Living With Focal Hand Dystonia

Living With Focal Hand Dystonia

Here is how I took my life back living with  focal hand dystonia symptoms.  After it was mysteriously almost taken away.

With a once promising music career in ruins and my sanity pushed to the edge, this is my untold true story of how I was able to comeback and make a great living by reinventing myself. 

Wanna Know How I Gained My Life Back?

If you are a musician or an artist, or have ever been great at something you were extremely passionate about and then had it mysteriously taken away, my true story you are about to read of living with focal hand dystonia symptoms might hit you gut-wrenchingly hard to the core.

More...

These are colossal life challenges that will lead us to the 5 Stages of Grief and Loss.

But there is hope, my friends.

Remember. There is always hope.

There are affiliate links within this post. What this  means is that if you decide to purchase anything through one of my links, I'll be rewarded with a small commission at absolutely no extra cost to you. This small commission helps me run and maintain my website.


It Happened One January Morning

focal hand dystonia curling of fingers

It was a January morning in early 2010 when I woke up, picked up my Fender Strat as I would do every morning for 25 years, and I simply couldn’t play the strings the same way.

I felt no pain. But something just wasn’t the same.

My life changing arc all began in a very subtle way.

In my case, it was a slight involuntary “flying out” of the pinkie of my left fretting hand. Soon after, the middle finger of the same hand also began to curl inward. Over time, even the simplest open guitar chords became nearly impossible to play.

Focal hand dystonia flying out of pinkie

Where's The Doctor?

During the course of the next 7 years, my professional music career laid in ruins, as I went to see countless medical doctors, acupuncturists, hand specialists, surgeons, and functional medicine specialists.

You name the specialist, and I likely went to see them.

However none, not even one, had any answers for me.

It was only through pure serendipity and then by first recognizing then seizing a timely and unique opportunity that I somehow would be able to gain my life back from focal hand dystonia.  (Here's access to this Amazing Community) 

What is Focal Hand Dystonia? 

Bar chords with focal hand dystonia

Focal hand dystonia is a debilitating neurological disease that affects mostly professional musicians and artists. It can affect all kinds of musicians namely: guitarists, pianists, horn players, woodwind players, drummers, etc. It usually affects all musicians that require repeated and intricate hand and lip movements.

This disease can also affect other professionals who require precise muscular control through highly practiced movements. Such repeated and usually rapid movements are conjectured to be a root cause of focal hand dystonia.

However, focal hand dystonia is strikingly most common in musicians and artists than any other group of professionals, including dentists, surgeons, and writers.

Artists painting with focal hand dystonia

Therefore, focal hand dystonia is a disease can appear out of nowhere, as it did for me.

Symptoms of Focal Hand Dystonia

These are the 4 Main symptoms of Focal Hand Dystonia:

  • It can cause subtle loss of control while playing fast passages
  • It causes a lack of precision
  • It can cause fingers “sticking” to keys 
  • It can cause fingers to involuntarily curl in or fly out on either your fretting or picking hand

What makes this silent dream killer so insidious is that it is totally painless.

And it is only present in the context of specific tasks. What do I mean by this? 

For example, my fingers do not “fly out” when I am playing pool or handling manual tools, but those same fingers will “fly out” when I am playing guitar.

Focal hand dystonia side affects

Strange stuff, right?

This is the disease that ruined my high-earning music career, a career in performing live music that for so many years I was so passionate about. 

Due to its unknown origins, focal hand dystonia is a career-killer of musicians that remains a mystery.

And later I would find out it currently has no cure.  

Wanna Know How I Gained My Life Back?

Life is Not Always in Our Control

Dark days dealing with depression

In life we occasionally encounter situations far beyond our control. Woes we simply cannot ever prepare for or overcome that make us question the core of our existence.

Yes, I realize some out there may say or be thinking this is was not a life-threatening illness. Some might say focal hand dystonia is not cancer, or a disease that will leave you in a wheelchair.

