United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hello
My son's left arm was diagnosed with Erb's Palsy @birth. He has no elbow movement, the arm is very weak & seldom moves it, wrist is bent & thumb is folded into his palm. His right hand''s thumb is bent as well. He was a c-section. He is in therapy, wearing a splint. At 2mths now I don't see any improvement. He also has other birth defects, clubbed feet, hydrocelphes (spelling, water on the brain), droopey left eye & bottom lip but not too bad, tends to keep his head bent to the right but will move it to the left at times,a protruding forehead & the roof of his mouth is higher than normal. He has been to a Genesist & did blood work, all was ok. Wearing casts on both feet, in the 9th pair & they are improving. There has to be a link to all of this.
I have dealt with an adult with a bpi in the past, so I am familiar with it, does it sound to anyone that this child has a bpi & not Erb's? Or are both basically the same? ANY information you might have that could guide me into the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Direct email is Brianshny at Aol.com
Thank you, a concerned mommie

Erb's Palsy affects C5 and C6 nerves which is part of the brachial plexus so you can refer to it as a brachial plexus injury as well.

I would suggest contacting a brachial plexus specialist, maybe there is one in your area. Also if you are into alternative treatments I highly suggest acupuncture. Every injury is different and so is the recovery however I have spoken to others who used it and recovery was great and we have had the same experience.

Cindy

I forgot to add in my post that my son was born at 39 weeks & weighed 6lbs 5 ozs, 20 in long. He did however lay sideways for most of the pregnancy, but my other son laid the same way & now 3 yrs old & healthy.
I don't understand HOW he got injurjed by a normal delivery, however my husband did witness the birth, he said the cord was wrapped around his neck several times but the baby was not blue.

Also we live in East TN & the child is on Medicaid, therefore causing problems far as insurance goes, making it unable for him to have medical help out of the state of TN.

The major concern seems to be his clubbed feet when it comes to Dr's. He has a Neuro appt next month & I am very anxious to see what is found.
Again thank you for reading my posts & for any help you might have to offer.
Joshua's Mommie

Hi Joshua's Mommy,

I am very saddened to read about all that your sweet baby boy has to deal with. My heart goes out to all of you. Unfortunately, the only thing that I can talk somewhat intelligently about is the brachial plexus injury - Erb's palsy. Erb's palsy refers to an injury to a very specific spot on the C5 nerve and reading how you described your son's arm/hand function, it sounds like his injury is much more than just C5 (because his hand/fingers are involved - meaning that it's lower root injury as well). In the big picture this means that he will need attention from a specialist at a very young age.

There is a page on here specific for new parents to read... it is found on the home page on the right side "Information For New Parents". This might be helpful for you to read. Also - from the home page, if you go to anything that says Awareness on it, then go to Resources, you will find a good stack of articles to read in there. The glossary will be helpful, and the articles on general bpi and obstetrical bpi as well... The more you educate yourself about the bpi, the better you will be able to make decisions for your little guy.

I have emailed my daughter's brachial plexus specialist to see if he knows of a brachial plexus specialist in your area. I will email you with his response.

Please know that we are here for you and will try to help and support you in any way we can.

God bless Joshua,
francine

http://www.injurednewborn.com

I am also in East TN. My daughter suffered a BPI injury at birth and is now 21 months old. She has had two surgeries at Texas Children's Hospital and is receiving therapy with East TN Children's Rehab in Knoxville. We live in Oak Ridge (about 20 miles from Knoxville). I can get you the names of some doctors and therapists if you are close to Knoxville.