A couple of years ago I heard about a group called CannaKids and was intrigued so I went to investigate it. This organization is a collective that helps families of children who are cancer patients gain access to medical cannabis and help guide them along their journey.
I then learned that a mother, named Tracy Ryan, was the woman who started this organization and that she had daughter named Sophie who had cancer and used cannabis THC and CBD treatments to weather her cancer and chemotherapy. This story was incredibly touching to me as a mother.
At 8 ½ months old, Sophie was diagnosed with a low-grade, Optic Pathway Glioma brain tumor. Tracy and her husband, Josh, were originally told that her only option would be a 13-month protocol of chemo in hopes of stopping the tumor’s development.
After 13 months of chemo and high doses of cannabis oil, Sophie’s brain tumor was about 85 to 90 percent gone, and a massive cyst that had formed was roughly 90 percent gone! This truly speaks to the healing properties of the cannabis plant.You can read more about Sophie’s story here.
While I have my own story as a mother for why I fight for legalizing cannabis, this mom, Tracy Ryan, just blew my mind. Here is a mother who was basically thrust into cannabis law reform activism because she was simply looking out for the best welfare of her daughter. I was amazed at her drive and passion and how hard she advocated for this plant so she could help her child.
I got to sit down with Tracy at the Cannabis Science Conference just last month and she told me that after she watched her daughter’s life be saved because of cannabis, that she got greedy and decided she wanted to save thousands of lives.
Well, now it’s official! Saving Sophie is now a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit with goals to raise money to help financially support pediatric patients who are suffering from serious diseases and their families.
These families can use these funds to help cover their medical expenses, rent, gas and groceries, or however they deem necessary in order to support their child and their family.
Saving Sophie is all about raising awareness AND money for very ill children,” remarked CEO and Founder Tracy Ryan. “We want to be able to attract as many donors as possible so that we can help support these families in need, and having the ability to write our donors tax deductible receipts makes us more attractive to the larger donors. To make the biggest impact in these families lives, they need ongoing support and not just a one time donation!“
Tracy is thrilled to achieve this nonprofit status with her organization. “Sophie is the face of this company, and I take her out of town to as many speaking engagements I have as possible! I can’t wait for the day when I can bring her on stage to speak alongside me so she can tell her own story of survival. She is the face of health and success when it comes to using natural approaches alongside Western Medicine. She has had her ups and downs, but how far she has come is mind blowing.”
For the website, they will soon be adding two more sections under “Cannabis Studies” for both Autism and Epilepsy and they want to continue educating and advocating for more serious disease categories in the future.
Tracy remarked, “As a cancer parent, I know what it’s like to almost lose everything due to having a sick child and no money. If we can help families from feeling this helplessness, what a success we will be!”
Sophie’s story and her parents’ diligence to find the correct treatments for and shows exactly why we should be doing more research on it. Hence, the need to deschedule this substance.
I agree with her and fully support her and the other families out there who are struggling to improve the quality of life of their children, no matter the condition.
Do what you can and learn more by check out cannakids.org and savingsophie.org.
