By: Jamie Solis

Joey’s story aired on Good Morning America five years ago, making him one of the first children to represent adolescent medical cannabis patients, who had been otherwise faceless in the mainstream media. Audiences were instantly captivated by Joey, a young boy from Orange County who is diagnosed with having Autism Spectrum Disorder and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. As Joey got older, his symptoms grew more and more severe. Doctors tried what they knew, prescribing him up to 13 medications at one point. At nine years old, Joey weighed only 42 pounds, and his mother was afraid she was going to lose him. After doing some research, Joey’s mom introduced medical cannabis oil infused brownies into Joey’s diet. He immediately gained an appetite, slept easier and started foraging his path to an overall happier life.

It took Joey trying around 15 different strains over the course of numerous years to finally find the best match to alleviate his symptoms. The strain, now called “Joey’s Strain,” comes from Kushman Genetics, and is available at Buds & Roses in Los Angeles. The information regarding the genetics and cannabinoid levels of Joey’s Strain are not available yet. However, we speculate that it may be an indica-dominant strain, because indica-dominants are often prescribed to aid with symptoms of autism, ADD and insomnia. Joey’s mother, Mieko Hester-Perez, has worked with hundreds of families, and each family has found success with cannabis treatment when using Joey’s Strain.

The Woman Behind the Hero

Mieko Hester-Perez, Joey’s mom, is the co-founder of The Unconventional Foundation for Autism (UF4A), and she has been working professionally as a legal secretary since she was 20. Mieko has appeared on countless media outlets, educating the world on how her son’s quality of life has improved with medical cannabis, which in turn has bettered her family’s quality of life as well. This mother of three lives by a motto of paying-it-forward by connecting with families across the country as a consultant who helps them navigate through medical cannabis treatment for their children. Each family receives confidential guidance that is tailored to their child’s needs, and her goal is to protect the families by aiding them in safely moving forward with the treatment while still abiding by laws and regulations.

Since medical cannabis is missing an informational sheet explaining recommended dosages and possible side-effects, Mieko is typically asked by parents how to approach starting a regime of cannabis for their children. She explains some of the type of help she offers, “I teach parents how to introduce new foods when placing their child on cannabis, because most of these children are, like most children, picky eaters.” Kids who are living with autism can be extremely finicky eaters, so Mieko shares how easy it is to offer organic fruits and vegetables to these children utilizing cannabis, “One of the joys of the treatment is when the child does have cannabis, within 10 or 15 minutes you can introduce fruits.”

Mieko often looks around and wonders how she got to this point in her life, where she is now considered an expert in the intersecting worlds of cannabis, special needs, law and legislation. She is extremely grateful for all of the supporters she has met along the way, with one of her fondest memories being the time she and Joey were invited as VIPs to speak at Cypress Hill Smokeout. This was Joey’s first concert, so Mieko holds the memory of this outing especially close to her heart. Sitting backstage before the show, these musical artists were interested in hearing Joey and Mieko’s story. After listening to a little about Joey’s life, B-Real of Cypress Hill were extremely receptive to the cause. Mieko shares, “I thought that these guys, B-Real, gets it. This new generation gets what I’m doing.”

Mieko shares that due to Joey’s fatal muscular dystrophy, he may not be with us for too much longer. This devastating reality along with all the positive support Mieko has gained along the way keeps her motivated to pay-it-forward to other families. When praised for her commitment to helping others, Mieko is very humble in saying, “I feel like Joey has helped more people today than most people help in a lifetime, and I’m very privileged to be a part of it.”

Originally Published by Culture Magazine on Oct. 2, 2014: http://ireadculture.com/article-4574-young-man-diagnosed-with-autism-is-saving-lives-alongside-his-mother.html

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Brave and Flourishing

Cannabis Aids in the Battle Against Young Mykayla’s Struggle to Live

By: Jamie Solis

Memories of childhood should be of playing games in the neighborhood and living an overall carefree life. However, when young Mykayla from Pendleton, Oregon was diagnosed with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on July 14, 2012, doctors were sure that her little life would face more hardships than happy moments. Thankfully, her parents Erin Purchase and Brandon Krenzler have turned to medical cannabis to ensure Mykayla enjoys a healthy and lighthearted life.

After the discovery that Mykayla had this extremely rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer, it was apparent that an equally aggressive medical treatment of chemotherapy and steroid induction therapy would be necessary. Mykayla immediately faced horrible side effects after starting her regimen, which included deep tissue and muscle pain, intense nausea, alopecia, immune deficiency, lack of appetite, peripheral neuropathy, depression and more. Mykayla’s parents did not hesitate in obtaining her recommendation to use medical cannabis, which resulted in alleviating virtually all of Mykayla’s symptoms. This success has given them the upmost confidence in their decision; “We made the choice to use cannabis with our daughter, and we feel it has been the best choice in her treatment that has ever been made,” Krenzler said.

Erin and Brandon are very upfront and honest about the multitude of cannabis forms that their now eight-year-old daughter ingests on a daily basis. They juice cannabis flowers and leaves off plants from their garden, which yields an abundance of high cannabidiol (CBD) juice. Every day she uses full extract cannabis oil and liberal amounts of topical creams for pain relief and anti-inflammation. Mykayla enjoys an array of sweet edibles—what child wouldn’t like a cereal treat or brownie? Her parents also prepare her meals using cannabis infused olive oil, butter or honey.

With psychoactive and non-psychoactive forms of cannabis dominating the market, there is stronger opposition against providing children with psychoactive forms of cannabis. However, considering the fact that cannabis is being utilized by children who have been recommended the plant by their physician for medicinal purposes, the psychoactive properties should be embraced. The only alternatives children have to cannabis are pharmaceutical drugs that also bear psychoactive properties. These drugs, such as oxycontin, hydrocodone, morphine, etc. are also known for their harmful and negative side effects, as well as having a risk of overdose. While some forms of medical cannabis have psychoactive properties, they are without life-threatening side effects.

Brandon and Erin encourage parents to trust their instincts in treating their sick children, and to be unafraid in advocating for what is right to treat their child’s ailments. “We recommend to all parents with children suffering from debilitating conditions that they should consider cannabis as a treatment option, and we feel that it should be offered as a first line treatment for many conditions that children suffer today. We proactively advocate for the parents’ right to choose cannabis as a medicine for their child,” Krenzler said. After all, it is a common notion that mother knows best—maybe it’s time to listen.
To learn more about Brave Mykayla visit her website: www.bravemykayla.com or follow her on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bravemykayla.

THC vs. CBD

The full extract cannabis oil Mykayla uses is high in THC, which is the psychoactive component of cannabis. Brandon explains why they are confident in giving their daughter this specific form of cannabis, “We are unafraid of the psycho-activity inherent in the cannabis plant, because we believe that a positive state of mind is essential during cancer treatments. The psychoactive properties deliver a ‘high’ that is very euphoric. This euphoria creates a sense of general well-being that promotes an overall positive state of mind.” This allows Mykayla to lead a happier life, and because she has built up a tolerance to the THC, it does not debilitate her, but rather compliments her lifestyle as a healthy and active child.

Originally Published by Culture Magazine on Jan. 2, 2014: http://ireadculture.com/article-3273-brave-and-flourishing.html