United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

hi, my name is tiffany. i am 18 is there anyone out there about my same age? i have left OBPI i have been seeing pts since i can remember. they all had their own solution to my problem. yes i go but i get tons of pain and my arm straitens a tiny bit(not enouph for me to notice) but the second i stop putting myself through excruciating pain it just goes back to the way it was before i started. am i going to have to keep myself in constant pain the rest of my life just to make a pt excited to see that my arm is un noticeably straiter? my friends think it's funny. they always want me to put my arm above my head because it makes them laugh because i can't. i feel nobody understands. i've even been called or nicknamed "dumb arm". I couldn't do all the pushups required for PE and i told my teacher it was because of my injury. he kinda rolled his eyes and told me to "just do it" i hate how i get this sharp pain in my shoulder when i go running. i have to stop, not because i'm tired it's because i feel as if someone just stabbed me with a knife. he thought i was just being lazy. i never got any grade in there but a "C". i never got higher in my typing or computer classes because i couldn't get my left arm to keep up with the right one. i don't like how it looks like my shoulder is slouched over. people always tell me to stand up straight but when i do it kills and my arm juts out away from my side. it looks really funny. It looks like my left bicept is really big. everyone always coments on how buff i look. i just kinda laugh and say it's fake. my right arm is really strong. in 9th grade i could beat any boy in an arm wrestle. it doesn't look really buff though. i hate it when people touch my arm. i'm just frustrated nobody gets it.
thanks for letting me vent!
tiff

Hi Tiff, glad you found our boards. You reminded me of my gym class. (years past) I'm 54 and left obpi. I couldn't do most of the exercises and was told if I had a medical problem get an excuse from the doc. I didn't know I had a medical problem, I just figured my left arm was not as strong as my right. dumb...huh??? LOL

Anyway, when I told my mom and dad, My dad got really upset and went to the school. I don't know if he ever got a doc note or not but the teach never said another word when I could not do the same as everyone else. I just did my best and that was that.

I don't know if I blame the teach or not as my arm looks fairly normal. I carry it a little different and of course I too have to roll my left sleeve up. Don't you just love the shirts with spaghetti straps. Yeh right, like we can hold them up. Or short sleeve shirts. Where is the elbow. Gee its up the sleeve LOL LOL Some things you just get used to, other things you tend to put off as someone else's stupidity.

We all have done the best we could and from what it sounds like,, (at least from us old timers) we survived fairly well.

There will come a day for you when you look back and see what you would have missed out on if you had not had the injury. There are so many paths that I would not have traveled if I were ""normal" ha ha. Hang in there Tiff and vent, cry, yell, scream all you want we are all here for each other. Blessings Sharon

I REALLY understand, I've had BP for 41 yrs. first time I've ever been on this site.I Didn't know it existed,Thank God. Couldn't do push-ups,arm over my head,gym teacher with the goofy eyes, and friends getting a big laugh over my huge but unfortunately weak right bicep. I'll tell you to exercise your arm every day,specifically for more flexability. Little things like using your bad arm to get the milk or the salt shaker or picking up the phone, turning on the lights,ANYTHING!!! that will get you using that arm.It doesn't always have to be weights. You'll get your strenth the more you use that arm for any and every thing you can. It WILL get better!

