I could lose parts if not my whole foot. Tonight on 20/20 ` an infectious nightmare from a foot massage. Tonight we go undercover to show why you need to beware of your beauty regime. All my veins collapsed. And the debilitating condition... She has to come out and I close the door, because if she touches the door, I can't touch it. ...tearing families apart. This is the first time Bridget has touched her mother in four months. Kia ora. I'm Sonya Wilson. It's a feel-good treat that so many of us love ` popping into a salon to have a pedicure, perhaps a foot massage or a manicure. You see these salons in most shopping areas. In fact, there are now 420 of them in Auckland alone. But there can be real dangers inherent to these simple procedures. When you walk into a salon, you're putting your health and your hygiene in someone else's hands. And as Charlotte Purdy reports, you may come out with more than you bargained for. Why is no one aware that when you go for a foot massage or a pedicure or a manicure that, you know, you could end up with a limb missing or... (CHUCKLES) or two weeks in hospital or a month out of your life. A warning for this story ` there are some unpleasant images. CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS Tonight we go undercover to show why you need to beware of your beauty regime, especially hand and feet treatments. It's dangerous? It's not just the fungus you can pick up. So do you see these type of infections a lot? Yes, at least two, sometimes three, a week. If you're really unlucky, you can get a life-threatening infection. All my veins collapsed. HEART BEATS You may have noticed that nail art is the new black. You can't move on Instagram without a painted nail popping up. Even celebrities are enjoying giving photographers the finger. But it's NZ's very own Leah Light who's leading the way when it comes to nails. Taylor Swift and Eva Longoria are just some of the stars who've come to Leah to get their nails done. So who've you had? You've had Rachel Hunter? So who've you had? You've had Rachel Hunter? Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Rita Ora, Pamela Anderson, Bruce Springsteen. Wow. Bruce Springsteen? What happened with Bruce? Well, he actually plays guitar using one of his nails. And for him, it's purely to be done so he can play, so he uses it like a pick. So I got there with my entire kit and found out that I was doing one nail. (LAUGHS) It's not just international names on her client list. High-profile Kiwis like Millie Holmes also come to see Leah. And so, Millie, how often would you come in and get your nails done? And so, Millie, how often would you come in and get your nails done? Uh, as often as possible. And how much is that? And how much is that? Maybe... once every one or two weeks. once every one or two weeks. Oh wow! once every one or two weeks. Oh wow! Yeah. So I'm a little bit OCD. I can't stand the regrowth part, so, at the latest, once every two weeks. Sounds glamorous, but Leah knows the beauty industry is not always as glossy as it seems. Have you heard any horror stories from your clients? > I have heard more horror stories than you would even know what to do with. Sarah Mitchell lived that horror after she had a reflexology foot treatment in January this year. I was told in there that, worst case scenario, I could lose parts if not my whole foot, and I just... that's when I kind of cracked. Sarah is an editor for a fashion magazine. Beauty is her business, and her job comes with some perks. Basically, I got invited to, um, have a foot spa and a reflexology massage as part of a new shoe launch. And I was really excited,... (CHUCKLES) cos I thought, 'Oh, yeah, that's a really nice way to end a week.' What does that foot massage usually cost? I think it was somewhere between $150 and $200. That's not cheap. That's not cheap. LAUGHS: No. No. And you expect a great foot massage for $200. But a great foot massage experience was not what Sarah got. Within hours of the massage, her foot was showing the first signs of serious infection. My skin was really really tight, and I remember it just kept getting redder and redder and redder. It started off just near my toe, and then it just climbed all the way down my foot. Sarah spent weeks in hospital as doctors attempted get the infection under control. I had two weeks of IV antibiotics, and the first week was quite intense, to the point where my body was so exhausted from fighting this infection that all my veins collapsed. Sarah had a staph infection. All it took for the bacteria to enter her body was a tiny cut on her toenail cuticle. What did the doctors tell you? What did the doctors tell you? They thought it was cellulitis. Cellulitis ` that's a bacterial infection? Yeah, they soaked my feet in water, and also she wasn't wearing gloves, so, you know, there's two opportunities where I could have contracted cellulitis from. And they were big enough reasons for them to believe that I caught it from the foot massage and nowhere else. But no absolute proof as such that it came from the foot massage? But no absolute proof as such that it came from the foot massage? No proof. Sarah is not alone in her experience. I literally get messages daily from all over the world. Leah is contacted by numerous people who got more than they bargained for when they went for a manicure or pedicure,... It's sad. It's terrifying. ...like this one in the US. Yesterday I got a message from a lady who said,... 