"My adult child's treatment"

In May two years ago my partner took my adult child to Joondalup Health Campus, suffering with severe cyclical vomiting. My child was admitted to the ICU , sedated and entubated. After about 30 hours, tubes were removed and they were conscious.  They spoke with the ED doctor and told the doctor that they had been smoking cannabis daily; their condition was cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome.

This doctor spoke with us about it and, I recall, described our chilid as "a d***head for doing this to themself". They stayed in hospital for almost a week and was released with zero help offered to help them overcome their cannabis habit.

My child eventually did stop using cannabis, but they still had cyclic vomiting episodes approximately every 4 - 5 months.  They were hospitalised again in September last year.

They started having another attack at the end of April this year, and seemed to be improving.  However, they took a turn for the worse and passed away at home in May. They were 30 years old and a kind, gentle young person who I felt received very little help and support in dealing with their illness, and now it's too late. I feel they may have sought help more readily if they hadn't felt shamed at Joondalup.

I believe doctors need to be much more aware of the potential devastating consequences of using cannabis and be better equipped to deal with it. I feel it also contributed to my child's anxiety and depression.