Hello all...I was in a motorcycle accident 3 mo ago and hit a guard rail. Luckily my only injury was to my left arm...C-5,6,7, T-1 avulsed. I have an appointment at the Mayo Clinic next month and hope to have surgery. How many people here with injury similiar to mine have had surgery? how succesful was it?
Also, perhaps I'm just naive due to the newness of my injury...but I've noticed that allot of people with tbpi do not work. Is this because of the chronic pain or limitation of only having one hand?
I'm planning to go to pharmacy school. I've talked to several pharmacists and the job can be done one handed. I think I would go insane if I couldn't work. I'm currently a Criminal Investigator for the Army and although I'll most likely be medically discharged from the military, I know there are lots of jobs I can still do.
Nice to meet you all...Aaron
new to forum, hello all
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cbe411
- Posts: 1393
- Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2003 8:27 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: MVA in 2001, nerve graph in 2002, Median Nerve Transfer in 2004 and an unsuccessful Gracillis Muscle Transfer in 2006. I am living life and loving it! Feel free to contact me :)
- Location: Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
- Contact:
Re: new to forum, hello all
Aaron, welcome to the nut farm! hehe Seriously, sorry you had to join us here but feel free to make yourself at home!
I have had my bpi for almost 5 years! i Have no wrked since my accident. I was a waitress/bartender at the time of my accident! So that i Could no longer do! My auto insurance paid lost wages (85%) for threee years, why would I work!? hahaha I could sit and feel sorry for myself! Well actually I went back to college, I was 21 when I had my accident. I have since finished my associates, bachelors, and am currently working on my masters. School is very demeanding for me! I also do a lot of volunteer stuff for UBPN and am on the BOD. I am too busy to work right now!! I have also had 2 surgeries and much therapy, that in its self can be very demanding! I am looking at one more yet too! I just last May was approved for social security disability too, so I do have a TINY BIT of income! OK enough from me.....
COurt
PS.... I have a job interview next week! Keep all avaliable fingers crossed!
I have had my bpi for almost 5 years! i Have no wrked since my accident. I was a waitress/bartender at the time of my accident! So that i Could no longer do! My auto insurance paid lost wages (85%) for threee years, why would I work!? hahaha I could sit and feel sorry for myself! Well actually I went back to college, I was 21 when I had my accident. I have since finished my associates, bachelors, and am currently working on my masters. School is very demeanding for me! I also do a lot of volunteer stuff for UBPN and am on the BOD. I am too busy to work right now!! I have also had 2 surgeries and much therapy, that in its self can be very demanding! I am looking at one more yet too! I just last May was approved for social security disability too, so I do have a TINY BIT of income! OK enough from me.....
COurt
PS.... I have a job interview next week! Keep all avaliable fingers crossed!
Re: new to forum, hello all
Welcome I wont say glad your here but glad you found us anyway. I was injured in aug99. I own a motorcycle repair shop and I work 6 days a week. I have changed my responsibilties from a wrench to more of a manager. I do a lot of internet sales and even learned to write my own website for the store. My work keeps my mind off the pain. And I would say my only limits are from the pain and the wieght of my flail arm. The one arm thing is not big deal. I still ride the custom bike I built ocassionaly. And two weeks ago I drag raced my 69 Big Block Nova with an automatic transmission that I had to shift since it was not shifting right on its own. It ran in the 11's. I had plans to run NOS too but I'll have to fix the shifting first. Never give up! As a pharmacist maybe you could research drugs that help nerve pain and be a savior to others ho suffer from bpi's.
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Christopher
- Posts: 845
- Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 10:09 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Date of Injury: 12/15/02
Level of Injury:
-dominant side C5, C6, & C7 avulsed. C8 & T1 stretched & crushed
BPI Related Surgeries:
-2 Intercostal nerves grafted to Biceps muscle,
-Free-Gracilis muscle transfer to Biceps Region innervated with 2 Intercostal nerves grafts.
