Yahoo Lifestyle Former Hi-5 star Tim Harding: Cannabis will save my little girl
Tim Harding, his wife, Natasha, and their daughter, Arielle. Photo: Marty Lochmann.
He's spent his career entertaining kids, but now Tim Harding is devoted to making just one child smile - his little daughter Arielle.
Like many children her age, four-year-old Arielle loves to paint, sing and dance. But tragically, she also suffers from epilepsy, and can have between 50 to 100 seizures every day.
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For the past few years, Tim, 37, and his wife Natasha, 31, have done everything they can to manage their daughter’s illness, including trialling several traditional epilepsy medications and following a strict ketogenic [high fat, adequate protein and low-carb] diet.
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Arielle’s epilepsy is drug-resistant and she suffers debilitating side effects – including severe tremors – from most medications, the family are now hoping she will be chosen to trial a new cannabis-derived drug.
'This is the only relatively natural treatment that has any anecdotal evidence of working,’ Tim explains.
'Other than the ketogenic diet, which didn’t work, there’s no natural way to treat epilepsy.'
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Arielle was hospitalised at 15 months after suffering her first big seizure the day before the family were due to fly from England to start a new life in Sydney - tests later revealed she was suffering from epilepsy.
Despite her condition, Tim and Natasha remain hopeful for the future: 'We love her so much – she’s an absolute champion. We’re keeping our fingers crossed she gets this treatment so she can live life to the fullest,' says Tim.
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