Purchase
Curing the Boy Who Caught OCD
Crown
October 2009
On Sale: September 22, 2009
272 pages ISBN: 0307461831 EAN: 9780307461834 Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Non-Fiction
The summer before entering sixth grade, Sammy, a bright and
charming boy who lived on the coast of Maine, suddenly began
to exhibit disturbing behavior. He walked and ate with his
eyes shut, refused to bathe, burst into fits of rage,
slithered against walls, and used his limbs instead of his
hands to touch light switches, doorknobs, and faucets. Sammy’s mother, Beth, already coping with the overwhelming
responsibility of raising three sons alone, watched
helplessly as her middle child descended into madness. Sammy
was soon diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
and later with Tourette syndrome. Unwilling to accept the
doctors’ prognoses for lifelong mental illness and repeated
hospitalizations, Beth fought to uncover what was causing
this decline. Racing against time as Sammy slipped further
from reality, Beth’s quest took her to the center of the
medical community’s raging debate about whether mental
illness can be caused by infection. With the battle lines
firmly drawn, Beth searched until she found two cutting-edge
doctors who answered that question with a definitive yes.
Together, they cured Sammy. Five years later, he remains
symptom free. Driven by her desire to help others, Beth Maloney has
infused every page of this triumphant journey with heart and
passion. An important story, Saving Sammy is part manifesto,
part medical mystery, but is at its heart the empowering and
inspiring story of a mother’s determination to save her son,
take on the medical establishment–and win.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
|