Call for donations to Dr. Franjo Grotenhermen: Interim report and acknowledgement

1. Interim report and acknowledgement by Dr. Martin Schnelle

On behalf of the board of FRAN-GO, a non-profit organization founded specifically for this cause, and in particular as a member of the board of the IACM I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for your immediate and overwhelming preparedness to donate. We are deeply impressed by the willingness of friends and colleagues of Franjo Grotenhermen around the world to help. Here is our interim balance:

Between July 26 and August 20, FRAN-GO. received a total of 112 donations. 71 donations were less than EUR 100, 41 donations were in the amount of EUR 100 or more with 12 of the donors giving amounts of EUR 500 or more. Total donations added up to approximately EUR 17,000, about US$ 21,000.

The treatments administered so far have helped Franjo Grotenhermen much in overcoming his life-threatening crisis. Whether 15 treatments at EUR 1,150 each will be sufficient to stabilize his health cannot currently be assessed reliably. However, we are hopeful that the significant amount donated to date will provide a sufficient basis.

At the same time, Franjo is undertaking further efforts to convince his health insurance to cover the costs for the Rheohemapheresis treatment. Once he has recovered this may also involve legal action against the insurance. We would like to assure you that excess donations, which would not be needed if negotiations with the insurance are successful, will of course be applied to the non-profit goals of FRAN-GO or the IACM.

Although we realize that for some donors a donation of EUR 100 may mean more than a EUR 1,000 for others, we would like to mention by name those who contributed EUR 500 or more: Michael Behrends, Farmalyse B.V. (Pieter Lieft), Raphael Mechoulam, Ricardo Navarrete Varo, Manfred Renner, and Willem Scholten. EUR 1,000 or more have been donated by: David Bronner, Delta-9-Pharma, Dale Gieringer, Hanfburg, Storz & Bickel GmbH CO.KG, and www.hanf-info.ch.

Heartfelt thanks to our major donors, but we also know: every small donations has helped.

Finally a personal note: since Franjo Grotenhermen does not speak much about his private life in public, I am authorized to let you know that he and his partner Christiane got married recently and that they are expecting a child shortly. Thus, it is even nicer to know that we didn’t just support a friend and colleague but a young family.

With Best Regards
Martin Schnelle (Board member IACM / President FRAN-GO)

2. Personal greetings from Dr. Franjo Grotenhermen

I would like to thank all of you, who have, through their generous donation, allowed me to undergo this important and effective treatment. I hope you will accept that I have not been able to thank each of you individually. Many of you have sent personal letters and e-mails and wished me a speedy recovery; others have pondered over and suggested alternative treatments. This show of sympathy has meant much to my family and me and has helped us to cope with the current crisis. It will likely take another few months to overcome it but, with the support of so many, I have a realistic chance of recovery and continuation of my work.

For many years I have studied intensely the existing and emerging treatment options for my rare illness. I have not only written books on cannabis and the cannabinoids, but also a small book for patients with heart disease (in German only). In addition to Rheohemapheresis I am using several other therapies, including a heart medication, a gingko extract, an opiate in case of pain, and physical therapy. To reduce blood viscosity I pay attention to my diet and occasionally perform bloodletting. I also tried two therapies that were recently suggested by readers of the IACM Bulletin, unfortunately without a significant effect. Rheohemapheresis appears to be the by far most effective treatment of my current condition and is vitally important. Thus, I cannot thank enough all of you for your support.

International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)
Rückertstraße 4
D-53819 Neunkirchen
Deutschland
Tel.: +49-(0)2247-968083
Fax: +49-(0)2247-9159223
E-Mail: info@cannabis-med.org

(Vgl. Meldung vom 2004-07-26.)