GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — More than 750,000 people in the United States suffer from Cerebral Palsy, according cerebralpalsyguidance.com. The majority of those people are under the age of 18.
While the neurological disorder isn't curable, there are medications that help sufferers. And now there's one more to add to the list for those living in Michigan, Medical Marijuana.
A 13-year-old from the east side of the state, may be one of the first ones to try it out.
"I don't want him to be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, I want him to be able to do things," Michelle Gohsman said.
Gohsman's son, Cayden has Cerebral Palsy.
"Just his seizures and his CP are so bad, that my heart breaks for him all the time," Gohsman said.
In fact, Cayden already takes Epidiolex, the first and only FDA approved medication derived from the marijuana plant. Gohsman said the results have been obvious.
"I only see one to two seizures a day," Gohsman said.
Before Epidiolex, Cayden suffered from 10 to 12 seizures a day.
27-year-old Jonathan Joseph also understands being in pain.
"It gets bad to where I can barely move," Joseph said.
Sometimes, he feels confined to the couch.
"One of my legs goes straight and the other one goes sideways and I've been dealing with it for 27 years," Joseph said.
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