Category: CNN Regional

By Paula Ebben

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    BOSTON (WBZ) — Many people struggle with getting mental health care, whether it is too slow for their recovery or just not accessible to them. Lumin Health, a Ketamine clinic in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, hopes to change that.

Linda Deveraux has struggled with depression most of her life, turning to therapy and prescription medications with no luck.

“The side effects alone will discourage you, like the weight gain, the nausea, the constipation, the fogginess,” Deveraux said. “Sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, sleeping all the time, not being interested in doing anything pleasurable or anything. It was hard. The struggle is real.”

So her medical provider recommended ketamine therapy and her mental state finally started to improve.

“Everything feels lighter, lighter, like I pushed that, you know, my best friend, my sadness, best friend off my shoulder, he’s not there anymore,” she explained.

The medical director at Lumin Health, Dr. Aakash Sathappan, explained that ketamine therapy doesn’t come with many side effects.

“In general, the treatment is well tolerated. There are some time-limited side effects; most people feel a little bit tired, a little bit drowsy, perhaps a bit dizzy after treatment. That tends to wear off with time,” Dr. Sathappan said.

But the treatment comes with misconceptions and a stigma, following its connection to Matthew Perry’s sudden death in 2023. Dr. Sathappan explained that Perry’s addiction problems likely led him to be quickly hooked on the drug. He emphasized that supervision is key when getting treated with ketamine.

“The treatment does impair you, similar to another substance like alcohol,” Dr. Sathappan said.

“I think the biggest misconception is that ketamine is either purely a biologic or purely this thing that’s meant to give you a trip. It’s neither. It’s really a combination of both of them,” said Dr. Benjamin Yudoff.

It works by using a low dose to block certain signals in your brain, helping nerve cells form new connections.

“It allows people to reconnect with a version of themselves that’s often lost with depression,” Dr. Sathappan said. “We think that the treatment is basically creating biological conditions to help the brain grow and restore in a way that was once damaged with depression.”

Dr. Sathappan said that the stimulation of the brain can help lead to changes in mood, behavior, energy levels, and overall outlook on life. He emphasized that ketamine is a treatment, not a cure.

“They want something that works quicker. They want something that works more reliable. They don’t want to feel the same way that they have for the past three, four, five years. They have goals. They have desires. They have dreams. And they want something that might actually compel a different kind of change,” Dr. Yudkoff explained.

Deveraux is ready to embrace that change, even if it means she has to continue the treatment for the rest of her life.

“You have to be 100% committed to this. For me, it’s worth it, like I’m in this because I have not felt like this for so long,” she explained.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can reach out to NAMI Massachusetts by calling them at 617-580-8541 or visiting their website.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Mike Sullivan

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    MASSACHUETTS (WBZ) — Eliza Williamson has struggled with mental health all her life, but after undergoing recovery, she made it her mission to help others struggling in Massachusetts.

She now works as the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Health in Massachusetts, a nonprofit that helps people access mental health support. Her own struggles with mental health began in middle school when she turned to self-harm and eating disorders to cope with her mental state.

During her sophomore year of high school, her doctors believed she had mononucleosis, but it turned out she was struggling with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“I was describing all of the physical symptoms. I was tired. I had headaches. I had no energy. It didn’t occur to me that it was about feelings,” she explained.

Williamson said that by the end of college, she had hit rock bottom as she struggled with her relationships and began making mistakes at work. She believed there were no options left and attempted to take her own life.

“I got very lucky that day, my Mom was worried and asked the police to do a wellness check. They, you know, kicked in my apartment door. I was able to get help,” she said.

She was admitted to a medical hospital before being transferred to a psychiatric hospital. She then continued her recovery in a group home.

“A big piece of that for me was being in support groups and listening and learning from other people about their own experiences,” she explained.

Williamson joined NAMI Massachusetts as a volunteer in 2012 before becoming a staff member in 2015. Two years ago, she became the executive director, and now that support she received is a key pillar of the way NAMI helps people dealing with mental health.

