United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I am new to this site. My 16 year old had a dirt bike accident 7/18/04. c-5,c-6,c-7 nerves were torn from the spinal cord. His first surgery was 12/14/04. we were told that because his surgry was about 6 months from his injury that he may not have any funtion of his elbow/shouler return. has anyone had surgerey 6 months out with good results??? I have learned so much from this message board THANKS SOOO MUCH!!!!

Yes, I had my accident on 9/6/03 and I was only 16 at the time. When the cut me open they knew I had damaged the c5, c6, c7 nerves, but 10 months later my tricep started working. So they believe now that I only avulsed 2 nerves.

My first surgery was in Feb '04, and that was to get my elbow to work (oberlin's procedure). Around June of that year I noticed that my biceps were starting to react every time I made a fist - which was what they wanted to happen. Just 2 more months later I was able to fully bend my elbow just by making a fist. They say that in the future I should be able to bend my arm without having to make a fist.

I also had another operation that is starting to show signs of success. That was called a "cross c7" opeartion in which they took nerves from legs and put them across my chest so that I could lift my arm up. Whenever I get tapped on my right shoulder, it sends a shock down to my left hand.

Hey Stacey, Glad you found us here. Sorry to hear about your sons accident. I too, have a 12 year old son that had an accident on his 4 wheeler last year. He had surgery almost 6 months after his accident. If interested you can e mail me.

Thanks so much for the information. This will help me give my son hope again. I would like to get him online to get support from all you wonderful people. This accident has changed his whole life,MANY DOWN DAYS not very many good days. IF you dont mind me asking are you back in a public school? We enrolled him in a online school, so he is at home all the time and not spending much time with his peers/friends. Sometimes he just stays in his room for days and really doesnt want to talk or be talked to. I know this accident has made him really depressed and i have seeked help for him but he just seems to think no body understands. I would like to see him back in school with his friends but I really dont think hes ready for that yet. What about the pain level? Has the surgeries helped? THANKS AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT AND INFORMATION!!

Stacey..... I can understand the depression thing, I went through it myself, quite badly for a while actually. The best thing was to talk about it but you have to be ready for that 150%! that takes times! Its like getting an alcoholic to rehab, they ahve to go when its time for them! I was 21 when I got my BPI, almost 25 now, its is great to know that there are peeps out there with the same injury and that completely understand! mentally these boards can be great! Then you can exchange numbers and such and chat on the tele... thats great too! Where do you live? Who is your surgeon? Keep asking questions! We are here for ya!\

COurt xx

Hi Stacey,

I'm so sorry about your son. It's a sh(#^y injury and very hard for a parent to watch their child suffer.

In terms of having surgery further out than 6 months for shoulder & elbow function, you might want to consider a gracilis muscle transfer. The gracilis is a muscle in the inner thigh that your son wouldn't miss unless he rode horses (i.e. used to squeeze legs together). Since muscle/tendon is being brought into the shoulder/arm, the 6 month "window of opportunity" isn't a factor since this surgery doesn't depend on innervating original brachial plexus muscles.

My 15 yr old son had this surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota & is doing very well. Not only does he have movement (and he'd lost all five bp nerves) but he is almost completely off his pain meds, which is HUGE. Going from such massive daily doses that we basically "lost" him for a couple years to now only taking ~ 1 pill a week on as needed basis.

Continue to post questions if you want more information, or email me directly. We're all here for you.

Take care,

Ellen

Stacey, Thanks for the e mail. I wrote you back.

Thank all of you for the information and support, it is nice to hear something positive about the outcome of my son Brandons surgery. He had his surgery In Cincinnati Childrens Hospital,(Ohio) The doctors name is Dr. Yakuboff(Brachial Plexus Center@childrens Hospital). This doctor also performs these surgeries for adults at The University Of Cincinnati. I know besides the hospital he also is in private practice. I was told he has done 100's of these surgeries. We are also from Ohio, the hospital is about 100 miles away. Thanks so much for the support!

hi stacey! i'm sorry to hear of your son's accident. i hate when it happens to the younger ones, so unfair!

i can relate to the down days, tho'. i'm 43 and am into my 3rd year of a tbpi - caused by doctor/surgery error.

what court said is sooo true. until he's ready, there's not much i can suggest, except support him and keep reading these boards. i only found these boards -- well, actually, i found them about a year ago but i guess i wasn't ready as i only started posting (and feeling so much better and not so alone) in october of this year!

there are quite a few teenagers (and/or their parents) on this board, and they have all been inspirational and informative for me. *smiles at ellen and narelle/micheal and andre*

i also shunned my friends for awhile and became a hermit. people would try to get me to go out and i just didn't want to. i can't really suggest anything as everyone is different, but for me i just had to deal with it myself first - and that took well over a year before i even considered being sociable again.

sorry to babble - i tend to do that sometimes. i guess what i'm trying to say is try to get him to read these boards but don't push too hard. maybe get him to read the thread about playing video games 1-handed? it might pique his interest.

i'll stop now but hope something i've said helps. remember, we're here for you, too, and one day we'll get to welcome your son also.

hugs,

jan

Stacey,

I went back to my public school 3 weeks after my accident. I didn't get harassed or anything at school because of my injury. I walked around with a sling.

This year was much better because I was able to bend my elbow, and so not very many people could tell I had an injury just by looking at me.

Passing my classes was very easy for me. I decided not take any math level courses because I had completed Algebra 2 and knew that it would be tough for me to pass with using my left hand. For my history class I used that class computer to do the assignments. My English class became the class I practiced my handwriting with. I can say now that after over a year of using my left hand, it is 85% as effective as my right hand.

May I ask if he has any function with his hand?