Liquid Medical Marijuana Helps Jayden David, Age 6, Live Normal Life With Agressive Form Of Epilepsy
Diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, Jayden David has been prescribed 12 different kinds of medication, amounting to 22 pills each day. Now Jayden’s father says a “miraculous” turnaround has taken place since his son started taking a different remedy — liquid medical marijuana.
According to the Dravet Syndrome Foundation, Dravet syndrome, also known as severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy, is a devastating type of intractable epilepsy that begins in childhood. Around one in 30,000 infants is born with this rare genetic disorder.
Jayden’s condition got so bad that a couple of seizures each day led to a total of at least 40 emergency trips to the hospital. The weight of his son’s worsening condition was bearing down on Jason as he watched Jayden go through life unable to walk or sleep.
“At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,” Jason told KCRA.
“I went to my doctor and said, ‘I don't think Jayden is going to last, he can't sleep, can't eat, he hasn't used the restroom, he can't do anything.’”
A resident of California, Jason decided to expend one more medical resource available in only a few states: medical marijuana — specifically, a liquid form known as cannabidiol (CBD). While CBD provides all of the essential medical purposes of marijuana, it produces less of a high, the Daily Mail reported.
After a few drops of CBD a day for the past two years, Jason is in awe of the turnaround his son’s health has made. Not only is Jayden seizure-free, but he also enjoys walking, running, and playing just like a normal kid.
"[The] first day I gave him medical marijuana, thank God. [It was] the first day he went seizure free in his life," Jason explained to KCRA.
Look for Jayden and Jason’s story on the CNN special focusing on the benefits of medical marijuana, featuring Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who recently changed his stance on medical marijuana.