United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi ALL,
Ohhh yea, I've done the candy melt-crumbled in my LT. hand & forgot I was soooo busy to notice till later...what a mess, I never held food again in that hand. Now I carry a handy bowl from room to room When I worked I carried "goodies" on my "socialworker notebook or my clipboard" I ALWAYS carried on my LOBPIside arm! Anything to keep looking "normal"...[what is normal anyway???]
Hugs,
Carolyn J,68

Carolyn
I don't know what normal is...
What is normal anyway?
What's normal for you may not be for me.

I think normal is ordinary and boring and I probably don't know any truly normal people... LOL... LOL...

Kath (robpi/adult)

When did u have the arm lengthening? Have you noticed any disadvantages? How about scaring?

Hello everyone and thank you for your kind words. Hi Cristina and sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I had the lengthening done in July of 2004. I have not noticed any disadvantages. I am still amazed to this day that I corrected my length difference and the scarring is very minimal. There are four small circle-like scars where the surgical pins were in my arm and elbow. Two in my elbow and two in my upper arm. I would say the scars measure about 5 to 7mm wide and they keep getting lighter as time goes by - pretty small price to pay for what I recieved in return - plus if I want I can always have the scars removed by a cosmetic surgeon. The location of the pins in your arm can be different depending on were the doctor feels it is best to break and grow the bone or you could not need as many pins as I did because my doctor was doing two things at once(1. correcting the length difference and 2. correcting the way my arm was positioned) Contrary to popular belief it is not painful. It was like the fixator and the pins in my bones became a temporary part of my arm for those months that I had it on. I could not really feel them in my arm. In my opinion it was well worth it. Hope this helps. If you need more details just let me know.

Chloe'