern because it’s slow-growing. The big monster Lonnie faces is kidney disease even with dialysis to extend his life what is to come is certain. After meeting with the transplant team, he found out he wasn’t a candidate because of the stints. This means his only option is staying comfortable until the end or starting dialysis to maybe get a few more years hooked up to a machine for a lot of it.

“I’ve actually been able to come off some of the medications because it’s just building up in my system. One of my concerns with dialysis is if I’ll start having seizures again if the medication is filtered out of my system,” he stated

Dealing With Reality 

Chronic illness is such a heavy thing to deal with, but not many of us have the knowledge of when our end is coming only that it will. I wanted to know how he deals with the reality of the situation and he had such a great answer.

“As far as kidney disease I’m still processing it and I don’t know that I'll ever come to terms with it.  If I had to do this alone I’d probably go check myself in somewhere to help process. Right now it's just about extended my life and cannabis helps me have the most high quality of life. The medical conditions harden you over time…I've built these layers and cannabis helps me peel them back to show people who I am.”

I love the way he mentioned that medical conditions can harden you and cause you to become a shell of who you are. It’s true and brought up another question. When dealing with a chronic illness or disease how do keep from losing yourself to it? Here’s what he had to say

“That is a great question…..remain honest with yourself a lot of people go into denial, just accept it as it comes don’t try to put it off because it's inevitable. We have to find positive ways to deal with it. You can't just shut down or shut people out. It doesn't do them any good but it just hurts you. Be open and willing to embrace the changes that will come.”

A Legacy Of Courage and Cannabis

At the end of every interview, I ask people what legacy they hope to leave behind. This time that question had a lot more weight to it and I couldn't help but get choked up at even the thought. Lonnie is someone with a huge heart who has done so much to help this industry grow and it only feels right that his impact, story, and legacy live on!

“Laughter, inspiration, and hope… Ideally, I'd love to have a cannabis product named after me, but you know how that is. Of course, maybe a little something to defeat the stigma. I want people to remember me as being genuine, no persona, no gigs or gimmicks, just straight from the heart,” he answered

I hope that sharing his story not only shines a light on the true medical need for cannabis in all stages but especially in end-of-life care. I want to give one last thank you to Lonnie Kessler for sharing his story in such a vulnerable way. May your legacy light the way for those of us who come after!