Tell this to any extremely talented and dedicated artist or musician who put their entire lifeblood and dedication into developing the craft they’ve loved for so many years, and most will tell you this is tantamount to a life-ending situation. 

Broken heart from focal hand dystonia

It's How We Deal with The Challenges

Many of you out there deal with such daunting physical and mental challenges every day.

I cannot ever even begin to imagine how you wake up every morning and summon the courage to brave the light, while also trying to succeed in your own career and personal lives.

To all my new friends out there, I have the greatest respect and admiration for your amazing courage and unfaltering resilience. You are my supreme inspiration.

Yes, I have had my share of challenges too, perhaps not to the same extent as some of you may have. Believe me I have found myself down in the trenches, climbing so high to the summit only to fall back into the deep abyss of life, arms flailing helplessly.

Take away the paint brush forever from the artist, or the guitar away from the musician and he or she will go raving mad. This is exactly what happened to me. I soon became mentally despondent and near the end.

Then one day as a result of my quandary, I found myself searching for divine providence.

Searching for divine providence

Confronting that deep abyss, here goes the rest of my story…..

My Focal Hand Dystonia:  5 Stages of Grief and Loss

5 Stages with focal hand dystonia

Living with my focal hand dystonia presents ongoing challenges that continues even to this day.

Once upon a time for many years, I was a well-paid and sought-after professional guitarist and band leader. I ran one of the most exciting in-demand party bands in New York City.

Then I almost lost everything.

That happened one January morning when I contracted this mysterious hand disorder.  It's truly amazing how I have comeback from the brink of disaster after losing my once well-paying music career.

Life happens. Conditions change and so do one’s predilections. 

I am so grateful, and I believe I have been truly blessed to have seen the opportunity that eventually led me to turn my life around and become the successful online marketer I am today.

A successful marketer today having been blessed with the ability to generate multiple passive income streams.

However, it wasn't always this way.

I Was Once a Gifted Musician

For the majority of my life, I have always been considered by my peers as a brilliant guitar player.

I have always carried a great sense of pride achieving a very high level of playing through over 10,000+ hours of practice. Once I could play all styles of music i.e., rock, jazz, classical, fusion, rhythm & blues, funk, etc. with equal facility and proficiency.

And as a song writer, I have composed over 130+ original songs on guitar and piano.

Off the Hook band photo during happier days

For the previous 14 years, my band Kaju’s Off the Hook had been a prime time in-demand party band for hire blessed having performed over 1400+ shows, including over 400 private events.

That’s the good news.

Then One Day Life Came Crashing Down...

One morning in January 2010 I woke up and noticed I couldn’t play the strings the way I used to. Overnight, my left ring finger and pinky could no longer bend, and both fingers would “fly out” uncontrollably. WTF!

That’s when during that first catastrophic month I experienced the 5 stages of grief and loss:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

5 Stages of Grief

Denial and Anger:  Focal Hand Dystonia

Well, actually the first two.  Denial and anger.

Over that first horrible month, my mysterious malady continued on a daily basis without any sight of improvement. Forget about even not playing the strings like I used to, I couldn’t even play the most basic open chords on guitar!

First I was in utter denial. As a result of such denial, I soon became completely stunned. This led to me walking around for one week in a fog going about my business as if nothing was wrong.

By the second week, I woke up one morning and became totally enraged.

Feeling undeserving of my plight, I was engulfed in anger.

My anger toward the world sent me on an unrelenting dire quest to see as many different doctors and hand specialists over the following 9 months (imagine being angry for 9 months!).

They all performed a wide variety of x-rays and nerve tests. Surgery was ruled out, and none of the various tests ever yielded a conclusive diagnosis.

By July, I went to see a recommended acupuncturist for a total of 4 sessions. This didn’t help either. 