“The support that can come from being with other people who had similar experiences can be life-altering,” Williamson said. “I know how hard it is to navigate systems. I know how complicated things are.”

She said that it can take someone eight to ten years before they seek help for a mental health condition, which can be someone’s entire childhood. She hopes that her story and work can help encourage people struggling that there is light at the end of the tunnel and they can make a recovery to live a happy life.

“There are spots in my life where I think ‘Oh, if I had gotten help, then the trajectory of things might have been different,” she said.

Williamson now relies on her wife and two dogs as her support system. She explained that her niece is her inspiration now to help make mental health resources accessible and encouraged.

“My great hope is that Tabina or other kids, if they are struggling, that they will know how to get support if they need it,” she said.

If you or someone you love is struggling with mental health, you can call the NAMI Compass hotline at 1-800-370-9085. For more information on navigating a mental health crisis, head to the NAMI Massachusetts website.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Janay Reece

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    MARYLAND (WJZ) — Graduation season is here, and thousands are marking a new chapter around the country, including two Marylanders — a mother and son — who both received their degrees Thursday at the University of Maryland Global Campus.

“To walk the stage with my son, it’s just so great,” Lissette Garcia told CBS News Baltimore.

“I thought it was a massive relief and a massive accomplishment to finally cross that stage,” said her son, Jason Garcia.

The pair have both been pursuing their degree at the same time, and the two crossed the stage together.

“We would talk about our classes because we had different majors,” Lissette said.

“Believe it or not we have never shared a class together,” Jason said.

Lissette began her UMBC journey in 2018, and Jason started his in 2023.

Through it all, Jason moved forward focusing on academics and his health — his mother by his side through it all while pursuing her own degree.

Lissette received her Bachelor of Science in human resource management and psychology, while Jason earned a Bachelor of Science in political science.

“To quote the Roman philosopher Lucius Ankis Seneca: ‘Fire is the forge of gold adversity is that of man,’ and I think that would perfectly describe my situation, and why I chose UMGC,” Jason said.

As for what’s next, the duo plans to make big career moves and take a nice restful vacation.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Mike Hellgren

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    OWINGS MILLS, Maryland (WJZ) — Baltimore County police are searching for the person who opened fire on two teenagers in Baltimore County on Thursday.

The broad-daylight shooting has shaken the quiet Owings Mills neighborhood, and neighbors recounted to WJZ how they worked to place tourniquets on the 16-year-old and 19-year-old victims.

Sharon Jackson heard the three shots—one right after the other.

“Boom, boom, boom,” she told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren.

This violence unfolded steps from her front door on Simonds Drive in Owings Mills around 6:30 Thursday night.

First responders arrived within minutes, but by then, Jackson and her neighbors had already rushed outside to stop the teenage victims from bleeding.

The youngest collapsed in front of Jackson’s townhome. Video shows his shoes sticking out next to the front of a parked SUV.

“It was heart-wrenching. All I could think of was I saw the fear in his eyes, and he really couldn’t believe what’s happening to him,” Jackson said. “He said, ‘I can’t believe this is what’s going on.’ I told him, ‘Just calm down. Calm down, baby. You’re going to be OK.’ He tried to get up and stumbled literally in front of my home. By then, the paramedics came, but yeah, it’s heart-wrenching because it could be any of our children.”

Jackson, a mother of five and a pastor who has lived in this community for more than 20 years, said the 16-year-old victim was bleeding from a gunshot wound to his arm.

The 19-year-old had been shot in his chest and his leg.

“When I ran over there, he was on his face—the 19-year-old—and you could see the gunshot wound was in his chest,” Jackson said. “The youngest one—he’s hollering out and screaming. But the one that was the oldest was laying down. He wasn’t saying anything.”

She said he was breathing but could not speak when paramedics arrived.

Jackson believes the shooting was targeted, and she will never forget the youngest victim, who immediately called his mom.

“He said, ‘I’m scared. I’m scared. I can’t breathe.’ So, we were just trying to say, ‘Just calm down, calm down,’ and then we kind of tied up his arm where he was shot,” Jackson recalled.

