This is episode 2 in an ongoing series.
http://moviepals.org/
Here is a story about Linas, his disability, struggle through adversity, search for help, and eventual recovery.
Linas struggled with repetitive strain injuries for years. He first injured himself by playing the guitar too zealously at the age of 20 years old. Then, when he used his computer, he was affected by what he calls “a rock in a shoe” effect. By this he means that due to his injury, he found himself changing his technique at the computer. Then, by either taking anti-inflammatories or simply pushing himself through the pain, he allowed his injuries to become so severe, he couldn’t shake people’s hands, turn a page in a book, or even text message. He had to discontinue his college career and go on disability.
The next 6 years included seeking treatment from many different types of doctors, some of which were at UCLA Medical Center, arguments with his father, depression, hopelessness and frustration. At one point, his father even kicked him out of the house and he was forced to live on the street.
Eventually, he met a woman who became his girlfriend and she encouraged him to get support. He sought support from the Repetitive Strain Injury Support Group in San Francisco, which is the largest support group for RSI in the country. However, because he lived in Los Angeles County, he couldn’t actually attend the meetings. Instead, he went on Meetup.com and posted a message that he was interested in starting an RSI meetup group in LA.
About six months later, I made the decision to start a support group for RSI and went on meetup.com. I found Linas’s message and decided to contact him. After 2 weeks, he called me back and we agreed to start the support group. Because Linas did not have much money and could not use his computer very much, I had to do most of the coordination and pay for the meetup group. http://www.meetup.com/
At first, we had just a few people attend the meetup. However, one of the people who attended was Dr. Arthur Hong, http://site.artperformancechiro.com/
Dr. Art started working with Linas and the result of his treatment lead to Linas wanting to share his story.
Visit Dr. Hong's website at www.ARTPerformanceChiro.com
