In a city desperate for comfort, the healing power of science and music was on full display last Wednesday, March 29, at Nashville’s National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM).
In an uplifting evening before an attentive crowd, respected Vanderbilt Ph.D. graduate Dr. Annabelle Manalo-Morgan (“Dr. Annabelle”) discussed her ground-breaking research and signed copies of her memoir Mighty Flower: How Cannabis Saved My Son, while her Grammy-winning husband and her son’s father, renowned Reggae artist Roy “Gramps” Morgan, performed “People Like You” and offered a moving tribute to the lives lost in the recent tragic shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian grade school in the city’s Green Hills neighborhood.
In 2016, the noted scientist gave birth to her son, Macario, who at 2 days old began suffering up to 200 seizures a day. Macario’s rapidly deteriorating condition required neurosurgery, during which surgeons resected nearly 40% of his brain. Dr. Annabelle immediately began work to develop a medicine to control his seizures pharmacologically and restore his quality of life. Macario is now a thriving first grader at Julia Green Elementary school, also located in Green Hills.
Gramps Morgan is a member of reggae group Morgan Heritage, known for its socially conscious lyrics and fusion of reggae, R&B and hip hop. Macario’s parents credit much of his developmental progress to the healing power of Gramps’ music and being on stage with him. Buoyed by Macario’s recovery, Dr. Annabelle and Gramps want to remove the historical stigma associated with plant-based medicines via the soon-to-launch Macario’s Wish charity foundation.
Dr. Annabelle’s work is focused on what she believes to be an emerging revolution within medicine. “My work doesn’t look back,” she explains, “It looks forward, toward the potential of translational biology and an increasing dialogue between holistic care and modern treatment.”
For more information, visit Dr. Manalo-Morgan’s website at DoctorAnnabelle.com. For more information about Gramps Morgan and Morgan Heritage, visit grampsmorgan.com and mor