He also hitchhiked and hopped freight trains around the country including a journey to attend the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.
[6] He later worked as a seafood processor in Dutch Harbor, Alaska and for an industrial electric display company in New Orleans.
[7] After a lengthy rehabilitation he began to paint using his mouth to hold the brush and started volunteering his time at Children's Hospital in Seattle.
[9] His paintings have been displayed around the world and he has served as delegate to conventions in Buenos Aires, Lima, Peru, Shanghai, Sydney, Vienna, Brussels, Lisbon, Athens and New York City.
[10] Wikstrom has given painting demonstrations to the Emperor and Empress of Japan,[11] Andy Warhol and thousands of people around the world.