'Got a pedi two years ago. 'They cut my foot with a callous remover and put it straight in the water afterwards. 'Two years later I am currently in hospital getting ready for my sixth surgery 'and now only have three and a half bones in my foot due to a bone infection.' Leah is an advocate for high standards of hygiene in the industry. She says there are some unnecessary risky procedures; risks she wont take on her clients. Would you ever cut into someone's feet? Would you ever cut into someone's feet? Oh my God, no. The blades that people use` some salons use are illegal in most states in America. And they should never be used in a salon. The only people that should ever use a blade that like should be a podiatrist. Podiatrist Lisa Hinchcliff says feet are particularly vulnerable when it comes to nail bars. The fungus actually eats through the nail. Although serious infections are rare, fungus is no fun. This patient has a fungal infection of her nails, and she picked it up from a nail bar. So do you see these type of infections a lot? Yes, we see at least two, sometimes three a week. And I would say about 30% of the people we see get them from a nail bar. It's very very easy to pick up a fungal infection. So is it easy to treat? No. No, it is not easy to treat, and it takes a long time for you to get rid of fungus. People need to be aware that if the same instruments are used on one client after the other, people will pick up fungal infections, they will pick up hepatitis, they could pick up all sorts of other issues. I'm afraid fungus is here to stay particularly while the nail bars are still in business. To find out what risks we could be exposing ourselves to, Leah and I decide to go undercover. You might feel quite conspicuous, but no one is going to know that you are wearing secret hidden camera glasses. How are you feeling? How are you feeling? Nervous, a little bit. Leah and I randomly select nail bars in Auckland. The first place that we came across in the mall from a distance looked clean and tidy, but then as you got closer, you realised there was` all the files were dirty and used, disgusting, falling apart, still having, you know, all the filings trapped in the nail file. Used nail files can transfer fungus or bacteria from one person to another. But the next place had some good news. So, the next salon that we popped into, I was quite pleasantly surprised to see that they had pedi-liners in all of their pedicure chairs, which is definitely a step in the right direction. They've got pedi-liners. That's good. The last salon that we went into was where you got your pedicure done. First of all, I noticed that she put gloves on, which was awesome. That was good to see. But one area Leah has real concerns about is the procedure of cutting nail cuticles. When you cut that, you open up for infection, and so by doing that, especially on soaked toenails, you're` the chance of getting infection is really high. But the risk can be even higher when blades are used to cut calluses off. It's dangerous? So you don't like to do it because its dangerous? So this salon won't use a blade unless asked. Oh, I'm OK. Don't worry about the brush. But I wondered about the use of a plastic brush on my nails. If it's not been sterilised, it's perfect for spreading fungus. How can you sterilise a plastic brush? We also question whether the cleaning of the neighbouring pedicure station is adequate. Just used an old dish brush, just cleaned it around, rinsed it out, used the towel that was sitting there already filthy from the person's feet to wipe the inside of the basin. That's absolutely not enough. I did feel uncomfortable to have jandals put on my feet that had been used on other people. I don't know if they have been disinfected. The list is absolutely massive for all the fungal and bacterial infections you can catch. Despite the inherent risks for infection in this industry, there are no national regulations. Some councils have bylaws, but for those that don't, hygiene is ultimately down to the individual beauty salons. < Was it a surprise to you to see what we saw today? < Was it a surprise to you to see what we saw today? No. No, not at all. I think that's the sad part. It wasn't a surprise at all. It's about educating other nail stylists so that we all get better, so that everybody's offering the same quality of hygiene and standard. Sarah Mitchell has paid a high price for a simple foot massage. Three months later, she's still struggling with the effects of her infection. So how has it affected your life since then? I could have long-term effects, such as septic arthritis, inflammatory arthritis. I've got one foot that's bigger than the other permanently. So I'll always have to buy one of each shoe. Cellulitis is something that you can never get rid