Tess is now 7 weeks old

[Tess' Mom]

I didn't forget about you all, I've just been swamped with dr. visits etc. and 2 other kids. LOL

OK, an update.

Tess (LOBPI) has been doing pretty well I think. She is currently doing craniosacral therapy, chiropractic, PT/OT and taking the homeopathic treatment hypericum.

She started out with just finger/wrist movement with slight grip and now she is doing much better with hand movement and grip. She has wonderful range and her triceps are able to bring her arm downwards. She still is working on function in the biceps and wrist extension and she holds her hand in the waiter's tip pose constantly. We did have a small splint on her to help with that but it made her skin blister so we stopped. PT did recommend pinning only at night, but we tend to swaddle it over her chest instead.

So, she is improving little by little. She goes for an EMG test on the 10th? Can anyone tell me more about this?

diane from Michigan

[katep]

I would be worried about swaddling her arm across her chest. We did this with our son, too. He was probably swaddled for the first 2 months (?? trying to remember here) - and he had noticeable shoulder malformation at only 3 months old. I don't know how much swaddling him in internal rotation contributed to it, but I believe that's why most docs don't recommend pinning or immobilizing the arm beyond the first couple of days.

We still have never had an EMG, but I know a lot of folks here have had them for themselves or their kids. I hope you get the answers you need.

Kate

[Tess' Mom]

But wouldn't it be worse to have the shoulder roll backwards while they are flat on their back?

[Tess' Mom]

Additional update:

We qualified for Children's Special Health Insurance so they are secondary to our Blue Cross and we are in the MI Child program too.

Diane

[katep]

Tess,

I really don't think so. As her muscles come in, she's going to tend to keep her arm/shoulder rolled forward almost all the time. If she sleeps on her back and her arm is rolled outward and back, it will help keep the front of the shoulder stretched out. That's a good thing.

Kate

[katep]

oops... I meant that to Diane (Tess' mom), not Tess (who has a long time before she'll be reading the boards herself!)

Kate

[BIGJAVSMOM]

Diane- I am glad to hear that Tess is making progress. Javier had his EMG done when he was about 3 or 4 months old. What I can remember happening was the doc came in and repeatedly inserted very small needles (connected to electrodes) into his arm. I believe that some children are sedated for this, but Javier was sleeping when we went in and he had no feeling because of the severity of his injury. It lasted between 10 and 15 minutes including setup. I was sad that he didn't respond, it only proved what we already knew. I know that there are others with different EMG stories and I hope they post to help you. Good luck with everything.

MArlyn
mom to Javier 1 ROBPI

P>S- don't be discouraged by my post, remember, JAvier had no function or feeling AT ALL.

[Tess' Mom]

LOL, yep, if Tess can read already she's all set in life. LOL

I do see your point on the shoulder thing...maybe you are right on that.

As far as the EMG, I don't really know what it is so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's done it.

Diane

[admin]

We also pinned the arm to the chest area. After 2 months of doing so we were finally told by a real BPI specialist NOT TO DO THIS. He told us that pinning the arm up to the body is for adults or older children who sustain an injury, like a traumatic injury, b/c when they stand they need to support the arm from the gravity. He assured us that pinning the arm would not benefit her at all. The baby will be just fine when laying down on her back without the pinning. Especially with improvement coming in at anytime, you want her to be able to move that arm and/or shoulder without anything holding it back even a tiny bit.
I wouldn't keep it anything but free.
Good luck with eveything. You certainly have your hands full!
~Krista~

[blades]

Diane - My daughter (now 5 months) had an EMG at 2 1/2 months and 4 months. The first time they sedated her with Versat? which was given to her rectally and the 2nd time they gave her nitrous oxide (laughing gas). During the EMG the inserted small needles which sent electrodes to the nerves and recorded the response. It was then compared to her left side, she is ROBPI. We were very excited that her 2nd EMG showed great improvement and it looks like she will not need the primary surgery. The EMG was alot harder on me than it was on her!!
As for the splint, the therapist made us a WHO (wrist, hand orthosis) she wears this at night and during naps and it keeps her hand from going into the waiters tip position. She doesn't seem to mind it and really has helped her with lifting her wrist. Hope this info helped!!!!
Tara (mom to Ava ROBPI)