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Dr. James Borland Convocation
Series
For more information,
please contact the Office of Academic Affairs
by phone or e-mail at 517-265-5161 x4466 or
swilt@adrian.edu.
March 21, 2012, "Disabilities Awareness Week"
Marc Elliott
 Two days after Marc Elliot was born, he was diagnosed with a rare birth defect called Hirschsprung’s disease. His doctors discovered that he had barely any working intestines. Despite the fact that death was more probable than the prospect of any quality of life, one brave surgeon, Dr. Jessie Ternberg took Marc under her wings and ultimately saved his life. After being in the hospital for the first six months of his life, seven experimental surgeries, and four years of being in and out of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, he miraculously left the hospital for good once and for all—minus some intestines of course!
However, his medical challenges did not end there. By the age of nine, he was diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes him to make involuntary motor and vocal tics. As Marc grew older his tics manifested in all different forms, ranging from ‘ticcing’ inappropriate words to head convulsions, and blurting out random noises.
Over the next ten years, Marc triumphed over these challenges as he tried to live a normal life in the suburbs of St. Louis. Aside from the scars that stretched across his abdomen and the frequent outbursts of racial slurs and dog barking, Marc lived with a special enthusiasm for life. He was a talented thespian, played tons of sports, and even was elected student body president of his high school.
After graduating from high school, Marc attended Washington University in St. Louis where he majored in biology, actively participated in a fraternity, and took the premed requirements in hopes to follow in the footsteps of his pediatric surgeon. Not surprisingly, Marc's life took a different path.
Once he graduated in May of 2008, Marc embarked upon a speaking tour around the nation about tolerance. With his presentation "What Makes You Tic?” he has taken his lessons of being different to convey fundamental lessons about the importance of tolerance. Within his first year, he has traveled to almost 25 states, internationally, and spoken to over 20,000 individuals across the country.
Although not a doctor, at the age of 25, Marc is now helping individuals grow in a way he could have never imagined! |