of, so it will stay with me for the rest of my life thanks to them. So will you get another foot massage or pedicure again? So will you get another foot massage or pedicure again? Never. Never ever again. Looking forward to your feedback on that one. A quick update now, though, on one of our favourite stories from last year. You might remember identical twins Sara and Amy. After Sara tragically lost her baby and could never conceive again, her twin, Amy, put off having any more kids of her own and lent her womb to Sara. You might recall also that there was a bit of DIY fertilisation involved ` a $2 plastic syringe, to be precise ` but it worked, and Bennett, AKA Squirt, was born. Somewhat of a miracle because Amy knew she had serious fertility problems. Well, fast forward a bit, and it's Squirt's 1st birthday. This is what Amy had to say about becoming a mum again. And has it made you clucky at all? And has it made you clucky at all? A little bit until I see the shitty nappies and... (LAUGHS) and the tantrums. Well, even after she was told she had almost no chance of conceiving naturally, Amy is pregnant. Congratulations to you, Amy, and all the family. And good luck with all those nappies. Next up on 20/20 ` a story five years in the making following families with kids dealing with OCD. We met Liz McIngvale too. For her, it's a struggle just to get out of bed for school. Just 15 when she was diagnosed. Her obsession is being clean. Every part of my hands. Scrubbing herself until her skin is raw. And just one round of it is never enough. Have to do it again all over, because I feel like my hair touched the side of my arm. My arms are all contaminated, so... Welcome back. 20/20's David Muir has been working on this next story for five years. Its a remarkable view of families who are dealing with obsessive compulsive kids. Yes, at times it's harrowing, but it's also uplifting as we see the love and the care given along the way. Inside this suburban office building in New Jersey, a small yellow room where a battle is about to play out right in front of our camera. No! 15-Year-old Bridget looks like your typical teenager on the outside, but inside, she's wrestling to break free from unimaginable fear. And on this day, her progress is measured in inches. What do you think? What do you think? That's more like 9. What do you think? That's more like 9. Well, come on. Look at that. Her therapist is measuring the couch for Bridget. You all right? Every inch counts. You could lean against the, um, arm rest with your arm. From her elbow to her hand. It's good for you, OK. The woman at the end of the sofa is about to move from her chair to the couch. Tell me what's going on inside. Tell me what's going on inside. She got so close. She's never been this close before. She's never been this close before. She's sitting on the same couch. That woman who has Bridget so terrified is her own mother. Bridget believes her mother is contaminated, and Bridget's fear is that her mother will contaminate her too. Now I want you to remember... Bridget has been diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder. Her particular obsession ` an irrational fear that her own family is somehow contaminated and because of the contamination, she can't be near them. I just have to prove to her that I can do this. Who is Bridget talking about? The OCD as if it were a person trying to control her. She's not gonna win this time, cos she's won too many times. It's just a trick, and the anxiety will go down. But on this day, the OCD still wins. She's just really close. For Bridget, it's become all-consuming. My OCD has taken over most of my life in the past six months. I haven't been able to be at home, touch any of my belongings that are at home. I haven't really seen any of my friends. Long before the worries, Bridget was a beautiful girl, smiling from ear to ear, growing up playing with her two older brothers, a star student at school in the gifted programme, with a proud mother and father at home. A standout swimmer in the pool. A fish in the water. The first signs that all of this was beginning to crack came at just 11 with what Bridget's mother, Karen, says was a need to be perfect at school. Everything had to be 100, or she had to know every spelling word. Then all of a sudden she started to notice that her books had to be in a certain place and she didn't want things touched. She noticed that you were a bit of a perfectionist, had to do everything perfectly with schoolwork. Surprisingly, we were able to stand right next to Bridget as we talk with her. Why us and not her own family? Her doctors say this proves just how irrational the OCD can be. Bridget's mind is fixated on her own family, and the OCD won't let go. Eighth grade, miraculously, it was pretty much better, so I stopped taking my medicine, I stopped going to the therapist. And then that's when this came up. Her OCD would come back with a vengeance, and this time her fear had morphed into contamination. The contamination ` and think about it as being something that's dirty, radiation or something like that ` it spreads. Bridget's doctor, Allen