Keegan’s CBD Journey: Fighting Severe Autism and Epilepsy

0 Shares

A teen prospers against all odds as compassion and love pave the way to a new future for him:

Keegan is nestled in a beautiful well-known part of South Carolina known as Hilton Head Island. His mom Melissa is his world – providing him with 24/7 care and making sure his needs are met. Like many kids with severe developmental delays, his journey has been helped recently with the addition of CBD. He is a participant in a survey study recently done by the Global Cannabinoid Research Center on Cannabidiol delivery via a transdermal patch. That gave his mother a 15 day supply to get started. With that came unexpected results – this teen has begun to flourish – now the test of the subculture of love that’s now known as the cannabis industry is whether or not his supply can continue. Like many kids, he was included in a survey study done not because I wanted to research – but done so products could be made available to many that couldn’t afford them. With a history of running a compassion program, it runs deep in the blood and is impossible to sway from. Keegan and his mom are both such genuine people with intense stories. His battle started young – diagnosed like many kids on the Autism Spectrum at age 3. He’s now 17 and has had a very difficult time in life trying to speak, communicate, and adjust to the many sensory issues that come with severe autism. At the same time, he has a seizure disorder that can affect his ability to remember, grasp not just information but objects, and interrupt his ability to learn. And this is where CBD enters the picture as a treatment for him – it’s what’s legal in his state.

Keegan is having a special moment with his little brother flip. “It’s the most beautiful sight in the world when they bond together, and that’s what I’d love to see CBD do more of, allow this meaningful interaction” his mother shared.

I asked Melissa, his mom, to tell me about the experience in gaining a diagnosis. “Keegan was diagnosed with Autism at age 3, I remember being asked how that made me feel, and actually I was relieved” she went on, “I kinda knew already so to finally get the diagnosis was good in my eyes because then I could get the help he needed.” And she’s very right – according to research published in the American Journal of Psychiatry a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) gained before age of 4 means that a child is more likely to get effective, evidence-based treatment, such as behavioral therapy. The longer a parent waits for assessments when they believe a child has a developmental disorder – the harder it will be to provide good interventions for behaviors that become somewhat ‘set in stone in the world of Autism and beyond. Many know that we have intense insight into this world in our home with Genevieve’s Journey – but let’s stay on track with Keegan!

“I heard about CBD oil about over a year ago – throughout last year I tried a few different CBD oils on him but never saw any change that was worth continuing with the costs involved because we’re on a very fixed income. I didn’t want to but had to stop trying because it’s so expensive for us, we couldn’t afford it in the first place.” Melissa is not alone, many parents tap into bank accounts in attempts to find the right oil from the right source – and others like her don’t have the resources, to begin with. Add to that the inability to know doses, read labels, or even know which products are made by reliable entities. Because I’d worked with him already, recently Keegan was featured in an article about building company culture by utilizing patients and consumers in ‘smart marketing’ – maybe that seemed like a ploy to get companies to give but it should have – it was! Kids like him need a break and parents like Melissa are struggling, the industry literally needs to ‘adopt some kids’ as far as the provision of product – although I know some kind hearts that already have.

Melissa went on about her CBD experience over the past year, “Then I discovered that the oils I was using were not the right quality, they weren’t the type that he would respond to” She continued to tell me “I finally decided to take him off all his pharmaceutical medicines because I’ve realized through more research how bad they really can be. The CBD that you gave me is working for him to help this but I’m nervous about the supply. I don’t want to start something I can’t compete with him.” Without a doubt, his story – their story – pulls at the heartstrings in ways I can’t explain. One by one is the motto – it’s how we can heal the world. There’s no way to entertain handling every patient that’s in need – but one at a time it can be done.

Melissa spoke about her desires to gain freedom from pharmaceuticals at length – as many would after watching their child be in zombie trances and go through ugly side effects. “I would love to be able to keep Keegan on CBD oil that works well for him for so many reasons, not just to get him off of these drugs we researched and found to actually cause tics and seizures. I want to be able to ask Keegan a question and get a full sentence response – I want to hear his voice.”

“I’d love to have more in depth conversation with him like in this video. He will tell me yes please or no please. This time he’s telling me he wants the hair to come off of his legs! He’s having fun and vocalizing and this is what my dream is, to see him happy and more able, to see him not have tics or seizures and be able to have more activities in public. He loves horses and I want him to be able to ride them when he can someday. I can’t wait for the day he can speak to me.” Kleenex anyone? I know I need some after typing these beautiful words of a wish we know within the world of cannabis and CBD can actually be a dream come true. We know that Keegan will respond well already as he’s been able to stop using some of his pharmaceuticals with the use of full spectrum CBD. That personally amazed me as much as it has his mom and made me even more of a believer in that cannabinoid. So often we think that THC is necessary in all instances – but we must keep an open mind as when a young man like Keegan makes progress like he is with CBD alone it does make a strong point – but what type of progress would he make once federal laws and his state laws are lax is my thought. I can’t wait for the day when we see the availability for all to use the whole plant if they need it, but for now it’s very exciting to see Keegan make gains with CBD in a full spectrum delivery method. He did extremely well with a Hemp derived trans-dermal patch in the survey study which was surprising! Every day it’s amazing as we watch cannabinoid medicine change and save lives! instead of the same “yes please,or no please “. I want to play games with Keegan, when I try he’ll sometimes tell me “alone please” and I’d do anything to change that – I’m hoping we’ll be able to keep him on good oils if it’s possible. I wish the price wasn’t so high for them but I understand companies are in business to make money. I’m grateful for the help I’m getting now.”

Just a glimpse into the life of this young man is enough to say “I want to help him” – if you feel the same way please contact his mom or get in touch with me. Many can’t afford the price of even the lowest of priced CBD or Cannabis products, in legitimizing cannabinoid medicine the movement needs as many positive patient testimonies as possible – but that’s not the reason we want to help Keegan. Compassion is love and the plant was made much more popular by ‘the hippies’ – people who gave away love free in many forms – including the plant. The very subculture of love that surrounded the use of cannabis moved forward slowly. From the days of the 80’s into the 90’s where California saw the first legalization through Prop 215 since cannabis prohibition – the hippies were the ones making it all happen. Slowly that built as other states legalized, the Farm Bill was created to add Industrial Hemp, and the movement slowly created what we now see as a very commercialized market that’s forgotten it’s roots. I know I’m far from alone in wanting to revisit those roots by seeing compassion stay forever in the world of Cannabis. It’s the “Peron Dream” according to Dennis Peron, a man who once told me “Compassion doesn’t mean convenience” in a talk about how intense running a give it away compassion program could be. The famed co-author of California’s 1996 Proposition 215 had a dream much like Martin Luther King did – and there’s many that want to see that dream continually come true – one of cannabis compassion and freedom. A dream that people would be united and care about each other – which parallels the 1960’s movement to free the people and end tyranny. A movement that to this day has failed to come to fruition – but cannabis compassion will only fail to do so if the industry itself doesn’t respond. This time it’s not about race, religion, or creed – it’s about care.