Battling His Brain

Posted by tsaillinoisorg on Dec 20, 2013 in News | Comments Off on Battling His Brain

Battling His Brain

By Joe Vanden Acker

It is the day that changed Davis Ogilvie '15. Changed his life.  Changed who he was. Changed everything.

The Lawrence University baseball standout was a sixth grader in fall 2004 when his family was on vacation in Walt Disney World. Davis was experiencing one of those brutal Florida days where the heat and humidity can get the best of you.  Davis thought he was just feeling the effects of the stifling temperatures.

Before Davis knew it, his hands were clenched and his arms were pressed to his chest. “I was in and out of realizing what was going on,” he said.

Understandably alarmed, Doug and Debbie Ogilvie took their son to a local hospital. After extensive tests with no clear answer, the Ogilvies returned home to Libertyville, Ill., a few days later.

More doctors and more tests and a trip to the neurologist led to the diagnosis of Tourette syndrome.  For more thaneight years, Davis has lived with Tourette syndrome and has been able to learn and play at a very high level despite the challenges.

Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that manifests itself during childhood. According to the Tourette Syndrome Association website, the disorder is defined by multiple motor and vocal tics. Davis' disorder was at its extreme when it first appeared.

“Not only was it there, but it was there so bad, no one at the time could tell us what it was,” Doug Ogilvie said.  “We have these tall kitchen stools, and if you weren't watching him, you would turn around and he would be standing on top of a stool. And he wouldn't know how he got there. … Through the years, it's still been there, but not to the magnitude of when it first came about.”  TO READ MORE……..