Baltimore County police tell WJZ Investigates the shooting was “an isolated incident between known individuals.”

A $2,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. Those with tips may call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-Lockup or contact authorities.

Police said the 16-year-old and 19-year-old victims remained in serious but stable condition as of Friday afternoon.

Neighbors told WJZ the quiet, residential area never sees violent crime like this.

“We don’t want this to become something that becomes normal, and when you put guns in anyone’s hands, anything could happen,” Jackson said. “Our children—when they’re not protected like that—it’s scary. It really is.”

Another neighbor, Joana Winningham, told WJZ that while crime can happen anywhere, her family will be extra vigilant. “Our kids had to sleep together because they were a little afraid to go to sleep last night, and so this definitely weighs on you. I hope they are able to catch the person and bring justice to those who were injured,” Winningham said. “And I hope this doesn’t hit our neighborhood again.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Tory Wegerski, Meghan Schiller

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A western Pennsylvania dad went from wondering what a spot on his leg was to learning he has an extremely rare skin cancer. And then, things get even weirder. But now, he’s tackling this weekend’s Rush to Crush Cancer.

There’s never a good place to get cancer. But you really don’t want to get cancer somewhere that makes world-leading researchers and oncologists like Dr. Ravi Patel describe your case as “a unicorn.”

Cam Cerro was just 32 when he was first diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma five years ago.

“Merkel cell carcinoma is an aggressive skin cancer,” explained Cerro’s oncologist, Dr. Melissa Burgess. “Some estimate about 3,000 cases a year. So it’s an extremely rare condition that affects patients mostly ages 65 and older.”

What he thought was just a cyst on his leg turned out to be the rare cancer. Doctors at Hillman treated him with two dozen radiation sessions, immunotherapy and surgery. Cerro got the all clear, but doctors warned him they’d need to keep an eye on him for life.

“These tumors, even when they do a good surgery, it tends to come back,” Patel said.

And come back it did. And that’s when things got weird.

“He had a PET scan that showed something weird in the heart, which is a very unusual location,” Patel said.

“It’s not typical to metastasize or spread to the heart,” Burgess added.

Burgess called in Patel, a researcher and radiation oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.

“The heart is a difficult place to treat, to do a big surgery in a very young patient, and so we had to come up with something different,” Patel said.

“We don’t typically irradiate the heart, and there’s no standard protocols,” he added.

Patel knew that Merkel cell carcinoma responds very well to radiation. He talked to national experts and his fellow Hillman researchers to come up with a game plan to treat Cerro’s heart cancer with radiation.

“To Dr. Patel’s point, he’s never radiated anybody in their heart, but looking at that piece and finding other people that have and getting the expertise to help him was essential,” Cerro said.

“In certain cases, certain times, cancer behaves in weird ways where it’s unpredictable and does things that you don’t expect, and you have to think of something on the fly that’s safe, that’s reasonable and effective, and fortunately, we were able to get that,” Patel said.

And that’s when Cerro went from weird to one of a kind. He was the first patient ever to receive radiation treatment for heart cancer at UPMC Hillman, getting 15 treatments over a period of three weeks.

“It was a difficult thing to go through, and he had to make a lot of tough decisions,” Patel said.

Those tough decisions paid off and paid off fast.

“The cool thing was, once the next set of scans came around, everything was gone, which was insane,” Cerro said.

Now, three years later, Cerro is a healthy father of two kids who will be cheering him on this weekend at the Rush to Crush Cancer cycling event in Pittsburgh. The event raises money for cancer research at UPMC Hillman.

“The research piece is obviously vital for us, for our younger generation, to make sure that they’re taken care of,” Cerro said.

It’s all to help the next person who becomes the “most interesting” case in Pittsburgh.

“Without the research, we wouldn’t be here today, and we can’t advance the medicine without it,” Cerro said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Brian Unger

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    ATLANTA, Georgia (WUPA) — Inside a small lab at Emory University’s Math & Science Center, physicist Justin Burton spends his days teaching and asking some very big questions.

