Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Like all kids, seven-year-old Marksen Belkadi gets sick. But unlike other kids, Marksen can't say what's wrong.
Marksen has severe autism. He doesn't speak, sign or make eye contact with other people. So when he's sick or hurt, or agitated in any other way, he screams and cries to express his discomfort.
The frustration of not understanding their son coupled with the agony of hearing a child cry has brought Marksen's parents, Maria and Massi Belkadi, to the brink of sanity.
"He has his good days and his bad days," said Maria Belkadi. "His bad days are horrifying."
This year has been particularly brutal on the Mount Carmel family.
Marksen has been to the emergency room at Geisinger Medical Center more than 30 times, his parents said. When the screaming continued, they took him to other hospitals - Hershey Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"They did every test they could possibly do," said Maria Belkadi. "Everything came back negative."
His parents tried every trick in the book to sooth him, including changing his diet and driving him in the car for hours on end. At one point, he was awake for 24 hours straight screaming, Maria said.
At their wit's end, the Belkadi's took Marksen to the hospital again - this time allowing doctors to give their son midazolam and risperidone, a heavy sedative used for anesthesia and an antipsychotic medication.
"It finally knocked him out," said Maria Belkadi.
Though the Belkadi's had a few moments of quiet in their lives, they were hardly at peace with the knowledge their son had to continue taking intense medications indefinitely just to stay calm.
"We were really against giving him these kind of drugs because they have permanent, damaging side effects," said Maria Belkadi.
Abilify, one of a handful of pills Marksen takes twice daily, lists side effects as serious as stroke, diabetes and seizures.
"Every time I give it to him, I feel like I'm giving him poison," said Massi Belkadi. "There's nothing we can do. It's like we didn't have a choice anymore."
Medical Marijuana
The Belkadis are asking for the government for another option to treat their son - medical marijuana.
"We believe medical marijuana can help him," Maria Belkadi said.
As Marksen's primary caregiver, Maria Belkadi has spent hours researching solutions to her son's distress. As part of a group of parents of severely autistic children she became aware of Marie Myung-Ok Lee, a professor at Brown University who is treating her nine-year-old child's autism symptoms with marijuana.
"He was very much like Marksen," said Maria Belkadi.
"We want to have the option to try it," Massi Belkadi added.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED), a 17,000 member state organization of physicians, supports reclassifying marijuana on a federal level to make it easier for research to be conducted. As with other medications, if marijuana is proven safe and effective, it would then be made available for prescription, PAMED proposes.
"Our hope is that other medications currently being researched will meet FDA approval soon and made available to those who suffer," Dr. Karen Rizzo, president of PAMED, said in a paper on behalf of the organization.
The Belkadi's said they have their eye on state level legislature, including Senate Bill 3. The bill, which would make marijuana oil and extracts available by prescription, has passed the senate but is awaiting approval in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Kurt Masser said he's in support of medical marijuana, but is unsure if the current bill will pass as written.
"Certainly I'm open to looking at medical marijuana," he said. "I'm supportive of the extracts that they get from the plants."
For Maria Belkadi, passage of a medical marijuana bill can't come soon enough.
"I know there are kids who are much worse than Marksen," she said. "All these people could benefit."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Mount Carmel family betting on medical marijuana to help autistic son
Author: Sarah Desantis
Contact: Customer Service - News Item
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
Website: Shamokin news, sports, obituaries, and shopping
Marksen has severe autism. He doesn't speak, sign or make eye contact with other people. So when he's sick or hurt, or agitated in any other way, he screams and cries to express his discomfort.
The frustration of not understanding their son coupled with the agony of hearing a child cry has brought Marksen's parents, Maria and Massi Belkadi, to the brink of sanity.
"He has his good days and his bad days," said Maria Belkadi. "His bad days are horrifying."
This year has been particularly brutal on the Mount Carmel family.
Marksen has been to the emergency room at Geisinger Medical Center more than 30 times, his parents said. When the screaming continued, they took him to other hospitals - Hershey Medical Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
"They did every test they could possibly do," said Maria Belkadi. "Everything came back negative."
His parents tried every trick in the book to sooth him, including changing his diet and driving him in the car for hours on end. At one point, he was awake for 24 hours straight screaming, Maria said.
At their wit's end, the Belkadi's took Marksen to the hospital again - this time allowing doctors to give their son midazolam and risperidone, a heavy sedative used for anesthesia and an antipsychotic medication.
"It finally knocked him out," said Maria Belkadi.
Though the Belkadi's had a few moments of quiet in their lives, they were hardly at peace with the knowledge their son had to continue taking intense medications indefinitely just to stay calm.
"We were really against giving him these kind of drugs because they have permanent, damaging side effects," said Maria Belkadi.
Abilify, one of a handful of pills Marksen takes twice daily, lists side effects as serious as stroke, diabetes and seizures.
"Every time I give it to him, I feel like I'm giving him poison," said Massi Belkadi. "There's nothing we can do. It's like we didn't have a choice anymore."
Medical Marijuana
The Belkadis are asking for the government for another option to treat their son - medical marijuana.
"We believe medical marijuana can help him," Maria Belkadi said.
As Marksen's primary caregiver, Maria Belkadi has spent hours researching solutions to her son's distress. As part of a group of parents of severely autistic children she became aware of Marie Myung-Ok Lee, a professor at Brown University who is treating her nine-year-old child's autism symptoms with marijuana.
"He was very much like Marksen," said Maria Belkadi.
"We want to have the option to try it," Massi Belkadi added.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED), a 17,000 member state organization of physicians, supports reclassifying marijuana on a federal level to make it easier for research to be conducted. As with other medications, if marijuana is proven safe and effective, it would then be made available for prescription, PAMED proposes.
"Our hope is that other medications currently being researched will meet FDA approval soon and made available to those who suffer," Dr. Karen Rizzo, president of PAMED, said in a paper on behalf of the organization.
The Belkadi's said they have their eye on state level legislature, including Senate Bill 3. The bill, which would make marijuana oil and extracts available by prescription, has passed the senate but is awaiting approval in the House of Representatives.
Rep. Kurt Masser said he's in support of medical marijuana, but is unsure if the current bill will pass as written.
"Certainly I'm open to looking at medical marijuana," he said. "I'm supportive of the extracts that they get from the plants."
For Maria Belkadi, passage of a medical marijuana bill can't come soon enough.
"I know there are kids who are much worse than Marksen," she said. "All these people could benefit."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Mount Carmel family betting on medical marijuana to help autistic son
Author: Sarah Desantis
Contact: Customer Service - News Item
Photo Credit: The Associated Press
Website: Shamokin news, sports, obituaries, and shopping
