Dealing with erb's palsy and looks ..

[Erika]

Hi !!
I am new here!
im from sweden!

I am very happy to find this forum since I have met very few people with erb's palsy,

I was born with OBPI and I never had surgery because the doctor said it could make everything worse .. as a kid i was abused at home, i suffered child depression and acute stress, i was lonely and my life was very messed up so i never really paid attention to my arm, but yeah, it made me feel different ..

when i got in high school i had no self esteem, i thought i was ugly and worthless, i used to be bullied not a lot because of my arm but they way i walked ..
very few people teased me for my arm i guess because it wasnt that noticeable, i once told my classmates i had a birth injury and then they did started to make fun of me .. it was sad but it never really bothered me until i started to care about my image,
the arm was never the center of my life because i had a lot of other problems that were worse to me, i got wild, started to escape from home and go to parties and places that werent for a 13 year old .. i made my mom go crazy back then ..
i never had issues finding a date, i never let the arm define who i am or control my life, most people dont even know i have it, i have some ways to make it look a bit 'normal' and also i dont tell them because i dont want anybodys pity and its nobodys business but mine after all,

i am not able to do a lot with my right arm (my affected arm) i can only lift it above my shoulder and i cant really move it a lot, its thinner, smaller and shorter than my ''good'' arm and its bent, also ..

i started to care about the way my arm looked like when i had an offer to be a model .. but they obviously didnt know i had this problem, and i had to say no because i would feel embarassed .. i am confident but not as confident to be a model, i suffer with because it looks bad and some clothes look bad on me ..

i knew a girl from india who had a surgery to make the arm larger (i dont remember the exact name of the surgery) but she was very happy with the results apparently her arm looked straight and 8 centimeters larger after surgery .. i was happy for her,
also, when it comes to looks, i dont know if we, with our condition could have it done but some bodybuilders for example had plastic surgery to make bigger their biceps/shoulders/legs, etc. i was thinking if we could have something like that done to make the shoulders look symmetrical, i have been researching and some people use fillers or like a kind of implant on the shoulder, you know .. like a boobie implants or something like that, they are popular between bodybuilding cheaters ..

also i always try to pick clothes that would make my arms/shoulders look good, just an example, --> http://www.generaccion.com/noticia/imag ... 485969.jpg

or if i wear sleeveless i try something like this http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0gxg_ui2r3Q/T ... cannes.JPG

or t shirts with a little shoulder pad on the affected arm .. i dont know .. i try to draw attention to the clothes or other things, not my arm .. i usually put my arm on my hip, or inside my pocket, try to walk in a correct posture ..

anyways i hope all of you people dont think you are all ugly because of a stupid arm .. its just an arm after all and you can still be the most beautiful men/woman around with it

love
xxx

[Carolyn J]

Welcome to our UBPN Family,Erika! I am Glad you found UBPN. There are many Teens and Adults with "Teens and Adults with OBPI,( Obstetrical Brachial Plexus Birth Injury, " another name for Erbs Palsy), on the Message Board "Adults and Teens With ..." . Many Subjects and Topic Threads there.
Also,The only dumb question is the one not asked.
Carolyn J
LOBPI/73+

[Master DIVER TOM]

I am posting on the teen and adult forum, I have birth erbs I am 61 , If I can help just post
WELCOME
Master Diver Tom