Kaila White

The Republic | azcentral.com

The international "maker" community is rallying around Joey Hudy, a 20-year-old from Anthem widely known for wowing President Barack Obama in 2012 with his high-powered marshmallow cannon.

Hudy was diagnosed with schizophrenia earlier this year.

At 14, Hudy made international headlines when Obama talked him into shooting a marshmallow across the State Dining Room of the White House during the White House Science Fair.

Then, at 16, he became Intel's youngest intern, working in Chandler. That year he also was a guest of First Lady Michelle Obama at the 2014 State of the Union Address.

"He kind of became the poster boy for young makers and kids making," said Sherry Huss, co-founder of Maker Faire. Makers are people who bring do-it-yourself spirit to technology, usually hardware such as robotics.

News of Joey's diagnosis began to spread among the maker community this month after Joey's sister, Elizabeth, created a GoFundMe to raise money for his treatment.

A beloved inventor

"He’s very well known primarily because he was the boy that grew up in front of everyone’s eyes," Huss said. As a teen, Joey spoke and appeared at Maker Faires, which are essentially conventions for makers, in Paris, Rome and Shenzhen, China.

He was first inspired to become a maker after he met Adam Savage, former co-host of the Discovery Channel's "MythBusters," at a Maker Faire in 2010. Huss also met Joey at the same faire, she said.

"I watched Joey grow up," Huss said. "I feel that he has been an inspiration to other kids. He’s a big part of our community."

A surprising diagnosis

Joey left Arizona State University's engineering program in June 2016 to move to China to work for Seeed Studio, an electronics manufacturing company based in Shenzhen.

In January, he began experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia, so his family brought him home from China for treatment. His parents stayed in Ohio for a month near his treatment center and helped move him to one in Tennessee, where he is now.

Schizophrenia is a complex, long-term and serious mental illness "that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others," according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

It affects about 1 percent of Americans and tends to appear in men during their late teens to early 20's.

"This is all kind of a shock to everyone," his mother, Julie Hudy, told The Arizona Republic Wednesday. "I can’t seem to go through a second without thinking of what he’s doing how he’s doing. It’s just kind of consumed us."

Mounting medical bills

"I had no idea it was this expensive to treat somebody with mental illness," said Julie, who lives in New River near Anthem.

Joey's Ohio treatment cost $19,500 for 10 days, and his Tennessee facility costs $26,000 a month, which she said is standard and even on the cheap end for the level of care he needs. The Hudys' insurance company is currently not paying for anything because it determined that Joey could instead be treated at home, Julie said.

"He can't come home," she said. "Mentally, there is no way he can. He needs 24-hour watch. He’s on 15-minute cues right now, which means somebody from the facility has to make eye contact with him every 15 minutes."

"It’s not that we don’t want him home – I want that more than anything – but it’s not the right place for him, unless we hired a psychologist to come live at our house."\

How to help Joey Hudy

Julie said she is overwhelmed by the support the family has received, both financially and emotionally: So far, the fundraiser has raised more than $17,000 in 13 days. Adam Savage retweeted her tweet of the GoFundMe, which she said shocked her.

"I never dreamed in a million years it was gonna be like this, but I also didn’t dream we would get this much support," she said. "Every time I look at it, people are so generous. I don’t have words to describe it."

Julie has taken over Joey's Twitter account and is sharing updates at Twitter.com/Joey_Hudy. Donate to his GoFundMe at Gofundme.com/joehudysfund.