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Track star Jadin O’Brien reveals her battle with PANDAS, a misunderstood illness once mistaken for possession, behind her athletic success.
Sometimes when you see an athlete step onto the podium, medals gleaming under the spotlight, it is easy to believe the journey was only paved with discipline and drive.
But for Jadin O’Brien, one of America’s most decorated collegiate track and field stars, the path to greatness began in the shadows of a misunderstood illness.
O’Brien is a nine-time All-American, a three-time NCAA pentathlon champion, and a two-time Olympic Trials qualifier.
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But behind her jaw-dropping stats is a far more staggering feat: surviving a childhood marked not by physical trials, but by invisible torment. Long before she was stacking medals, she was scribbling desperate prayers into notebooks, believing demons might be crawling beneath her skin.
“They thought I needed an exorcist,” Jadin told DYESTAT, recalling a surreal moment from her childhood in Milwaukee.
“But nothing happened. Because I wasn’t possessed.”
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At just 8 years old, Jadin began experiencing obsessive thoughts, intense emotional swings, and fears too deep for a child to name.
No one could offer answers. A psychiatrist speculated about witches. A priest, Father Cliff Ermatinger, prayed over her. And in that confusion, her family grasped at every possible explanation—medical, spiritual, and beyond.
“That didn’t feel right at all,” said her mother, Caitlyn O’Brien, reflecting on the desperation of those early days as also quoted by Essentially Sports.
It was not until a teacher at Jadin’s small school, Trinity Academy, connected the family to someone with a similar experience that hope began to flicker.
That meeting led them to a holistic doctor who conducted a full-body screen—not just a routine throat swab. The results changed everything.
“The strep was everywhere,” Jadin explained.
“Liver, bladder, gut.”
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What she was dealing with wasn’t demonic or imaginary. It was a little-known medical condition called PANDAS—Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, PANDAS can trigger a sudden onset of OCD-like behavior, anxiety, tics, and neurological symptoms following a strep infection. The condition is notoriously hard to diagnose. There is no single test—only a baffling constellation of symptoms.
In Jadin’s case, the misdiagnosis and missed signs left lasting scars. Yet, she did not just survive it—she soared.
“I convinced myself that if I died, my family might live,” she admitted. “Because no one could explain what was happening.”
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Today, Jadin O’Brien is more than a champion on the track—she is an advocate for awareness, a testament to the power of perseverance, and a voice for children still trapped in silence.
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