15 Year old Liam Cook

15-year-old, Liam Cook could only dream of living a normal life three months ago. He wanted to be free from the debilitating symptoms of Tourette Syndrome. "I have tried to stop the Tourettes, but my brain tells me do it, do it, do it," Cook said.



Liam Cook came to national attention late last year when he underwent radical surgery to treat his condition. The Wallsend teen was the second-youngest person in Australia to undergo deep brain stimulation to quell tics that forced him to punch himself so hard he bruised.Neurosurgeon Professor Richard Bittar at Royal Melbourne Hospital implanted two electrodes deep into Liam’s brain.

They are permanently connected to a battery pack implanted in his chest. The electrodes send a signal to his brain to interrupt the signals behind the tic impulses.