Dealing with the grim news of focal hand dystonia

The Aftermath of Focal Hand Dystonia:  The Grim News

Then late 2010 after witnessing additional bizarre changes in my hand, I spent countless hours of exhaustive internet research.  This would lead me on a path to find a controversial specialist at Columbian-Presbyterian Hospital in rare hand disorders. Desperate and searching for answers, I made the appointment.

Within 30 minutes upon my arrival after giving him my complete detailed history, this controversial doctor offered his diagnosis of my malady.

That day on September 15, 2010 I was told officially I had a rare neurological disease called focal hand dystonia.

Bargaining:  Stage 3 of Focal Hand Dystonia

Bargaining: Stage 3 of Focal hand dystonia

For a short two-week period of time after my diagnosis, I went through the bargaining phase. I blamed myself for my own malady, citing my arduous practice sessions from late 2009 as the cause for my disease.

Practice in recent years had been sporadic and intermittent for me.

When you have been playing for many years only minimum practice is necessary.

There were days I would hardly practice for months (other than performing with the band live) followed by short bursts of heavy 3 hour per day sessions.

Second Guessing Oneself:  Why Focal Hand Dystonia?

Near the end of 2009, there was an unusual three month period where I was practicing lots of complex guitar melodic patterns, scales, and riffs with the metronome. Soon I was working these practice exercises up to break neck speeds, playing in tandem with You Tube videos by speed demons i.e. Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani, Paco De Lucia, etc.at times reaching 184 rpm’s on the metronome.

Immediately I began questioning and blaming myself with “What if this” or “What If that”.

For instance, I would say “What if I didn’t subject myself to those rigorous speed practice sessions and exercises, could I have averted this horrible hand disorder?” 

Depression:  Stage 4 of Focal Hand Dystonia

Depression: Stage 4 of Focal hand dystonia

By the beginning of October 2010, my world was rocked and steadily collapsing inward around me.

Quickly I became severely depressed over my hand disorder. Compare this to an athlete or a writer. How would such an athlete runner or writer feel if he or she could no longer have the facility to run without a limp or the ability to see the written page?

However, I was lucky. Due to unique opportunities created, not everything was gloom and doom.

To cope with my depression, fortunately I became involved in several projects which became necessary diversions. Several of these “diversions” were fortunate accidents by themselves.

Gospel Fest and Television

These were performances on the short-lived “Karaoke Battle USA” ABC-TV show in 2011, and singing and playing guitar for the “Don’t Give Up Gospel Choir” from Japan to raise funds to support the tragic tsunami victims of March 11, 2011.

Our group commanded an outstanding performance in front of a crowd of 20,000+ strong at Gospel Fest.

That was one electrifying concert at the Prudential Center under the direction of Danny Eason where we opened for legends Kirk Franklin and Donny McKlurkin.

The Don't Give Up Choir from Japan

Charitable Work and Activity

As I’ve always cherished helping others especially the ones most in need.

Soon I became involved by contributing my time and efforts to several philanthropic activities for the Red Cross and the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center also provided great comfort and solace for me.

There were two radio interviews on WGBB with Lou Telano covering “Karaoke Battle USA” and the Japan choir that provided a necessary distraction.

Kaju visits crowd of 20,000 at Gospel Fest

A Passion That Never Dies

My depression eventually turned into apathy. 

By 2012, Off the Hook had an old website hosted for several years on Network Solutions and I let it go. Whatever prior interest I maintained with band marketing and promotion slowly waned.

However, my overreaching passion for live music performance never died.

That’s the only reason why the band continued playing regularly despite my hand disorder, at least on our regular monthly club date. It;s the same passion which still gives me the motivation and perseverance to drive forward.

By this time the group took a long hiatus from performing special private events save a few. 

Acceptance:  Stage 5 of Focal Hand Dystonia

Acceptance: Stage 5 of Focal hand dystonia

Facing my new reality, I continued to trudge forward playing every gig using only “2 to 3 fingers.” This exercise became extremely frustrating for me.  In fact, at first it seemed to be an exercise in futility.