Weg. In Bridget's case, how do you go from being a perfectionist to someone who can't touch her parents, can't even be in the same home with them? It seems so extreme. You have to think about OCD as sort of entering a person's mind and looking around and saying, 'Where can I cause trouble?' And so what better way for OCD to torture her than to say, 'You can't be in the same home with your family'? The doctor reminds Bridget to keep her eye on the prize and everything she's had to give up. Her family ` it's been four months since she's been home; she lives with her grandmother nearly an hour away. And all of that swimming she loved, that time in the pool ` she's been forced to give that up too. Mm, she can go an inch. < All right. Let's just do it an inch, then. < All right. Let's just do it an inch, then. (WHINES) This way? This way? Yes. So you have to be careful not to lean. That's about an inch right there. For so many parents, it is excruciating watching your children suffer, not knowing if they'll ever break away from their fear. It's overwhelming. It's really what it is ` how it encompassing everything in life and how I didn't realise it could grow to where it is now. The treatment we're allowed to witness is rarely shown on camera. It's what's called exposure and response prevention therapy. Bridget must expose herself to her fears to desensitise herself, getting closer one inch at a time. I feel helpless for her. I want to reach out and touch her and hold her, and that's the one thing that I can't do to try to make her feel better. Breathe. No. And Bridget is hardly alone in her fight against fear, her fight against OCD. Rocco DeCorso was just 8 years old when his mother took this video of him. Mom, what did you say before? Mom, what did you say before? I don't remember. Get the phone. Mom. Mom. I don't remember. Please get the phone. Rocco's obsession revolves around the fear of getting sick, the fear about what could happen when he leaves for school. What did you say? What did you say? I don't remember. I don't know what I said. > Mom. Mom. I don't remember exactly what I said. > What did you say? His fear is relentless. He wants her to promise him nothing bead is going to happen. I can't answer you any more. I can't answer you any more. (CRIES) Are you sure nothing bad will happen? Are you sure nothing bad will happen? Rocco, what did I say? He begs his mother to repeat herself. Even for the most loving of moms, it can break you. I don't remember what I said. I don't know what I said. Why do you do that? His mother taking this video to show the doctor what they go through every morning together. These images captured just weeks before his diagnosis. Rocco has OCD too. His fear of 'what if' consumes him. His parents told us it started when he was just 5. I'll never forget going to a carnival. He was on the merry-go-round crying. Like, you're supposed to have fun. Why is this kid crying? Even now, at times when he asks the questions, it's really hard to have the patience. I mean, you know, we try and` Sometimes you're, like, 'Get over it, knock it off already.' You know what you have to do. Mom, you're not` Mom, you're not` I don't know what you're saying. I don't remember what I said about the day. You'll have a great day. Why do you do this? I said a couple things. The difficult part, when he was 5 years old, he says, 'I can't live like this no more.' Coming from a 6-year-old saying, 'I can't live like this. I wanna live with God. 'Don't worry about me, Daddy. I'll look down after you.' That's tough. His parents tormented, watching their little boy struggle to get past his anxiety. All of this worry, and on this morning, Rocco hasn't even left for the school bus yet. Go. Goodbye. We met Liz McIngvale too. For her, it's a struggle just to get out of bed for school. Just 15 when she was diagnosed, her obsession is being clean. Every part of my hands. Scrubbing herself until her skin is raw, and just one round of it is never enough. You have to do it again, all over, because I feel like my hair touched the side of my arm, which my arms are all contaminated, so... I mean, this is just the beginning. So frustrated, some mornings, she punches holes in the wall. My name is Michelle, I'm 14 years old, and I have OCD. And finally, we met Michelle, who was unable to go to school. It's hard for her to even leave the house. WOMAN: Would we be able to open the door or roll down the window? When we come back ` what or whom is Michelle so afraid of? And later ` that little boy Rocco, so consumed by his fear. Mom, you're not even` Tonight ` the breakthrough science we learned about just this week and the new tools every family can use right now to help erase the fear. 1 15-year-old Bridget sits in the waiting room, two seats apart from her mother. Her obsessive compulsive disorder, her fear of contamination, prevents her from sitting any closer. You'll remember the last time, they worked the entire time on simply sitting on the same couch. No, don't. Don't. Karen has not been able to hug her own daughter for months now. And it's Bridget who's in the driver's seat. It's a painstaking