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SALT LAKE CITY — There are some things Enedina Stanger can do with her joints most of us can't.
Or would ever want to.
"That's my neck," she said as she moves her neck from side to side.
Another deep pop from her shoulder is enough to make you cringe.
"That's my collarbone going in and out," said Stanger.
She's suffering from a rare genetic disease called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which basically means, at any moment, her bones can pop out of place.
It could be a rib, a hip or even a neck vertebrae.
"I have a form that medical science has no idea how to cure or stop or fix at all," said Stanger.
Her condition is life-threatening.
Finding a treatment has been quite a journey.
However, they did find one thing that works, but doing so in Utah means they're criminals.
"I came across using cannabis, medicinal marijuana, and it was shown to have really good effects for other people," said Stanger.
The first time she says she tried it was during a seizure-type episode.
"I thought she was going to die," said her husband, Mike. "Her fingers were contorted into these positions that I couldn't get them out of no matter how hard I tried."
After taking a hit of marijuana, though, her husband couldn't believe what happened.
"I felt it immediately just start to release, and she stopped twitching and looked up at me like, 'what just happened, how is that even possible?' It was a miracle," said her husband.
So, in a few days, with their two children, the family is moving to Colorado.
Marijuana is legal there, and they don't want to continue breaking the law in Utah, especially after a police officer caught her using marijuana in a parking lot recently.
"We weren't doing anything bad. We were just trying to keep my wife alive," said her husband.
They've heard all the arguments against legalizing medical marijuana … that it's a gateway to other drugs, but Stanger feels that's just not true.
Especially for those who need it for medical reasons.
"Anything can be a gateway. I mean, your pain pills in the closet can be a gateway. Anything you want to use in excess, you can get hooked on," she said.
Stanger pled guilty to possession of marijuana recently. She admits she broke the law, even if it was to help her medical condition.
The family is hoping, with the next political session in Utah, a new law will be passed making it legal for medical purposes.
Contributing: Josh Szymanik