As a strictly-trained guitarist who played one finger per fret “by the book”, I was at first very resistant to accepting my new found condition or to changing my playing to unconventional fingerings.

Eventually however, in order to get through every performance I had to change the left-hand fingerings on practically all the songs we performed.

Overcompensating for my new limited status as a guitar player soon became the norm.  Slowly I began to make adjustments while living with focal hand dystonia.

I had reached a point of acceptance.

Gigs started to get better and slowly were becoming fun again.

Through my process of learning to accept, open-mindedness, and self-discovery, in time I turned toward Eastern medicine. To this day I continue to be treated by the Hands of the Master. 

Kaju performing at the Waldorf Astoria

Coming Full Circle!

In 2016, Kaju’s Off the Hook performed our annual Waldorf Astoria private black tie event for Young Audiences on the third week of November. Then on December 9, we performed a phenomenal show at Capitale NY in front of 1600+ frenzied guests and completely knocked it out of the park!

This was a complete breath of fresh air. I’d come full circle!

That’s when I decided it was a New Year, and on January 1, 2017 after not having an active website for almost 4 years, I started to build our new band website. My new site was “completed” on January 18, 2017.

Wealthy Affiliate: The Best Online Marketing University (Hands Down!)

Wealthy Affiliate logo

Soon thereafter, I would “stumble” upon an amazing internet marketing community called Wealthy Affiliate. Almost immediately I knew this was “my new home”.

After doing very thorough background research and reading review after review, I realized what an amazing opportunity this platform would be.

Here was a community of 800,000+ worldwide members (today there are over 1.5 million worldwide members); the training was voluminous, and was more comprehensive and thorough than any I had ever seen online.

Wealthy Affiliate a Get Rich Quick Scheme?  Not!

This was not a “Get Rich Quick Scheme”, and shortly after joining the community as a FREE member, I quickly noticed how highly interactive this unique community was and how genuinely helpful they were to each other.

Seeing a great opportunity, I signed up as a premium member and immediately hit the ground running. Excited by this new adventure, I immersed myself in what I consider hands down the Best Online Marketing University.

Wealthy Affiliate's great fundamental training consists of the fundamental Online Entrepreneur Certification Course (OEC) and Affiliate Bootcamp Couse. Best of all, I supplemented my learning with the free weekly video training on a wide variety of topics by their Head Guru Jay Neill. 

Now An Ambassador for 400 Days

After studying and applying what I learned over 90 day period, I learned the secrets of multiple passive streams of income. By my third month, I became an Ambassador, one of the Top 25 of Wealthy Affiliate.

Soon I was applying these closely guarded secrets, and after a few months I began earning a passive stream of income. I was ecstatic! 

Within 2 additional months I was able to scale up my business, and began earning multiple passive streams of income in affiliate marketing.

Now I am a Wealthy Affiliate Ambassador for 444 days and counting. And I continue to help and teach others while earning a great passive income.

Wealthy Affiliate has truly been a  real life-changer for me.

Experience Wealthy Affiliate

Now I teach others to do the same.

And I would love to teach you.  By giving back.

I’d come full circle, from a music career in ruins to the freedom of a digital nomad lifestyle through generating a great passive income.

Life is sunny again!  

Thanks so much for reading my improbable comeback story!

My improbable comeback from focal hand dystonia.

Onstage view of Prudential Center at Gospel Fest rehearsal

Let’s continue the conversation. I would Love to invite you to share any comments below.

Please share the Love….

Hit the “Like” button below if you enjoyed reading this article.

Cheers,

Kaju

About the Author

KAJU is the band leader and founding member of OFF THE HOOK, one of the premiere dance party bands in the New York Tri-State Area. After contracting a mysterious hand disorder, Kaju now writes to help other musicians and artists deal with disabilities. Currently he is a Full-time Affiliate Marketer and 1-on-1 mentor at Wealthy Affiliate, a community that can help anyone start an online business without prior experience. This is where he teaches others how to make a great passive income. Read more about his story here!

