GRAND BLANC, Mich. –
Bella Chinonis can’t talk. She can’t walk, chew or play like most other
children her age. The 6-year-old Grand Blanc girl couldn’t even stand
until a few months ago.
Her days have consisted of seizures
lasting up to 27 minutes and taking multiple prescription medications
for problems she’s been dealing with since she was born, The Flint
Journal reported.
Her mother, Ida Chinonis, says it wasn’t until
Bella was introduced to cannabis oil that things started turning around
for her little girl.
“She can stand now,” Ida Chinonis said. “She
responds to voices, and she loves the movie ‘Frozen.’ She didn’t do that
before, and the only thing different we are doing is giving her medical
marijuana.”
Bella is one of about 150 children approved for medical marijuana use in Michigan.
She
has a genetic disorder called 1p36 deletion syndrome, which causes
problems including developmental delays, seizures and limited speech
ability. She also suffers from kidney failure and has holes in her
heart.
Chinonis said that after having Bella on various
medications for years with little results, she decided to pull her off
the various prescriptions and wanted to start administering medical
marijuana to her.
“I did a lot of research,” she said. “I was very hopeful it would help her.”
Difficult process
The
process was not easy. Chinonis said Bella’s neurologist didn’t
prescribe medical marijuana to minors. She set out to find doctors who
would examine Bella and approve their request for medical marijuana.
Unlike
adult applicants for the medical marijuana program in Michigan,
children must get two doctors’ recommendations. Adults need just one.
Chinonis
said a doctor from Detroit and another from Texas examined Bella and
made the recommendations needed for her medical marijuana application.
The use of medical marijuana for minors has been controversial among some medical professionals.
The
American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a statement saying it opposes
the use of marijuana for minors. The group’s website cites “the
negative health and brain development effects of marijuana in children
and adolescents ... through 21 years.”
Robin Schneider,
legislative liaison for the National Patients Rights Association, an
agency that advocates for medical marijuana patients, said education
about the drug means the difference between people supporting or
refusing the use of medical marijuana.
“I find that doctors who
attend trainings and classes understand the use of medical marijuana and
support its use,” Schneider said. “I see what happens when children use
medical marijuana. I don’t know scientifically why or how it works, but
I’ve witnessed it.”
Number grows
As
of April 2015, some 150 patients under age 18 were registered with the
state of Michigan to use medical marijuana. In less than three years,
the number has more than tripled. In 2012, only an estimated 44 children
were registered for medical marijuana use in the state.
Chinonis
says Bella’s seizures have been reduced, but there will still be
challenges. She goes to therapy three times a week for three months and
then she is off for three months before another session begins.
Bella
takes cannabis oil at least three times a day. It has to be specially
made for her with the right combinations of tetrahydrocannabinol, or
THC, and cannabidiol.
She will never develop like her peers and will always need constant care.
“I
don’t worry about what will happen to her if we were not here,” said
Chinonis of herself and her husband Denny Chinonis, Bella’s father. “We
are raising my boys, letting them know that God gave her to us to take
care of and they may have to step into our place and take care of her.”
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