Background:
Allok is a 25 year old male. He says his condition started when he was 12 years old. While he was in class, he felt a slight pain in both legs and later his legs were not functioning properly. He went to an Ayurvedic for medicine and was bedridden for 15 days. When he could walk slowly his father accompanied him to the local village doctor. However his condition didn’t improve so they decided to stop going.
In 2008 Allok decided to go to Dhenkanal doctor for a check-up. The doctor diagnosed Allok as having fits and prescribed him medicine. For 6 months Allok continued taking the medicine but after that he stopped because they couldn't afford to buy it, even though he still felt pain in his back & could only walk very slowly.
He was referred to Cuttack, where the doctor prescribed medicine for the pain & advised him to have a check-up once a month. For 5 months Allok kept going for his check-up but still the pain persisted, his back was becoming worse (bending) and he couldn't walk farther than 3 km. The last time he went back for a check-up, the doctor prescribed Indomethacin as the other medicines were not working. This medicine worked and he continues to take it to relieve his pain, but he stopped going to the doctor as he couldn’t afford it.

Allok meets Aaina:
One of the Aaina staff members asked Allok to come to the Aaina office so they could see his condition. The staff taught him some therapy/exercise with his arms & legs and especially his back. He complained of pain in the back but was assured that it’s natural to feel pain the first time and was advised to continue the therapy twice a day in order to prevent further complications.

Getting a Back Brace:
In October 15 2009, the Aaina staff accompanied Allok to Nirtar for the fitting of a brace. After one month he got the brace but stopped wearing it as he complained of pain when using it. The staff members explained that it causes pain as it makes his back straight & if he doesn’t use it his back will bend forward and will create more problems later. They advised him to wear the brace for 23 hours as far as possible and only to remove it when exercising & bathing. Now Allok says that after doing exercise in the morning, he feels good as he can walk more than 3 km & can cycle farther, but during night time he feels tired even without doing anything. So he was advised to do exercise in the afternoon also & that he should stop taking the Indomethacin because it can cause problems with his organs. He was advised to use a hot water bottle on the pain area. Allok agreed to try not to take the medicine & to do exercise in the afternoon also.

Business Time: Allok gets a Tricycle
On 16th September2010 Allok was selected for getting a business tricycle for livelihood purposes. Now he started a business by this cycle. Everyday he is going to different areas and selling products like betel, chocolate, mixture and other consumable products.