process every time. It's taken seven full therapy sessions just to get this far down the coach. Her mother slowly moving her body closer. All is going well until her mother reaches for her purse to pay the therapist. No, it's too close. Get away. Bridget is afraid getting close to that purse will contaminate her. Bridget tells the doctor she's done, and outside she shows us how even leaving together is not easy. Now she has to come out, and I close the door, because if she touches the door, I can't touch the door. All of this is irrational, and Bridget, like so many children with OCD, knows that, but she's still afraid that her mother and the rest of her family at home is contaminated. And Bridget refuses to go there. Her mother is about to drive her nearly an hour away back to her grandmother's. Remember, that's where Bridget now lives instead. I can't put my feet or my shoes on the ground, so I take them off and then put them on top, and then I sit sideways. For Bridget, everything is complicated, even the simplest of things, like getting into the car. She takes off her shoes because they can't touch the floor of the family car. Yeah, so I can't be too close to her. I just have to sit on my feet, and they will become numb. Inside another car, another mother and her daughter in their own relentless fight against OCD. What are you trying to tell your OCD? What are you trying to tell your OCD? To get lost. 14-year-old Michelle LeClair hasn't been able to step inside her school for four months now. Her mother, Diane, had to quit her job as a teacher to work full time helping Michelle fight her OCD. When she was going to school, she would cry for an hour and a half every night saying how difficult it was to go to school, but I couldn't touch her. Michelle's OCD also involves contamination, but her fear is different. The family is fine. It's the kids at school she's afraid of, afraid they're dirty. She can't go to school or anywhere in public where she has seen the other students. We had to go, like, hours away just to go get, like, a pair of pants or get cleaning supplies, because everything around here was contaminated. All the stores were because the kids from school had been there. Her OCD taking over her life. And as is so often the case, doctors say, with children who have OCD, Michelle plunges into depression. I became suicidal, because I couldn't touch anything. You can't enjoy anything. So, um,... there wasn't really a point in living any more. A far different portrait from the girl who was once a straight-A student, a dancer who loved dressing up, a child who once proudly displayed her smile. Your school situation will be... When we met up with her, she'd already begun therapy with Dr Weg, and now she and her mother are taking the next step on their own ` actually practising going to school when the halls are empty. They're headed to their first stop ` the locker room. My heart is beating much faster now. And then slowly touch the door frame and then do the door handle. The doctor has hold Michelle to touch what she's afraid of, what is dirty, and then to touch her own skin to prove to herself that there's nothing to be afraid of. QUIETLY: I really don't want to do this. The doctor has told her to keep track of her anxiety on a scale of to one to 10. What's the number? What's the number? Like a seven. Touch the walls, because you're not touching everything. You're taking little baby steps. Michelle, you're not touching the walls. Michelle, you're not touching the walls. (MOANS) Touch your hands, your arms, your face. I'm, like, contaminating myself so that no part of me is considered, like, clean. If you could do anything in the world, what would you be going to do? > Leave. Take a shower. I'm very proud of what you did. You touched the walls. You sat on the bench. A proud mother and her daughter leaving school after their own gym practice. While back in the therapist's office, Bridget is about to take a huge step too. It's been eight sessions, nearly eight hours of intense therapy with Dr Weg, and she still has not allowed her mother to touch her. It's been months since mother and daughter have hugged. < That's pretty good. Bridget and her mother grasp a small wand between them. This is huge. < Bridget. < Find your centre. < Show her who's boss. Do it, do it, do it. (WHINES) (WHINES) Just stay with it. Just hold on. This is the first time Bridget has touched her mother in four months. Bend your fingers. Bend your fingers. All of my fingers? Bend your fingers. All of my fingers? Yes. There it is. There it is. That feels really good. There it is. That feels really good. No, it doesn't! It's difficult for parents to not believe they've done something wrong when their kid has all these fears and these strange and bizarre fears. 