LEGO Brick Therapy: How LEGO Bricks are helping me fight depression and nerve disorders...

BrickPicker Notes: Hello. I would like to introduce you to Owen, AKA Stomping Freak. He has quite a story to tell. Owen was a Sergeant in the Cheshire Regiment of the British Army. He has served tours all over the world. Jeff and I thought Owen's story is a must read for many LEGO fans...and even some non LEGO fans. Owen suffers from many physical and mental disorders, but has found relief and help through building and handling LEGO bricks. I hope you enjoy his blog. It is our wish that his story might help others that suffer from similar health issues...Ed

Hi, everyone, this is me. I'm 43 years old...and disabled. I have a bone disease which is affecting my spine, legs, and hands. Depressed, well I should be. But thanks to my childhood friend, the LEGO brick, I'm starting to feel like a human being again.

Right. Let me give you some history. While most of you were leaning to wobble to the sofa, I was graduating high school, going to college, meeting girls(I was good looking with hair down to my waist), playing football, running, reading...really enjoying life. Then due to one too many broken bones, I found I was paralyzed from the waist down(There is a large piece of surgical steel in the base of my back).

Oh, check this pic, its me at my little sisters wedding:

As you can see, young, thin...Damn sexy... LOL!!!

While I was recovering, I started getting shooting pains in my hands. They began to shake and I had problems holding items. But because of my grip being strong like a clamp, I couldn't hold a cup without breaking it. Weeks passed and I had started to become run down. I could live without being able to walk, but I could not live without being able to use my hands. I was devastated. Then my friend came to see me. She felt bad that she had brought her son with her because she didn't want a child running around, making noise...etc., but he had brought his favorite toy plane with him. It was made from LEGO bricks. After a short time, the little fellow wanted me to play. I was scared of breaking his toy. I held the plane. I could feel it. It didn't break. I could hold the bricks without breaking them. One of the nurses saw this. The next day, she brought me a tray of LEGO bricks from one of the child wards. Even with shaking, I was able to build a little brick wall. WOW... it felt good! It felt friggin' amazing!

Over the next couple of months that I spent learning to walk again, my aides got me to play/build with LEGO bricks more and more. My hand/eye coordination began to improve. One week before I was discharged, I built my first LEGO Creator set, the 10218 Pet Shop. It took me three weeks to complete.

Since then, I have continued to use LEGO bricks to keep my hands working properly. I have been able to return to shooting(crossbow) on the range. I can hold mugs, cook, and perform personal care once again, all thanks to LEGO Bricks.

I love the stuff. I would like to thank Jeff for making me write this. I will continue to blog about fun things, my life, daft stuff and of course...LEGO bricks.

I know I have upset members of the forums, for that, I am sorry. I have physical and mental heath isuses(due to my past). I will delve into this next time. If you know anyone that has problems with hand and nerve injuries, buy them a LEGO set. It could really help them.

It helped me and is still is helping me.

Stomping