United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Thanks jess and angela for the replies. I am probably gonna go through with it, but i might wait till next year. They said at this point (5 yrs. post acc.) it is not time sensitive. I have full confidence in the mayo team and as you said a little would mean alot, i think anyway. It would be great to bend my arm again. I just hope it don't mess up my golf game! lol.
Jim

It's amazing what you can learn to do with limited use. I learned to play Xbox pretty well just using my right hand and my chin. I used to be pretty dang good at Tiger Woods golf. Are you really able to play golf with one hand? If so, I am impressed.

I actually play as much as i can. I am not as good as i used to be but i'm getting better. My wife found me a glove for my right hand. It velcros around the wrist and forearm and has a flap that pulls your fingers in to a grip position and the flap then goes to a ring on the velcroe part under the wrist and you can wrench it tight to give almost a fist.(if your fingers are loose enough) i keep it loose untill i get my club in, then i wrench it tight. It really is great. I love the game and this allows me to swing with both arms. Swinging with one arm was really hard for me and i really couldn't get the hang of it.
I was so worried the company would go out of bussiness i bought 5 more for backups! On your note Jess i never got the hang of video games with the one hand, just that one wear you sing in a rock band!
Jim

Have been to Mayo three times in last year with our son.(16) He was evaluated for his injury (1/5/10) in February then had surgery there in March, 21010, and again in November, 2010. Outstanding medical team of Drs. Shin, Bishop and Spinner. In the US, the best place to go for TBPI is the Mayo in Rochester.

Hey JesseB. How's your recovery? Lucas had nearly the identical injury and the same procedures done by Shin, Bishop,and Spinner. He has experienced the beginning of some sensation, etc, but not enough for functionality. His wrist and thumb were fused at Thanksgiving. He still has high levels of pain. Let us know how you're doing. We anticipate it will be another year before full results manifest. Sandra (mom).

Hey y'all. I'm new to the forum and am so amazed by all of your stories. There are so many similar stories to my injury. I guess the biggest difference in my situation is that it's a 30 year old injury. I wish I had known that some of you live and work in Rochester. I'm here visiting the Mayo Clinic and just completed an evaluation with Drs. Bishop, Shin, Skinner, Elhassan. I was ejected from a car at the age of 17 and wore a sling for 30 years. Mayo Clinic suggests that the muscle transfer from the leg would be the way to go for some elbow flexion and abduction. Angela, thank you for sharing through the video. It has been very inspiring. One of my biggest questions is that I don't currently have pain other than muscle discomfort in the shoulder from sublaxation. Has anyone experienced continuous pain caused by the surgery? Thank you for any advice that is offered.

Hey Pat, glad you liked my videos You sure picked the coldest week to travel to MN, lol. If you're still here I would be happy to sit and chat with you. Let me know.
As to the pain issue, that's really tricky since everyone reacts differently and have different types of nerve injury. From my own experience, when the nerves they transplanted were began to take effect, I noticed I was getting the muscle spasms and "electric shocks" that I had in the very beginning of the injury as my brain tried to figure out the new nerves, but that subsided after a few months and my arm and hand have since felt about the same.
I'm happy that they feel they can help you; they really are a great team of doctors. Good luck

HI. New to this site. I had a nerve transfer at Mayo in early 2006, after my Brachial Plexus injury. I now have probably 40% use of my left arm. Not great , but alot better than no use at all, like at first. The calf area on my leg is still tender where they took the nerve from. For anyone with this injury , don't give up. Things do get better. Be very patient, this is a very slow process. After 5 yrs, I still see slight improvement at times.I am now doing almost everything I did before the accident, just in different ways. Good Luck