A Pet, A Pill, A Patch, & A Plant
A Tribute to My Bailey Girl
We rescued Bailey, our ten-year-old Maltese, in 2015 — just two months before my life completely changed with a diagnosis of stage four endometriosis. Looking back now, I don’t believe that timing was a coincidence.
Whether it was divine timing, my ancestors, or the universe, something knew I was going to need more than just my husband and children to get me through the storm that was coming.
Bailey was more than a pet. She was my emotional support animal. My best friend. My anchor. Through years of pain, hormone treatments, surgeries, and emotional lows, she never left my side.
In many ways, Bailey became my childhood pet — not by age, but because she came into my life before I knew what self-love truly felt like. She was there while I grew into myself.
And now that she’s gone, I can’t help but feel she left when she knew I was finally ready to stand on my own two feet.
The Day She Left, My Body Was in Crisis
The day before we lost Bailey, I started my estrogen patch as part of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). I was also in the middle of a brutal endometriosis flare.
For those living with endometriosis, the natural decline of estrogen is supposed to bring some relief. But choosing HRT — often necessary to manage perimenopausal symptoms — means making a painful decision:
Do I ease my hormonal imbalance, or risk prolonging my endometriosis symptoms?
It’s a cruel paradox — and one most people don’t realize we face. My body was in chaos, my emotions were already stretched thin… and then I lost Bailey.
Dabbing Through the Grief
When the pain felt unbearable, I turned to the ritual that has always held me: cannabis.
But this wasn’t just about getting high — this was a ceremony of presence.
A rosin dab became my way of coming home to myself, of honoring what I was feeling, of letting my grief speak.
There’s something sacred about dabbing with intention. In those quiet moments after Bailey passed, the plant held space for my pain. It reminded me that grief is just love with nowhere to go. It reminded me that I am allowed to mourn out loud.
The Patch, the Pill, and the Plant
I’ve tried it all: pills, patches, prescriptions. Every one of them promising relief.
But none of them ever made me feel seen — not like cannabis does.
With the patch on my skin and the grief in my chest, I returned to the one thing that brings me both peace and power: my rosin rig.
This plant isn’t just medicine — it’s memory, connection, and transformation.
Terpenes That Help Ease Grief and Hormonal Pain
As I navigated both emotional grief and the physical chaos of hormone replacement, I found the following terpenes especially helpful:
Linalool
Anti-anxiety, calming, and emotionally balancing
Found in lavender, Granddaddy Purple, and some OG crosses
Myrcene
Sedative and pain-relieving
Found in mango, hops, and strains like Bubba Kush
Limonene
Uplifting and may ease depression and mood swings
Found in citrus strains like Super Lemon Haze
Beta-Caryophyllene
Anti-inflammatory, binds to CB2 receptors
Found in black pepper, clove, and many hybrids
Cited Sources
• Cannabis and Endometriosis: A Review – Journal of Women’s Health
• The Endocannabinoid System and Estrogen – Frontiers in Endocrinology
• Terpenes and the Entourage Effect – Project CBD
If You’ve Ever Been Loved by a Dog…
Then you already know: there is no love more loyal, more unconditional, more healing than the love of a dog.
Bailey didn’t just comfort me — she carried me through the darkest parts of my life. And now, I carry her in everything I do.
To anyone grieving a pet, navigating chronic illness, or trying to rebalance their hormones while surviving emotional loss: I see you. I’m walking this too.
Light your rig. Say their name. Let your grief speak.
And let the plant remind you — you are still healing. You are still sacred. You are still here.