  • Hello, Kaju,

    This is a deeply moving story of sorrow that turned into triumph.

    We cannot even imagine the self-realization of not being able to play your instrument! Life-changing and devastating. We take our hands for granted and that they will always do what we want but when these ‘tools’ malfunction on us, it is bad, to say the least. In your case, even more so when your hands created your music which was also your livelihood!

    You inspire us with your coming ‘full circle’ and finding an alternative path, as you slowly healed and retrained yourself.

    Wealthy Affiliate is by far the best platform there is, as we too have discovered. It is a great place to learn and to engage with a global community.

    We know that other musicians who may be struggling will learn from your experience and realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

    Colette and Philip

  • Kaju says:

    Thank You so much for your continued inspiration Colette and Philip. We all have our challenges, and we all need to find ways to adjust and move forward.

    I hope others will follow my lead, and learn that there is a great life at the end of the tunnel beyond unexpected limitations, and I want to show them there is always hope.

    No doubt, Wealthy Affiliate is by far the best platform for learning how to make money online. Hands Down.

    All the Best,
    Kaju

  • Kaju! This story is filled with amazing light and inspiration. Is there a cure? I am a nurse who performs specialty infusion servcice for people with rare neuromuscular disorders. Research is my passion, hence meeting you through marketing research. Your story hits home and breaks my heart. The sadness lends to beauty like a Brazilian Samba song echoing in the breeze.

    I remember getting pistol grip from building boats at Bayliner U. S. Marine. It is a type of tendonitis from the repetitive motion of using tools. My middle finger on my right hand was stuck shut every morning.
    Well, the new program we started warms up with stretching and breathing exercises prior to getting started at work. It reduced injuries and brought the team together.
    I have been researching how to heal nerve cells, and science is rapidly advancing in this arena. I think if your arms fell off you would still be a hero and musician.
    I am very glad you came to Wealthy Affiliate. And sorry for your suffering. It is catastrophic to revamp according to unexpected circumstances. Like Will Smith said, it is not our fault but definitely our responsibility to overcome.
    My mind is swimming with thoughts to share of my research in pursuit of scientific understanding and innovation.

    I stumbled upon a protocol, involving mitochondrial biophysics. The idea of using light and oxygen therapies, as well as boosting the action of breathing on a cellular level. In the power house of cells.
    I have also been researching immunoglobulins and mesenchymal cell therapies. As well as pharmacogenetics.
    One more discovery and then I will rescind from my nerd forest before you follow me in too far. Scientists looked for an antihistamine to help repair nerves. They tried thousands and one stood out as promising. It is called clemastine fumarate that showed to improve the nerve pathways to the optic disc. I wonder what would happen if they used this in an infusion.
    Along with the specialty infusions, I do clinical oversight for facilities housing people with mental health disabilities. It is people like you who break the stigma.

    Paying it forward and charity is healing, and the reciprocal effect is the triumph of good.

    On yet another plane, I do medical-legal research as a legal nurse consultant. My calling helps attorneys and companies to improve and uphold standards of care.
    Your story has called my heart.
    Thank you for your work, and every drop of music you put into the oceanic symphony of the world. Please let me know if I may be of service to you.
    Sincerely,
    Nurse Becca

    • Kaju says:

      Nurse Becca, you have an amazing background. Thank You for sharing this with me.
      There is currently no cure for focal hand dystonia, only “management techniques”, I have tried everything from botoxin injections from one of the foremost specialists in the country for one year (the “gold standard” for managing focal hand dystonia), to functional medicine, to Reki, to acupuncture, and other Eastern medicine techniques (read my “Hands of the Master” post).

      Nothing has ever brought back the facility I owned before the occurrence of this disease. I’ve had 4 EMG’s; the last one in 2015 (I was stuck with needles in my hands, arms, and upper back back area where electrical charges were sent in me for 30 minutes) actually caused me to gain a 20-25% improvement in movement within 2 days (more than I had in the prior 5 years), however the hand specialist one week later denied the EMG had anything to do with this improvement. This improvement lasted for 3-4 months, then I reverted back to my prior baseline status. All follow-up only left more questions, never any answers.