'What did I do wrong?' Once her fear subsides, the doctor pushes Bridget to hold that hand again. < Let's have the hand back, though. < Good for you, good for you. And as we were about to learn, Bridget's OCD fight is far from over. What was it that led to this? And we wondered what's really going on here. When we come back, how often do you do this ` check the locks, check the stove more than once? Tonight ` what these MRIs will show you. Doctors can literally see the anxiety. And what the new science is revealing for anyone who ever thought they might have a little OCD. And Michelle, who tested the locker room, the gym. We're there for her first day back to school. And what we revealed to her mother had her in tears, when we come back. 1 BOY: I pledge allegiance to the flag... After four months at home, paralysed by fear, afraid other students at school are contaminated, Michelle tries to go back to school one class at a time. Science class is first. You may work in groups of two to three. I felt like I needed to, like, get back at the OCD and feel like I could do it. She's crossed the first big hurdle. She's in class, but right away, within minutes of the first period, we notice Michelle is already anxious about something, asking about the eighth grade prom and an overnight trip to Hershey Park. You're going to Hershey? It's a trip that is still two months away, but she can't imagine an overnight trip away from home. She's just trying to get through a day at school ` science, shop class,... STUDENTS TALK LOUDLY ...and lunch in the chaotic cafeteria. It's a little weird because the kids are, like, 'Where have you been?' Even the principal uncertain about just how to handle Michelle on her first day back. I put up my hand to kind of do a high five, and she didn't blink, and she high-fived me, and I knew we were on the right track. Michelle has made it back to school, but next comes the real homework, the next battle in her fight against OCD. After school, she goes to Kohl's, the one department store she fears most. I'm, like, feeling anxious already just thinking about going. Not because of the store itself but because of the other students she has seen there. Am I gonna be able to pull into the parking lot? Yes, you can pull into the parking lot. Yes, you can pull into the parking lot. OK. Can you stick your hand out the window? What's happening? > What's happening? > The germs are coming through. How does that feel? > Icky. Michelle knows her fear is irrational, but that is OCD. What's going through your head, Michelle? > That I'm dirty. I'm going to get out. No. No. I'm just gonna get out and stand here. Mom gets out of the car and then reaches down to touch the pavement. She then holds on to her daughter's hand to show her nothing bad will happen. I touched the ground, and you touched me. And now the hard part ` actually walking towards the store, to the entrance that Michelle hasn't walked through in over four months. The store is contaminated from the kids at school. What about the people out there who might say we're enabling these children, a little tough love would probably be better, just push them into the department store? Think about when you're afraid of anything. If someone tries to push you against your will harder than you feel ready to, your tendency is to dig your heels in, to just pull back. They want to get better. Do you want to walk back and forth? The idea is that once you face your fear and you face it over and over and over again over a period of time, you become less sensitive to it. Keep going, run in. Touch the door and run back? OK, I won't push. You did good. How do you feel? You did good. How do you feel? I feel good. There was a hug from her mother ` a mini milestone before they head home for the day. Back in the therapist's office, Bridget is still trying to get home. For her, it's been six months living away from her family. And Bridget is about to face her next fear. Her mother now on the couch; next comes her father. You're 15. He's missed half of that year. He's waiting. WHINES: No. I'm scared. Her father walks in. But the family has asked us that we not show his face because he works undercover in law enforcement. She cannot make eye contact with her own father. Dr David Rosenberg is convinced Bridget and the other children like her will conquer it. His team at Wayne State and the DMC Children's Hospital of Michigan is on the front lines against the fight against child anxiety and OCD. In a groundbreaking study looking at the MRIs of children who have OCD, they can actually see it. So, these are all MRIs of children with OCD? So, these are all MRIs of children with OCD? Exactly right. They're convinced there's a genetic component here and that much of this comes down to the amount of a certain chemical in the child's brain. In a child who has OCD, you see something in the brain. There's too little glutamate in certain areas of the brain; there's too much glutamate in other areas of the brain. The doctor says glutamate controls the brain's light switch and when the balance is off, the switch short-circuits so the part of the brain that gives most of us the all-clear when we're worried never gives the child that all-clear. And instead of getting the signal that 'OK, I'm safe now', children with OCD get the signal that things are getting much more dangerous and more unsafe. Many of us check the doors when we leave the house or the stove, sometimes two or three times. Eventually, though, our