Department officials reduced Vera to tears

CAMPAIGNING mum Vera Twomey from Aghabullogue has spoken out about how upset she became following a phone call with Department of Health officials.

Vera, whose daughter Ava suffers from a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet Syndrome, has been seizure-free in recent years due to her being able to access medicinal cannabis.

While cannabis medications are now to be funded under the Medicinal Cannabis Access Programme (MCAP), Vera has expressed concern that Bedrocan – a Dutch medicinal cannabis product – which they have a licence to use for Ava, is not being included in the scheme and won’t be refunded.

Tagging Taoiseach Micheál Martin in a tweet last week she said it was a ‘disgrace’ the way she was spoken to by some officials.

‘I was wiping tears away at the end of the call. Please don’t allow them to do this to me anymore. Please, please find a pathway for Bedrocan. You know Ava deserves better than this.’

Campaigner and dad-of-two Stephen Teap from Carrigaline – who lost his wife Irene to cervical cancer in 2017 after she received incorrect smear test results – offered his support to Vera and said he too has been at the receiving end of ‘one of those conversations.’

‘I know exactly the disrespect they can dish out, stay strong and remember you must be doing something right if they’re treating you like this,’ Stephen tweeted.

Vera thanked him for his support and said that ‘some days their disrespect would leave you almost broken.’