Colorado Parents Turn to Crowdfunding to Help Son with Cerebral Palsy

A new crowdfunding campaign aims to raise the necessary funds before springtime so that a new hemp farm can be established in Colorado to produce CBD oil at accessible prices to help those with cerebral palsy and other conditions reduce the frequency of seizures in a natural way.

Gideon’s Garden is a GoFundMe campaign that is now live for donations and collaboration suggestions. The campaign hopes to raise $250,000 to purchase the land and the necessary farming equipment so the hemp can be harvested as soon as possible.

The campaign was set up by Greg Chernoff and his wife of Blackhawk, Colorado, parents of Gideon, their 2-year-old who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Gideon can’t sit upright on his own, walk, speak, swallow properly or eat solid foods because of his disease. He recently began experiencing intense and painful seizures, as his doctors predicted due to his three different brain malformations.

This led Greg Chernoff to think of ways he could pay for his son’s medical needs and fund the development of a hemp farm that could help him and his family grow a low-cost and highly-potent variety of hemp that can produce a large supply of CBD oil, a known natural anti-seizure treatment.

Chernoff believes that by making this natural, highly potent medication for Gideon, they would be able to not only take him off his medications, which he says are far more harmful to Gideon, it would also be able to help others suffering from other dangerous seizure-causing disorders, like epilepsy.

“CBD has been shown to greatly reduce seizure intensity and frequency,” Chernoff said in a press release. “In the meantime, our son is forced to take highly dangerous medication to keep his seizures at bay, causing physical and psychological damage. We want to provide him with a natural means at a better life, and that starts with the cultivation of CBD oil.”

Families supporting people with seizure-causing diseases often spend between $300 and $500 for CBD oil each month, according to Chernoff’s research. He believes this is unsustainable in the long-run, and more accessible solutions should be possible, not only for him, but for others. His goal is to be able to deliver this natural oil at a price all families in need can afford — ultimately, $100 or less per month.

“The offset price will bring down the [price of] CBD oil, and make this entire situation easier on everyone. We are asking for everyone to please help spread the word on our GoFundMe campaign, and to head over today to consider donating as little as $5 before the New Year,” he said.

“While we will be harvesting an incredible oil from our hemp products at our farm, we will also be able to establish a reasonable profit from the plant matter, seeds, and leftover byproducts by making hemp textiles, food products, and even industrial strength building materials,” Chernoff added.

For more information on how to support Gideon’s Garden, visit the family’s GoFundMe campaign webpage.