To call what the Hyde family has been through a "parent's worst nightmare" sounds like a horrible cliche. But, it's hard to imagine what else you could call it. Their two-year old son Cash was diagnosed last year with a stage 4 brain tumor; he nearly died more times than they can count. He was miserable from the chemotherapy coursing through his body. Until his dad made a controversial decision to give cannabis to his young son. KXLY 4's Melissa Luck reports.
Dad Gives Toddler Battling Brain Cancer Medical Marijuana
Melissa Luck | KXLY4 Executive Producer
http://www.kxly.com/news/27706509/detail.htmlThey believed and they prayed. High-dose chemo was killing Cashy's cancer, but it was making him sicker than ever. He was taking 120 milligrams a day of five different drugs to make him comfortable. That, Mike said, wasn't helping to ease Cashy's pain.
"By the end of September, he had gone 40 days without eating, he was vomiting 9-10 times a day, he couldn't lift his head off his pillow, he was laying their shivering," Mike remembered, saying he would have given anything to trade place with his son. "The doctors came in and I said, is there anything I can do for Cash?"
The doctors had no answers, so Mike found his own. It was relief for Cashy in the form of cannabis oil. It's illegal to possess without authorization from a medical professional. It's something doctors wouldn't even discuss. Mike got authorization to give Cashy the oil and, without telling them why, told the doctors to wean Cashy off the anti-nausea cocktail. Inserted through Cashy's feeding tube, a tiny amount of oil replaced all those drugs. The result, Mike said, was almost immediate.
"You're watching a kid who hasn't had the will to eat in 4 months, 5 months, actually take a bite of something," Mike remembered. "He hadn't eaten a thing in 40 days - and, it was really incredible to watch him take a bit of a piece of cheese. It shows that he wants to live."
The child was given his last round of high dose chemotherapy without anti-nausea drugs due to MMJ.
Toddler, one of 51 kids using medical cannabis in MT
http://www.kpax.com/news/toddler-one-of-51-kids-using-medical-cannabis-in-mt/The Medical Marijuana Act says in order for children to get a card, they have to follow specific guidelines. It says they "shall issue a registry identification card to a minor if the custodial parent or legal guardian for the minor signs and submits a written statement that the minor's physician has explained the potential risks and benefits of the medical use of marijuana; the custodial parent or legal consents to the medical use of marijuana by the minor; agrees to serve as the minor's caregiver; and agrees to control the acquisition of marijuana and the dosage and frequency of the medical use of marijuana by the minor."
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One of the state's youngest medical cannabis card holders is Cash Hyde, a 2½-year old boy who battled a brain tumor and won. Cash's dad Michael Hyde says the drug helped Cash with his battle.
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Cash's parents were there every step through his battle and watched as drugs prescribed by his doctors made him hallucinate and stop his heart. Cash's dad says medical cannabis helped rebuild his organs that were damaged from the chemo, helped with his appetite, and helped him sleep.
"I watched Cashy not be able to eat for over 40 days, live off nothing but fluid intravenously to the point where he couldn't lift his head up off his pillow, I realized along the way in this journey that there is a quality of life that a lot of people do not have, and it's because of the drugs that they're given," said Hyde.
Nation Reacts To Toddler Given Medical Marijuana
Melissa Luck | KXLY4 Executive Producer
http://www.kxly.com/news/27728174/detail.htmlThe medical marijuana raids in Spokane Thursday brought a strong reaction from patients.
Patients like 2 year old Cash Hyde depend on the drug for pain relief.
Hyde's dad gave him medical marijuana to help him through high-dose chemotherapy for a stage 4 brain tumor.
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"The only way for medical patients to benefit from cannabis is for us to have it legalized fully. Until it's fully legalized, police and law enforcement will continue to harass and invade patients' rights, and take their medicine away," Hyde said.