“Jayden was diagnosed with Dravet, a rare form of epilepsy, when he was a baby. Since then, he has had seizures preventing him from walking, playing and living life.
“At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,” David said. “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.'”
David said his son has been taken away in an ambulance more than 40 times. He’s also taken 22 pills a day — 12 different kinds and none of them worked.
David said it got so bad that he wanted to kill himself and put a gun to his head.
But now, those thoughts are long gone.
As a last resort, David turned to medical marijuana. Specifically, a liquid form that contains a component known as CBD.
Jayden’s pediatrician prescribes it to Jayden and says the liquid form maintains medicinal qualities, while giving less of a high.
Jayden has been getting a few drops a day for the past two years and David said it’s been a remarkable difference.
Jayden is the most independent he’s ever been. He plays well, can walk and give his dad high fives, David said.
“(The) first day I gave him medical marijuana, thank God. (It was) the first day he went seizure free in his life,”he said.
David said he wants to share his story to help other parents in the same situation.
He says parents need to educate themselves and do what’s right for their own children.
The father and son have been featured in numerous articles and television shows. Jason and Jayden will be featured as a small piece in a special about medical marijuana with Dr. Sanjay Gupta that airs Sunday on CNN.
Jayden’s pediatrician said he is seeing more children with autism and seizures who are benefiting from medical marijuana.
The doctor admits not a lot of studies have been done on medicinal marijuana, which is why doctors across the board may have differing opinions.
However, doctors at the University of California-San Francisco are now studying the affects the CBD component in medical marijuana has on epileptic children.”
