A-Team: A is for Arbi

I had been Arbi's chiropractic patient and a member of his gym for years. I always knew he had healing hands. What I didn't know was that he could do more than crack my back. After the stroke, he put my gym membership on hiatus. I called him in February to say I was ready to come back. He wanted to train with me the first time.

"You don't have to do this alone," he said. "I'm right here with you – through good times and bad. We will do this together." I dropped my blasé physical therapist and have been working with Arbi since.

Three times per week, Arbi and I do an hour of weight training in the gym. My former PTs focused solely on my leg. The problem with that approach is that the wires on my left side are crossed: I exert my arm, my leg moves. Arbi trains my whole person to teach me simultaneous control over multiple muscle groups. The video below shows us working together in July 2011 – 15 months post-stroke. (My wonderful sister-in-law behind the camera.)

After the gym, Arbi treats me with electrical stimulation, which tires my spastic muscles, allowing him to stretch them – more effective than what I do on my own because the very effort of self-stretching makes me tense. Arbi has filled me with hope that we can beat my hated spasticity. I am so grateful to him, I volunteered to help launch his new website: www.arbiderianchiropractor.com. Editing the testimonials confirmed my impression that he's a swell guy. Plus, he's a Trojan fan … and buff.