brain gives us the message that it's OK to move on. Children with OCD and severe anxiety never get that message. Instead of getting the all-clear, which is what the rest of us get. Instead of getting the all-clear, which is what the rest of us get. Exactly right. And tonight, there's something else just discovered by the doctor and his team ` that the amount of the chemical and where you find it in the brain can tell them which kind of OCD your child might have; findings he just revealed in New York City. So a child who washes his hands over and over again is not the same as a child who checks the locks? We see different things in the brain, and they respond differently to treatment. He says it's a distinction his team was never able to make until now. He says Michelle and Bridget, who have contamination fears, would have a different brain scan from Rocco, who kept asking his mother, 'Is it going to be OK? Can I leave for the school bus?' over and over again. So this is Rocco? So this is Rocco? That's more likely to be Rocco. And you would put Bridget and Michelle, the contamination fears and the washing of the hands into this category? and the washing of the hands into this category? More likely here. Incredible. My name's Elizabeth, and I have obsessive compulsive disorder. Remember Elizabeth? She was the teenager who once punched holes in her wall. She got help, exposure therapy and medicine, and since that video, she became the national spokesperson for the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. How long did it take you to get ready this morning? I'd say 30, 40 minutes. What a typical` How long it should take a typical girl to get ready. That's a huge feat. That's a huge feat. Yeah, I can remember taking five- to six-hour showers. And if she could do it, we wondered, 'What about Rocco?' During our five-year journey, we've checked in with him. One visit took us to New York's Central Park. He'd been on antidepressant medication and therapy, and both were working. And on this particular morning, he struggled to get out of the house, but he got here and on to that merry-go-round. 17, 1 and 1. 17, 1 and 1? He boasts of his baseball team's record, but his parents know the biggest victory was just getting him here after all those mornings they couldn't get him out the front door. Even for Rocco, thinking back is painful. By putting a name to it, it helped Rocco understand. 'Hey, I have OCD, OK, and this is how I'm gonna deal with it.' But our journey with the children is far from over. When we come back ` Michelle back at school and about to go to the prom. Could she do it? What she does in that room without any of her friends even knowing. What she reveals to me. Can't mess up your make-up. Can't mess up your make-up. (LAUGHS) And Bridget on that couch, once a beautiful little girl diving into the water. You're about to see the one trip we never thought we'd make. Tonight we go undercover to show why you need to beware of your beauty regime. 1 Bridget has now reached her final hurdle ` her own father. Last time, she couldn't even look at him. Can you follow my hand over to your dad? Good. Stay focused on the hand. On this day, she gets closer, much closer ` touching Dr Weg's hand, and he is touching her father. Catch your breath, stay focused. While for Michelle, the biggest challenge is that trip away from home, that eighth grade prom. Some of those same students she once feared. Hi. How's it going? Getting ready for the prom? How's it going? Getting ready for the prom? Yep. So, this is the fancy dress. Wow, that's pretty. She's proud of her dress, proud of being here, and her friends, they're proud of Michelle. She's kept her OCD a secret until now. She told me that she... had, like, a disease where she was kind of afraid of what might happen to her if she, like, came into contact with other people. But as her friends get ready in that room, they have no idea that on the inside, Michelle is still fighting that OCD. You don't do school activities? You don't do school activities? No. So this is a big deal. You know, sleeping in a bed that's not mine, Um, not being with the family. You know. So, I mean, it's different. A lot of people might think, well, that's just being a little homesick, that everybody gets that. Yeah, but I think for me, because I've been with family for just four months straight, it's harder for me to let go. And you're feeling it already? Do you feel badly because you've left them? I guess. But I know it's what my mom and my dad want me to do. So you're doing this in part for them? You can't mess up your make-up. You can't mess up your make-up. (LAUGHS) As the girls assemble in the hallway, ready for the ballroom, Michelle shares the anxiety that is now creeping back. I'm so worried that the OCD's gonna pick on something and then I'm going to have to obsess. She has already quietly tested the bed by sitting on it just to prove to herself that a bed where strangers have slept won't make her dirtier, just like she tested that gym locker and that walk through the Kohl's parking lot. But this time she was testing herself without her mom, without