      So I continue to march forward and continue to play and deal with this everyday, I “get by” but I am shell of my former self. The masterful guitarist I once was.
      Thank You for your kindness and concern.

  • Jim says:

    I now have a name for what ails me, Kaju! Focal Hand Dystonia!

    In my youth, I was originally a professionally trained accordionist. My abilities – believe it or not – was approaching those of my idol, Myron Floren, who rose to fame as a member of the Lawrence Welk band. Our polka band played at numerous events throughout the Midwest – but, after about 15 years – my skills began to diminish. No matter how much I practiced, my nimble fingers that never missed a note started becoming clumsy and started missing keys.

    My polka band was dissolved – and, I switched to guitar.

    At first everything went pretty well. After some years that saw 3 to 5 hours of practice a day, I was able to fret some of the most complex bar chords you can imagine – stretching out with my pinky and ring fingers to capture insane distances over the neck of my classical guitar.

    Then, my guitar playing changed – just like my days with the accordion. And, it didn’t happen to just my pinky and ring fingers – it hit my index finger, too – making it next to impossible to execute a crisp and clean bar chord of any kind.

    But, just like you, I adjusted. Now, I play open chords only – no more bar chords. Most of my chords are 2 or 3 fingers – and I stick to the keys of C or G.

    So, I’ve become a “pick-and-grin” guitarist – playing simple songs – at the campfire of my choice.

    But, I digress.

    Your move into this Wealthy Affiliate thing is something I hadn’t thought of. But, you have piqued my interest – enough for me to further research your website and see if this might be a road that I could follow to success. I’m sure that as I follow your success story, I will have many questions – so, be prepared!

    😉

    Jim

    • Kaju says:

      WOW Jim, I never knew you had this – you DO have Focal Hand Dystonia! And have had this for many years it seems. It does not ONLY plague guitarists, it affects all musicians i.e., drummers, pianists, horn players (in the lip which is called another embouchure dystonia) …..and now even accordion players!:) We REALLY do have much in common. I used to play the most complex jazz chords, chord melodies, and classical finger pickin’. Then I could play Al DiMeola runs, and Paul Gilbert speed picking passages.

      That all started changing in 2009. And then it only became progressively worse in time, despite seeing over 15 different specialists – including the TOP focal hand dystonia specialist in the country at Columbian Prebysterian Hospital – where I had botoxin injection administered in my arm for one year. No improvement. I can go on and on.

      Currently, I can still play but had to adjust all the fingerings. Not as enjoyable anymore I am afraid. But I can still get through the gigs, although not nearly as many as before.
      This conversation is to be continued, we share much in common. So much to talk about. Thank You for this.

      Kaju

  • Fran Kelso says:

    I loved this story! It interested me because I, too, gave up on a music career when I “came down with” arthritis. I played electric bass and 5-string banjo, and with the arthritis, could not form all the chords any more (the F chord left my repertoire permanently.) It’s funny — I can still do picking patterns with my right hand, though now my fingers get stuck in the strings when I strum.

    Fortunately, though there are very few things I can do on the banjo, I discovered that I could still play bass, because I didn’t have to make chords. Now I play locally with a group once or twice a week, just for the fun of it. I believe, though, that playing the bass has helped strengthen my arthritic fingers a bit.

    I enjoyed hearing you sing on your video, and really found your story quite remarkable. Again, we have something in common. I agree that Wealthy Affiliate is a way to regain a great deal of the success we thought was taken away. Good that we found this wonderful place!

    • Kaju says:

      H Fran,

      WE are ALL learning MUCH more about each other, and I realize how much we have in common. Jim also has had focal hand dystonia for many years – and ONLY realized this after reading THIS article! YES, you are right, Wealthy Affiliate is a diversion (just like my pool playing became). I used to be able to play the most complex jazz chords and classical arrangements on guitar, now I can “get through the gig” but have to change the fingerings and use simpler substitutions.

