Battery-operated boy who can walk again
Doctors rewired his brain to stop body twisting
Brave Robbie Ovenstone is a walking miracle operated by a battery after doctors ‘rewired’ his brain.
For months Robbie had been unable to walk, feed or dress himself due to a terrible muscular disease that caused his body to twist.
He had been born perfectly normal, and for the first three years of his life he had run around and played like other children of his age.
But after being diagnosed with dystonia, his body started to twist. His f eet started to t wist inwards and his right arm kept jerking above his head.
But now after an amazing operation where doctors inserted electrodes into his brain and another to a battery in his stomach, the messages being sent to his muscles have been corrected and he can start to walk normally again.
His delighted father Doug Ovenstone, 46, a former operations manager who gave up his job to care for Robbie, said: ‘ It really is amazing to see.
‘ He i s now standing again on his own feet and taking his first few steps.
‘It has only been a couple of weeks since the operation, but already he is doing remarkably well.’
The family’s nightmare began after Christmas 2008 when they noticed he kept lifting his right arm up behind his head.
Mr Ovenstone, who lives with wife Jane, 37, and their other children Rhys, 15, and Chloe, four, in Fife, said: ‘ We couldn’t understand why Robbie was doing it.
‘We asked him why and he said that he didn’t know either, his arm just kept moving upwards in a strange position.
‘ Up until then he had been a perfectly normal little boy and loved running around with his friends. He had so much energy.
Robbie was referred to t he Si c k Children’s Hospital in Edinburgh in September 2009 and with- in a few weeks he was diagnosed with dystonia.
Mr Ovenstone said: ‘ Robbie’s muscles were pulling him in different directions in different positions, which was causing the twisting.
‘We were shocked when he was diagnosed, but relieved that we finally had some answers as to what was wrong with him.
‘ Robbie had to use a wheelchair to get around, and he could no longer feed or dress himself. It was devastating to see him go downhill so fast.
‘ The doctors looked at the possibility of using botox to try and relax his muscles, but so many muscles were affected that it would have been impossible.’
Robbie had the six-hour operation at the Evelina Children’s Hospital last month, and it was a success.
Mr Ovenstone said: ‘ It was so nerve- wracking when he was wheeled down to the operating theatre as we knew how risky it was.
‘ But straight after the operation he opened his eyes and gave us this huge smile, which was amazing.’
(©Daily Mail, London)