How do dust particles behave in plasma? How fast are glaciers melting? Is it possible to handle delicate materials without ever touching them by levitating them with sound?

“If you look at those particles, it’s quite complex,” Burton said, gesturing toward a video monitor displaying an experiment in progress.

Burton’s research has earned recognition from the National Academy of Sciences and caught the attention of the New York Times, which recently featured a piece headlined “The Secret to Sliding Eggs Off Stainless Steel.”

For Burton, the mission behind all of it is clear.

“We’re trying to explore nature’s secrets, but we’re not just doing it randomly,” he said. “We do care about important problems.”

In another room, a small-scale model of a glacier, composed of what appears to be white blocks of plastic submerged in a water flow, yields valuable insights into the impacts of melting glaciers on rising sea levels.

But beyond the research, awards, and academic recognition, Burton says he’s made an even bigger discovery.

Almost every month for more than a decade, he and his graduate students have packed up their experiments and carried them out of the university and onto the playground at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Decatur. There, the laws of physics get demonstrated loudly.

“Usually, making it big and loud gets them excited,” Burton said.

The demonstrations are exactly that. Chemical reactions. Exploding trash cans. Balloons that go out with a bang. Burton sees the spectacle as inseparable from the science.

“There’s enjoying the wonders of nature like blowing up trash cans, and there’s discovering her secrets as well,” he said. “So, we gotta do both.”

Fifth-grade science teacher Tracy Hammer has watched the program’s impact stretch well beyond her classroom walls.

“I’ve had kids who have written me letters, sent me emails from high school, thanking me for introducing them to science, and thanking Dr. Burton,” Hammer said.

That kind of response — observable, measurable, and lasting — is exactly the proof Burton finds most meaningful.

Some of the most important discoveries, it turns out, don’t always happen in a laboratory. Sometimes they happen on a playground, with exploding balloons, a group of fifth graders, and a lesson they never forget.

Burton and his team are currently on their summer break from the Laurel Ridge program and are set to return when the new school year begins in the fall.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Cecil Hannibal

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    ELK GROVE, California (KCRA) — Tom Mahon, a fourth-generation rancher in Elk Grove, is turning his historic family ranch into a concert venue this weekend, hosting 20,000 country music fans for a Luke Bryan performance that fulfills his late wife Cindy’s dream.

“This is a house our great-grandfather built in 1891,” Mahon said, reflecting on the legacy of his family’s ranch, which produces beef, hay, and alfalfa hay. “We’re very proud of that. We’re glad to be a part of a vital service.”

Mahon said he has recently expanded his ranch’s activities to include entertainment. His wife, Cindy, a devoted Luke Bryan fan, had expressed her wish for a country music concert on their property just weeks before her passing in September.

“Cindy and I were married for 44 years,” Mahon said. “She was a great wife, partner. She was a really good woman.” He shared that Cindy passed away suddenly while they were watching Netflix together, and doctors suspect her heart gave out.

Since her passing, Mahon has been coping with grief by keeping himself busy. “It’s been very lonely. I have been working till dark every day, and I come in the house and work for a few more hours. It helps me to sleep if I go to bed exhausted,” he said.

About a month and a half after Cindy’s death, Mahon received an unexpected phone call asking if he would host a Luke Bryan concert on his ranch. “I said, yeah,” Mahon recalled.

Mahon revealed that Cindy had shared her dream of hosting a country music concert on their property just two weeks before her passing. “She said, you know, it would be really neat if we could have a country western concert here someday. She said that would be really cool to have somebody like Luke Bryan or Jelly Roll.”

Mahon said he never reached out to concert organizers, and they had no idea about Cindy’s wish.

“That’s a pretty big coincidence,” he said. “I got to believe that she had something to do with this. She was always the one to be in the background, making things happen.”

In just a few days, thousands of music fans will gather on Mahon’s ranch, turning empty fields into a lively concert venue.

“She would be ecstatic about it,” Mahon said. “That’s 100% the motivation for me.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.