Art for piece of mind

Troy Perkins

I have always had trouble with school, work and social settings and up util about six years ago did not know exactly why. When I turned forty I mental brick wall that I could not get around, so I did the only thing I could and sought help, I went to the mental health clinic at the veterans hospital. Were eventually I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, Bipolar disorder, and a form of acute depression.

As early as the 90s I started having joint pain especially in my lower back I just attributed it to being in the military, but my joints did not improve after getting out of the military. So off and on for years I would go and see doctors mainly for my back they would give me pain pills and muscle relaxers and tell me that nothing was wrong with my back, every now and again they would take an ex-ray. Well starting three years ago my joints got so bad especially my lower back that I ended up in the emergency room several times after about my fifth trip to the emergency room for my back they did an mri on my back. Come to find out I have a tear in my lower back, a bulging disc that is putting pressure on my spinal column, and later I was diagnosed with degenerative disc disorder and degenerative arthritis. Since I worked maintenance for a living I could no longer continue to work a physical job and do to my mental status I could not be retrained for anything more than physical labor. Even now when I do things around the house I have to take breaks after a short period and lay down on the couch to rest my back.

So for the past three years I have been fighting Social Security for disability benefits, a year into this I started having seizures now I have been diagnosed with epilepsy, and when I had my first seizure they did a mri of my brain and found out that I had brain damage from a long time ago. Come to find out when I was four or five years old I suffered a viral infection and I was unable to walk for about three weeks, the doctors said any infection that severe would certainly cause damage to the brain.

But my body is of no real concern my mind is a different matter all together and this is were art comes in. I started art back in junior high school, then when I started working it fell to the way side but now that I am I great need of solace and relaxation I find that art helps to give me that.