      We definitely need to continue this great conversation, it is indeed healing:)
      Thank You for the comment:)

      Kaju

  • Kyle Ann Percival says:

    WOW! What an amazing and inspirational story!
    I enjoy several hobbies, including music, and I’m not sure how well I would handle it if one of my passions was taken away.
    I’ve never heard of that particular disease, and since I have several other health issues I hope that doesn’t get added to my list!
    But I find it interesting that you applied the 5 stages of grief to your situation, and it makes perfect sense now that I’ve read your article.
    I’m happy you’re still playing music and have found acceptance for this situation. Even more exciting is the path you’ve found for creating multiple income streams!
    I wish you continued success in all your ventures.
    KyleAnn

    • Kaju says:

      Thank You so much Kyle Ann, I appreciate that you can relate to the 5 Stages of Grief and how I was able to reach the acceptance stage.This has been a long crazy ordeal, but no doubt the brighter days are ahead of us:)!

  • Kelyee says:

    Wow, Kaju what an inspiring post. I guess all disease does not discriminate. They choose and pick whoever they want.

    13 years ago I was diagnosed with hypoparathyrodism. Like your illness, I didn’t feel any pain. No symptoms until it was later when I couldn’t walk 5 steps without catching my breath.

    Gain a buttload of weight and I couldn’t see anymore. At this time my joints were so bad I literally had to roll out of bed to go to work. Yes, I was still working! I had too.

    Long story short Kaju I had surgery to remove one of my parathyroid. The surgery was great I can live again however, I had to live with the side effects.

    I’m so glad you came in full circle.

    • Kaju says:

      Great story Kelly, and I applaud you for your courage and perseverance. Believe it or not, I too had the parathyroid surgery, where they had to make an incision in m neck to remove 1 of 4 parathyroid glands. This was due to a high calcium level, I’m great now and we all live with some side effects.

      You are so right, disease does not discriminate. I am dealing with my focal hand dystonia, but it hasn’t been easy as music was always my passion.

      Have a Wonderful Day, Kelly:)
      Kaju

  • Kaju,

    Thank you for sharing that moving, personal and inspirational story.

    While detailed enough to be on par with a brief white paper it also offers more beyond that which is a list of solutions of how to overcome adversity.

    When others may seek to hide any ailments or to portray themselves as invincible or in full control of their own destiny, you offer your own personal experience openly in an effort to provide info, knowledge and most of all hope for your readers and in the service of others.

    We once again salute your multi-talented, gifted and generous spirit and all that bring to those who are fortunate to know you.

    Blessings!

    • Kaju says:

      As always, you are very astute in your comments Gabriel. Those who have worthwhile experiences to share have an obligation to help others by sharing such experiences. This will inform that reader of what to avoid, how to tackle a solution, and so on. We should never hide our ailments, only share them. We are ALL vulnerable.

      May the generous spirit pervade, and may we continue to share our gifts to the world:)

      Kaju

  • Taetske Guillaume says:

    Dear Kaju,

    It must have been extremely hurtful on all levels to suddenly, out of the blue, get this disability.

    I understand that these past years you have tried everything, visiting all the doctors you could find hoping they would come up with a solution to your problem.

    It seems there is no cure for your ailment. Over time you have learned to live with it and adapt to this new situation. These type of things are like rocks on your life path and I think you have overcome this obstacle in an admirable way. You have learned to adapt and continued with your life discovering new things.

    I am forwarding a video and I hope you will watch it and then give it a try.

    With my very best wishes.

    Regards, Taetske

    • Kaju says:

      Thanks so much Taetske, yes these unexpected challenges do act as rocks on life’s path. There isn’t much else we can do but learn to adapt and move forward.
      I believe we all have a greater calling in our lives than what initially we thought was apparent, and many of us first discover later in life what we were meant to be and the lives we were meant to live.
      There is a greater plan for me in the grand scheme of everything. Looking forward to seeing how it unfolds:)
      I am also looking forward to watching your video.

