United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Maia's back does NOT look the same at all... Her injured side is very thin and looks completely different then it used to - very different from the other side - there is definite winging. Of course the thinness comes from the immobilization for two months - but everything about it is different, too.

This is probably a case of "every child is different". If I were you I'd email him or call him about Joey.... just so you have peace of mind for what you should be seeing.

-francine

Katie's scapula is way up almost on top of her neck...and while the winging is there the other side wings as well, if not worse. However, under the arm is a different story--the scapula juts out under the pit and side when she lifts her arm.

It is great that you are letting her go at her own pace Francine. Katie did great with mod and lousy with the caps..you just never know even with the same kid!

Francine and Maia too-
Good luck with this process. Bailey was very anxious to take the splint off. I too tried to let her go at her own pace. It is hard. I was scared Bailey was pushing herself too much. I cried everynight for the first week and a half she was out of the splint. I just worry too much. She was so stiff and she didn't want us to touch her arm at all. We just went really slow. I started by just rubbing her arm a little at a time and barely moving it at all. Then three days ago she decided we could do her exercises. She was watching a movie and she let her dad move her arm. She let him do all the Roms. Now it is a routine every morning and every night. She has no complaints.
Our children are so amazing. Now it is hard to keep her from doing things she is not supposed to. She wants to try everything.(sommersaults, hanging, climbing).
Something else that helped Bailey a lot was looking at your website. She now talks about Maia. She even wanted to show her Grandma "the girls that had surgery like me."
Tell Maia that Bailey is thinking about her and that her arm will feel a little better each day.
Jodi

I forgot to comment on the winging.
I was really worried about this too. I didn't see it for the first week. Bailey's back does look the same on each side if she is just standing there. She is not weak like I expected. Her shoulder is a little droopy now though. I can feel her scapula stick out by her arm pit when she reaches up and it stick out when she reaches forward or out to the side. Especially if she puts any weight on it. Like in the crawling position. I think maybe it was kind of stuck for the first weak. Hope this helps.
Jodi

thanks for all your posts....

that is so sweet that Bailey talks about Maia!

well we know why Maia is not so tuned into doing this - she is sick! She has conjunctivitis and bronchitis. No wonder - she wasn't feeling up to it.

So tonight she really needed a bath and I wanted to steam her lungs....so we put the bathing splintie on and we got into the tub and she was scratching her unaffected arm on the splint (the edges make good scratching posts) and she was rubbing off the bandage that I use to secure the splint on...so I followed suit and starting unwrapping it more and more without her knowing it and before you know it, the splint was off and her arm was just out there in the water. I leaned her back against my body so she was in the water up to her neck. She was really quiet - feeling it I guess. I think it's going to take her a while...her arm is very weak. She can only move her hand but she can't move her arm yet. It's ok - we're in no rush...I'm sure it will be different when she's feeling better and her energy is up to speed again.

-francine

Regarding winging. We just came from an eval. with Dr. Nath and he had stated that Emily's shoulder looks strong and in good position. I asked him about the winging (thinking any was not good) and he replied that some winging is a good thing. It means the scapula is working properly with the shoulder. So now I am thinking it's more on a case by case and maybe the different degrees of winging is how they judge good or bad. Needless to say, I was thrilled with the news.

Julie Wolfgram

Cassidy looks at your website with me too! She says "Mommy - those are all my friends - with special arms like me - they go to my doctors too - they are gonna have big strong arms like me".

So Maia - and all the other children on your website are Cassidy's friends - and she talks about them all the time!

By the way - did you get my pictures???? I emailed you some pics of Cassidy right after surgery in her cast and in her splint. Hope you got them!

I also ordered another Dino shirt. Cassidy's didn't fit over her new splint -and she LOVES it - so she had such a fit the other day because "I WANNA WEAR MY DINOSAUR SHIRT - WITH HIS ARM LIKE ME" that her Dad gave up and cut it - so she could wear it anyway!

ha ha ha ha

Kids are great! Especially ours!