“I Love My Brother” The Cannabis Awakening: Josiah’s Seizures Have Diminished

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What happens after a child has suddenly escaped a life of severe seizures that delay development is incredible - It's an "Awakening":

One of the most incredible aspects of working with compassion patients, parents in need of help, and all that inquire about the use of cannabinoid medicine is what happens when it works on kids who have experienced developmental delays associated with their medical diagnosis. Recently ‘Saving Josiah’ was published about his incredible journey to freedom and the obstacles that stood in the way. At that point he was 36 hours seizure-free and the world rejoiced – now we’re over a week into his treatment and Josiah is awake. He’s back and what happens then is very interesting. It’s much like a toddler that gets in trouble with cause and effect type of play – behaviors come out that aren’t expected. With Genevieve very much ‘awake’ in our home – we live this life that Josiah’s mom is now experiencing. As much as it’s an incredible sight to see that leaves you in awe, as the child awakens there are new hurdles to jump. Rescue doses to stop seizures now get utilized in smaller doses for behaviors that are bound to show up as a child’s mind is awakened by nature. This phenomenon has occurred with so many patients over the years it was a compelling issue to address as Genevieve’s awakening, like Josiah’s, is and will be ongoing. His mom, Heather, emailed with questions asking about Gen and her awakening so we conducted a short interview:

When he started feeling better what did you experience? Any type of behavior?

“Mike, I have noticed that when Josiah’s seizures become controlled, his behaviors can escalate. Mostly, he becomes super emotional and uncooperative. I noticed this before while on the AED’s (Seizure medications). We were able to gain a few seizure-free days here and there, albeit the side-effects were a nightmare and the seizures never stayed gone. But when we would have those seizure-free days, I was so happy, so pleased he wasn’t seizing. But Josiah? He was just plain miserable, without reason, over every single thing. One day I counted the tantrums: we had 60 before 11 am. Sixty tantrums over sixty different issues. And, eventually, he would have a seizure, and he would calm down again.”

Tell me more about these tantrums, is it because he suddenly realizes what's going on around him?

“I noticed the same weepy/tantrum behavior about two weeks into using the MTC oil when we saw our first seizure-free day. I was so happy, and, once again, he was so miserable. We had our next seizure-free day on February 10. He had a cold, so was very subdued. Really felt too badly to even act out much. Yesterday was our sixth day without a seizure and his first day without a cold, and he was adorable. Adorable and happy. He had two crying spells, but I whisper talked him through them, held him, and he came through. Today is day seven seizure-free. He did cry when I said it was time for a nap, but he worked through it. Nothing crazy.”

Josiah hangs out with his little brother Kingsley having fun and laughing now

How has the oil helped his brotherly relationship?

“Oh my goodness, this is one of my favorite effects (not that I could choose a favorite) of the oil. My boys are happy with each other’s presence, and they are peaceful in the presence of each other. Always, since Kingsley’s birth (they are 2 yrs. 8 months apart) Josiah has had to have whatever Kingsley had and obsessively. The psychiatrists and mental health professionals have labeled Josiah’s with an alphabet of diagnoses: ODD, OCD, ADHD (combined type), Autism, Frontal Lobe and Executive Function Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Mood Disorder. These are just a few, but you get a general idea. Basically, here you have it in four letters only, TAND– TSC Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorder. TSC moms are known for the intense desperation that accompanies TAND.”

Have you noticed an increased interaction between them since Josiah's seizures subsided?

“But, now, what I’m seeing from Josiah, is well, Josiah. He is more him, and less of that diagnostic alphabet soup. He is able to enjoy Kingsley without taking whatever toy, book, or random object Kingsley is enjoying at the moment. They have slowly moved into parallel play, now that the baby (2 years 3 months) feels safe in Josiah’s presence. I can easily imagine the evolution of cooperative play. Kingsley seeks out his brother’s company. Enjoys sitting next to him. They are content. And before, I could see that while Kingsley craved this relationship, Josiah was rarely capable of giving from such a deep and peaceful level.”

Do you believe the increased THC and drastically reduced CBD created this change?

“I’ve read a lot about how CBD is helping kids with T.S.C, kids like Josiah, I don’t want parents to be discouraged from using it or believe it won’t work for them. What I do believe is that my son’s system is different than others and his body needed different parts of the cannabis plant. I did use 4:1 CBD: THC oils but you pointed out it was only 1% total cannabinoids. I’m learning and it will take a while to firmly know what I’m doing but now I have the ability to treat my son. I have the confidence and the hope that was lacking when I was shopping in dispensaries and watching online commenting about oils. Now that I’ve made it myself there’s a sense of empowerment that’s hard to describe. The feelings I have about this whole journey are very hard to put into words.”

If you haven’t read about Josiah’s incredible journey yet – it’s a good idea to do so!

Working with parents in need is much different than assisting other cannabis patients that need information. So many parents like Heather are searching the internet for answers. They’re caught between divisions of a newer industry that still aren’t seeing eye to eye, while one group gives one set of advice of what to use another group will counter that. Josiah, like all patients, needed a unique customized protocol based on his individualized needs. His mom, like most, thought she could build this protocol with online shopping and quick advice given on social media based on 2-3 sentences of her situation with him. It takes intricate knowledge of the patient, the person, just as much as it does knowledge of cannabinoid medicine to assist a patient.

When it comes to children errors that can be made can affect literally the Presidential Candidate for 2040. For all, we know that’s exactly what Josiah is. He could be the leader of the free world someday – but if we have an industry with educational entities pushing agendas that don’t look at the individual patient we end up with where Josiah was. His mom was lost. Another article will be done in regards to her inquiry on exactly what to do. It’s imperative that we gain as much information from as many sources as possible as we wander down the cannabis trail to freedom.