OccasionallyIShart
Member
I was a young kid playing hockey and would recieve a lot of concussions between the ages of 7 to 15. Around the age of 10 I also began to grow a completely unrelated brain tumor that wouldn't be discovered until age 20. When it was removed along with the concussions at such a young age, the damage was too much for my brain to withstand. It set off what is now known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. This is the condition that many pro athletes get from repeated hits. It causes growing aggression as years pass, loss of memory, change in demeanor, constant migraines, tinnitus, loss of balance, problems with fine motor skills and eventually dementia followed shortly by death. CTE is technically not able to be diagnosed until after death, but mine has been developing for 23 years now and has progressed to the later stages and is easier to make an educated guess. I was approached by a filmmaker asking if I would be interested in starring in a film about using Ayahuasca as therapy to help with PTSD and depression. With my situation, I was a perfect candidate. For a little back story, I was also raised around a mother who had LUPUS and was always sick and in and out of hospitals my entire childhood. I watched her almost die from kidney failure on the living room floor, that's where the PTSD comes into play as well as the severe depression. The producer and I have since become close friends and have filmed the teaser video for the fundraising so far. We begin shooting December 15 in Ecuador. I will not be going to a fancy resort with a hippy shaman and gourmet meals. I made a point to make it authentic as possible. We have found a very small village in the rain forest that is only accessible by river and is very experienced is the brew. The shaman is said to be over 100 years old. My ceremony will last for 10 days and I will live like they do, eat what they eat, sleep where they sleep. All while being filmed. This is going to be a great adventure for me. I'm just a country boy who is not used to attention. This film is to draw attention to the medical benefits of Ayahuasca and how it can help deal with severe trauma and help with end of life fears. It is also a non-profit organization and part of it will go to building the village a community center to gather in as well help with bring attention to the deforestation that was done around the village by illegal logging. Some of the money will be used to pay for health insurance for me, which I do not have right now. I've been denied SSDI twice so far and also state Medicaid. I look forward to the trip, in both regards and thank you for reading this far. Here's a link for the teaser video and if you feel like donating anything at all for the film, even $5, message me and I can send you a link.