-2 Sural nerves harvested from both Calves for nerve grafting.
-Partial Ulnar nerve grafted to Long Triceps.
-Uninjured C7 Hemi-Contralateral cross-over to Deltoid muscle.
-Wrist flexor tendon transfer to middle, ring, & pinky finger extensors.
Surgical medical facility:
Brachial Plexus Clinic at The Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN
(all surgeries successful)
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
~Theodore Roosevelt - Location: Los Angeles, California USA
Re: new to forum, hello all
Found this inspiring article a few days ago. Read it thru to the bottom where it talks about he woman's life after a BPI....
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles ... ures04.txt
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles ... ures04.txt
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admin
- Site Admin
- Posts: 19873
- Joined: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:59 pm
Re: new to forum, hello all
Wow...that's pretty cool. I doubt many people survive being hit by a train. She's an inspiration to us all.
Re: new to forum, hello all
Wow...that's pretty cool. I doubt many people survive being hit by a train. she's an inspiration to us all.
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cbe411
- Posts: 1393
- Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2003 8:27 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: MVA in 2001, nerve graph in 2002, Median Nerve Transfer in 2004 and an unsuccessful Gracillis Muscle Transfer in 2006. I am living life and loving it! Feel free to contact me :)
- Location: Grosse Pointe Woods, MI
- Contact:
Re: new to forum, hello all
Christopher that was a great article! I Just found it on google... then read the boards... Its definitly a story of hope!
COurt
COurt
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jennyb
- Posts: 1183
- Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2001 5:24 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: January 1980 Yamaha RD200 vs 16 wheeler truck, result, 1 totally paralysed right arm. I was 21, now 54. I had no surgery, I don't regret this. Decided to totally ignore limitations (easily done aged 21) adapted very quickly to one handed life, got married, had 3 kids, worked- the effect of the injury on my life (once the pain stopped being constant) was minimal and now, aged 54, I very rarely even think of it, unless I bash it or it gets cold, then I wish I'd had it amputated :) Except for a steering knob on my car, I have no adaptations to help with life, mainly because I honestly don't think of myself as disabled and the only thing I can't do is peel potatoes, which is definitely a good thing.
Re: new to forum, hello all
Hi Aaron and welcome aboard. I
ve had rtbpi for 26 years and I worked full time in a bank for 20 of them. I do think the pain stops some people but I found that working actually helped the pain feel less.
Good luck to you :0)
Jen NZ
ve had rtbpi for 26 years and I worked full time in a bank for 20 of them. I do think the pain stops some people but I found that working actually helped the pain feel less.
Good luck to you :0)
Jen NZ
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jennyb
- Posts: 1183
- Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2001 5:24 pm
- Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: January 1980 Yamaha RD200 vs 16 wheeler truck, result, 1 totally paralysed right arm. I was 21, now 54. I had no surgery, I don't regret this. Decided to totally ignore limitations (easily done aged 21) adapted very quickly to one handed life, got married, had 3 kids, worked- the effect of the injury on my life (once the pain stopped being constant) was minimal and now, aged 54, I very rarely even think of it, unless I bash it or it gets cold, then I wish I'd had it amputated :) Except for a steering knob on my car, I have no adaptations to help with life, mainly because I honestly don't think of myself as disabled and the only thing I can't do is peel potatoes, which is definitely a good thing.
Re: new to forum, hello all
That article is about Suzzanne Richter, she has posted here in the past. It's great she's doing so well!
Re: new to forum, hello all
It's great to hear that so many of you are able to work. It gives me hope for a productive future. I'm going to the Mayo Clinic next month for surgery. I would be grateful just to get enough of my arm back that I don't have to wear a sling for the rest of my life. I read the article on John Floyd
(http://mayoclinic.org/patientstories/johnfloyd.html)
and that gives me hope since the exent of our injuries are similiar.
(http://mayoclinic.org/patientstories/johnfloyd.html)
and that gives me hope since the exent of our injuries are similiar.