Elyse Johnson

Elyse Johnson is a sweet, loving little girl who was brought into the world as a happy, healthy baby. She loves baby animals, watching the Wiggles or Frozen, swimming, and her favorite color is purple! However, on April 9th, 2016 her family’s lives changed entirely when she was diagnosed with DIPG.

Elyse’s DIPG Journey

Several months back Elyse’s mother, Casey, started to notice some changes in her health. She wasn’t walking and talking as she normally would. Instead, she was screaming in the car, vomiting randomly, and even having night terrors. After 5 months of doctor’s visits, there was still no definitive answer on what was happening to Elyse until a pediatrician finally requested an MRI. “Your daughter has a brain tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma,” the doctor said, “and she has a few weeks to a few months to live.” Casey and her husband were devastated by the news but they knew that they didn’t want their daughter to spend her last few months in a hospital. So, though they were offered radiation options, they chose to go home and make memories with Elyse, who was just 2 years old, while they still had the time.

When they returned home, they almost immediately started looking at natural treatments to help shrink the tumor. First, they looked into ways to help boost Elyse’s immune system. Then, they did a hair follicle test to reveal even the slightest food intolerance that Elyse had. After eliminating those foods, they began to research organic foods, herbs, and essential oils with naturally occurring cancer-fighting properties. Eventually, after thorough research, they came up with Elyse’s treatment plan. The first three medicines that Elyse was introduced to were TBL-12, frankincense essential oil, and 2000 mg of Vitamin C. Soon, the tumor’s growth rate had started to subside, however Elyse had already lost key abilities such as eating and walking. This led to research of medicinal cannabis and its cancer-fighting properties.

Casey and her husband decided to apply to the Ministry of Health to try and obtain a medicinal cannabis oil called Sativex for Elyse. After a lengthy process and seemingly never-ending paperwork, in November 2016, Elyse was finally approved to receive Sativex for the palliative “management” of her DIPG. They slowly built up Elyse’s dose of Sativex over the next 6 months, but her tumor continued to grow and by July 2017 they were told Elyse only had weeks left to live. That’s when they started giving her an organic food called Liquid Hope, lypo turmeric, more essential oils, increased her cannabis dose, and also shifted to a higher quality medicinal cannabis oil called Tilray. The expenses for all of these treatments cost Elyse’s family an astronomical amount of money, coming out to about $450 a week. But it was all worth it because over the next 2 years, Elyse’s tumor shrunk by 15%.

Where is Elyse now?

Elyse, now 7 years old, is proving everyone wrong and beating the odds that were stacked against her. Elyse’s MRI back in July 2020 showed reduction all round her tumor and the cyst on her spinal cord had shrunk. Her most recent scan in March 2021 showed that there has been continued reduction in her tumor and the cyst was barely traceable! Elyse’s hips have also healed well after the removal of the metal screws and plates back in December of 2020 and she is ready to be weaned off her feeding tube. Next month will be Elyse’s 5th year past DIPG, a milestone only 1% of DIPG warriors reach!

A DIPG diagnosis is an absolute nightmare, but Elyse is fighting hard all while being her happy, loving self. Elyse’s story is inspirational and gives the DIPG community hope that this illness can be defeated.

To learn more about Elyse’s journey or to donate and help fund Elyse’s treatment, click the links below.

Supporting Elyse vs DIPG Website

Supporting Elyse vs DIPG Facebook

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