esfi-world just did an interview with my man Firefly about how he utilised sc2 to help him get over his severe illness.
In July of 2010, Peter Barber was struggling with severe depression at his home in Melbourne, Australia after he was diagnosed with a debilitating chronic medical condition. That July, Andrew Levin found himself back in the U.S. from a frigid classroom in Jinju South Korea, teaching students whom slid across an iced-over classroom floor lamenting their school’s inability to pay for heating. That July in Pasadena, Maryland, Patrick Dement was preparing for doctors to dismantle his entire immune system in hopes of ending a more than 10-year struggle with an incurable and debilitating chronic disease. At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on that same July, Zach was undergoing special forces training to become a combat medic.
And on the 27th of July 2010 in Irvine California, Starcraft 2 launched.
For fans around the world, StarCraft 2 would go on to revitalize professional gaming as a whole and attract a brand new generation of gamers to e-sports. In this four part series, we look at how StarCraft became a positive force in the lives of Peter, Andrew, Patrick and Zach.
Peter “Firefly” Barber
When he was 14 years old, Peter Barber went to see a doctor to find out why he constantly felt so physically ill and exhausted. He exhibited a variety of symptoms, including frequent migraines and endless fatigue that stumped doctors trying to make him better. Doctors began testing Peter for all possible illnesses that could be causing his symptoms, but were only able to give a diagnosis after months of uncertainty.
“It was a 3-month process testing for every disease I had symptoms of. At one point, they thought I had a brain tumor because I had severe migraines,” said Peter, speaking from his home in Melbourne Australia.
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