      Best,
      Kaju

  • Kaju, the journey you have shared here is nothing short of amazing. Thank you so very much for sharing your story here. I had never heard of Focal Hand Dystonia before, but know people in the music business that this could affect. This would be awesome to share with them so they could at least be aware of it.

    It takes a strong person to be able to overcome something so devastating and turn it around to be something so wonderful. You explained the five stages of grief and loss wonderfully. I can only imagine what you were experiencing at that time. You could have gotten your diagnosis and just hid in a corner. But you didn’t – thank goodness. I am so glad you and Wealthy Affiliate “found each other”. You are such a positive person in the community as an Ambassador, which could have very easily been quite the opposite because you could have been so bitter about what had happened to you. But you overcame it and now not only doing what you love in the music business, but also in the affiliate marketing business.

    As someone who has found Wealthy Affiliate, I agree with you about its wonderful community. What you learn within the platform is totally amazing. The training and all the tools is second to none in the affiliate marketing business.

    I absolutely admire your determination, Kaju, and wish you all the best as you journey on in everything you do.

    Kind regards,
    Yvette

    • Kaju says:

      Thank You so much for your kindest of words Yvette. I totally respect you as an author, writer, and teacher so your words mean very much to me. They ring true in tone and in the perfect pitch of a finely tuned Steinway grand piano.

      It has been very difficult having to live with an impediment that limits you from doing the things you once loved, and being able to do them with the same proficiency. But I’m still here, breathing and helping many people, so have found other joys in my life. Wealthy Affiliate has been one of those great joys, as for the past 2.5 years I have 1.5 million+ worldwide members I can share my narrative with.

      We must all learn to turn our lives around by acknowledging our grief, meeting those great challenges head on, and flipping those negatives into positives to arrive at a better place. There will be times for some where we must go through the 5 Stages of Grief and Loss to once again get to that better place. I know and it was tough. Very tough.

      Finding Wealthy Affiliate was a huge blessing, and I am very grateful to WA and the entire community.

  • Saane says:

    Okay, got to give it to you brother! your story proves that you are due of every bit of my respect.

    Your different stages from anguish to finally accepting that you have Hand Dystonia, and will not let your passion for music or life die, is just amazing.

    What I happy about is that you have joined an awesome community of people in the program that you have joined. It has obviously, given you a new lease of life towards greater horizons.

    Obviously, you have truly come through trials to triumph and I am grateful to read such an inspiration. So, will be following your blogs, for sure.

    Wow, you need to write a song about your journey, it needs to sung 🙂

    • Kaju says:

      Thanks Saane, you truly honor me. It’s been very difficult, but I learned to make adjustments both physical and mental. And I found this awesome community here at WA, and other incredible inspirational new friends like yourself:)

  • Bob Margroff says:

    Hi Kaju, that had to be horrible to be in that position of not knowing where your life was going to go after all these years performing. I know I would have been at my wit’s end.

    I am glad to see how you were able to turn things around and find a way to continue playing music and now also to build your website for your band. It’s awesome that you also discovered Wealthy Affiliate in the last couple of years to begin your passive income potential.

    I have recently discovered it for myself and am happy to be there as well. I am still learning and hope to be able to build my website and be able to earn some extra money with it.

    Your story was inspiring and even if mine isn’t quite like yours…I’m not a musician, there are many parallels. I am in a job that I am not totally happy with and plan to eventually retire or replace the income with my website.

    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Bob M.

    • Kaju says:

      Thanks so much Bob, we all have our stories to tell and our challenges to overcome. When we open our minds and look outside the box, we will discover expanding opportunities that we would have never previously considered.

      I am very happy you have drawn some inspiration from my personal story, and hope others will continue to follow you.

      Kaju

  • >