her coach. You did it on your own as your friends were in the room? Do you think they even knew that you were trying`? Do you think they even knew that you were trying`? No. Probably not. I think they're knocking for you. Her friends are waiting. That prom is about to start. And gust outside, just out of sight, Mom waits as well, just in case. I don't want anybody to see me, because I don't want her to feel bad, but I need to be close enough that if she does have a panic attack or if she can't do it, that I can be able to be there. LAUGHTER After spending nearly half a year living away from her own family, Bridget is finally back. And so is that trademark smile she so often flashed as a little girl. Now I can touch my mother, my brother and my father, and I'm living at home. So it's full circle. Sharing a meal with the same family that she was once so terrified of, terrified that they would contaminate her. She takes us to her room. I do my schoolwork on the floor here. Just here. Then I sleep here. I can't actually use a blanket, because I don't know who has used the blankets before. Becker, come here. The whole family taking it one day at a time, all for Bridget. While for Michelle, that time has arrived, that prom she so feared. We snake our way through all those kids looking for the 14-year-old who once couldn't get out of her own house, the teenager who couldn't step inside her own school. Now, after all of that, on the other side of the dance floor, we found this ` MUSIC PUMPS Michelle dancing with her friends. And just outside, her mother, out of sight, wondering if her daughter is out of the woods. How's she doing? How's she doing? She's tearing up the dance floor. How's she doing? She's tearing up the dance floor. No, really? She's on the dance floor. She's on the dance floor. Oh, that's a big thing for her. She's on the dance floor. Oh, that's a big thing for her. Big smile. Mom's proud. (SNIFFLES) This whole journey began five years ago. Children consumed with fear. Nine million of them suffer from anxiety in this country. Rocco, who couldn't leave his house at 8, who we got to the merry-go-round at 12 years old. It wasn't easy, but he made it. And just days ago, years after his journey began, we went back to that same carousel in New York's Central Park. Hey, Rocco. David, how you been? David, how you been? You're all grown up. Good to see you. You too. It's like you were here yesterday, right? You too. It's like you were here yesterday, right? He got me a ticket this time. We remembered the last time I took a ride with Rocco ` still a boy filled with angst. We got his mind off of it talking Little League. 17, 1 and 1. 17, 1 and 1? Five years later, we're talking about triumph. And what do you hope to be one day? And what do you hope to be one day? I want to become a psychologist and help kids like I was, you know. You're gonna help that little guy? You're gonna help that little guy? Help the little Rocco type guy, yeah. You know, I could speak from experience. Rocco, once so afraid of that school bus, now driving on his own. So, the school bus used to psych you out, but now you can drive in New York City. (LAUGHS) That's a huge hurdle. You've got the prom next week? That's a huge hurdle. You've got the prom next week? That's right. The camera rolling, Rocco in his tux putting on his bow tie. And there he is with his date. And Bridget, who we once got back into the water, tonight, she's back home with her family for the Memorial Day weekend, having just finished her sophomore year at Johns Hopkins University. She's now studying molecular biology. Hi, David. Just came back from school. It's nice to be home and actually be comfortable. That's not to say the OCD is completely gone, but it's definitely more manageable. I'm no longer that scared little girl that you came and interviewed five years ago. This is just the beginning. And there was Liz, who would punch holes in the walls, so consumed with washing her hands. And tonight, just look at her now. Newly married and walking across that graduation stage, ready to now help the next generation of children like her. David, I did it. I got my PhD. And Michelle, who made it to that prom. We were there when she returned to that department store she was so afraid of. Am I going first? Am I going first? I can go first. See, I told you I can. Wow, they changed it. 'Let's go shopping, Mom.' (LAUGHS) Tonight, she's now planning on going to college too. All of these young people prove you can conquer your fear, but each of them will tell you it is a constant journey. This evening we thank them for taking us along on their ride. Thanks, Rocco. Thanks, Rocco. Thank you. Thanks, Rocco. Thank you. Nice time. Yeah. Yeah. Better driver than me. Yeah. Better driver than me. (LAUGHS) Wow, fascinating story, eh. If you want to see that or any of tonight's other stories again, you can head to our website. It's... You can also email us at... Or, of course, go to our Facebook page. We're at... And let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Thanks for all your feedback over the past week. We love getting it, so do keep it up.