Editors Note:  the Toronto Media Co-op received the following letter this week from Elroy Yau.  Mr. Yau's story was reported on shortly after his arrest and detainment by the G20 Police in the Toronto Star.

Hi! Some of you may have heard of me. My name is Elroy Yau.  I was the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) employee arrested in full uniform for going to work and detained for over 30 hours; all for going to work.
 
So the update so far is, I have been off work since July 4th 2010. The Ontario Workers Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) has more or less denied my claim because I refuse to sign a form that forbids me from suing Toronto Police Services or the City of Toronto for their blunders. (But WSIB IS allowed to sue.) I am not prepared to give up my civil rights for that. I cannot believe WSIB is denying me benefits because I refuse to sign a waiver of suing any third party.
 
I am under the care of a primary physician. I see him once a week. I saw a psychotherapist offered by TTC Employee Assistance Program (who was of no help) for 6 sessions. I have also seen the TTC psychiatrist, and my own doctor is making arrangements for me to see a real psychiatrist which can take up to 1 year.  I am under a variety of medications, Immovane for sleeping, Clonazapem and Ativan Sublingual for anxiety, panic attacks, and flashbacks. Percocets for body/back pain, none of which are really working.

I had everything very well documented as well as medical records and dates. I look at the sick benefits forms he fills out for my Company Sick Benefits Association. I have never seen words such as "debilitating", "not improving", and "poor" used to describe my condition. It appears, after our last doctor's meeting on Sept 22nd 2010, he is going to try a more aggressive medication with even more side effects.
 
I see a chiropractor 3 times a week. Soft tissue damage and back, lower lumbar, and shoulder damage which was caused when I was tackled to the ground, and the damage caused is consistent with police hard arrest tactics.
 
Everyday, I wake up, and sit in a chair and look out a window. If it weren’t for my dogs, I wouldn't leave the house. I have lost my appetite. I went from a healthy 155 pounds to a 142 pounds. I have little or no appetite and don't eat much.  I lost friends and feel isolated. I have little contact or support from even my work, or my benefits plan. The stories are true; I am just a number at work, nothing else.
 
I missed out on summer. I missed out on my favorite summer activities. Pride, Taste of Danforth, Divercite, and Buskerfest. Anxiety, panic attacks, and flashbacks keep me from going out unless I really need to do something. Grocery shop once a week, doctor and chiropractic appointments three times weekly, and walk my dogs. That is what my day consists of. My summer was ruined. My life has changed forever. No BBQ, no beach, no summer, no siting on a patio enjoying one of the best summers in Toronto history. My day consists of looking out a window at them building a condo in front of mine in a blank, mindless stare.
 
Some people dream of having the summer off; I had it, and I hated it. All I wanted to do was go back to work, back to my old life and live a normal life. Unfortunately, something that will never happen again.

Elroy Yau