hello...after watching friday's 20/20 I went to their website and wrote something in their message boards. Soon after, I recieved a couple replies talking about this website here...So anyway, I'm just here to tell you that I'm 18 years old too, and I have left bpi...wow...to be completely honest, I have never in my life written that...I don't mean to be horribly mean but it sounds like "hello my name is "blank" and I'm an alcoholic" -*giggles*- but anyway, I don't believe that I "suffer" from bpi...I consider it a great blessing to me and a HUGE stepping stone. My nerves c4 and c5 were damaged during my birth but I think through the support of my parents and my faith in the Lord that I've been able to live my life normally. I win several piano competitions every year, and hardly any of my friends notice that my left palm cannot turn all the way so it is facing upwards. I think that if your friends make fun of you like that...they're not really the type of people to be hanging around. Teachers should be more understanding of your injury. A couple years ago I used to figure skate and my coach wanted me to do some hand gestures for my program. Unfortunately I wasn't able to turn my left arm properly to make it look 'graceful" but, she was so fantastic and wonderful that she just changed a bit of the program around. It was the same as my piano teacher. He told me that my left elbow was sticking "outside" the imaginary box that I'm in when I played. It was funny looking and my shoulder was stiff. But after explaining what happened to me, he gave me specific excercises to strenghten my fingers so that my technique would improve even more and the arm would be less noticeable. During competitions, some judges notice my arm, and when they evaluate my performance, they always have some kind of comment about it. However, after years of explaining myself, I just didn't tell any one anymore. It's nice to know that i'm not the only "rare" case that's out there, but I believe that although it's probably really hard to focus on the positive during the constant pain and teasing, you just have to believe in yourself. That you'll get through all the rocks in your path and in the end, it will be YOU who's going to be just as successful as the people around you...-*hugs*-

Honey, if your friends think your situation is "funny," get some new friends! And if your P.E. coach is such an ass (pardon me, but its true), then you need to sit down with the principal and let the school know. Probably the best thing I've learned from my OBPI is to recognize prejudice and stand up to make it right!

I'm 29 and just discovered this site, and that there are so many others out there, too! I have use of my left elbow, but not my wrist, hand or fingers. but I type like a speed demon with just one hand. Back when I was born (boy I feel old) there was no nerve grafts or other surgery. What I did have about 12 years ago was a surgery to turn my hand around so it faced the right direction and to fuse the wrist bone so it didn't flop around. After that, I started to feel a lot better about myself because I didn't stand out so much in a crowd.

Even though I can do just about everything with one hand (tie shoelaces, drive a car, even braid my own hair), I still get frustrated by the residual problems: I've got horners syndrom, which makes my left eye droopy; I have poor circultation in my left arm, so it turns purple in moderately cold weather or when I exercise; I broke my left thumb without even knowing it and the doctor said that I'm already developing bone loss in my arm because I don't use it; and I've got tendonitis in my right elbow from overuse.

Anyay, as you can tell its my first post and I've a lot to say that I've never expressed to anyone but my therapist. I just wanted to say to you, Tiffany, that the best thing you can do for yourself is to stand up and kick some butt! You have every right to be respected and treated with dignity, and when you aren't, let it be known!

Welcome to the boards Tiff and Natalie! I am 40 robpi with my palmed turned up. I still get frustrated alot when I try to reach something on a top shelf that takes two hands to get down.Believe it or not ,changing a light bulb in the ceiling gets me too. Us oldtimers can tell you to preserve your good arm. We suffer from overuse of our good arms. Hey Kath we found canoeing partners for the next picnic ( two lefty's).When I donated my clothes to charity;I forgot that one sleeve would be shorter. I bet that person is still trying to figure out that one.

HI TIFF, MY NAME IS BRANDEE. I HAVE LEFT BPI. I READ YOUR STORY AND YOU SOUND EXACTLY LIKE ME. I'M 20 YEARS OLD NOW. I FEEL EMBARRASED. DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN DO SOMETHING LEGALLY? YOUR 18, YOU HAVE TO DO IT BEFORE YOUR 19th BDAY. IF YOU WANNA TALK EMAIL ME @ BRANDEEBELL20@AOL.COM

Hi All

Welcome to frustration...hang out....LOL...

Not really I bet we have all done pretty well considering the challenge we have had...

I just read some of these posts again and I see Jeff sorry I did not welcome you .... glad to see you post...

If 20/20 did nothing else it help people like us find a place to talk about our issues and also to learn from each other...
Kath

I was so amazed when I found out others had the same injury... you guys are pretty lucky... it took me 60 years....LOL guess I am a bit slow.....

So many new people guess it will be time for a roll call... and some introductions....

Hi All!

Answering to your roll call for introductions, Kath!

I am 51 years old, left OBPI. I found this message board this past summer...my life has changed so much for the better. You see, us "oldtimers" didn't have computers growing up, so there was no way to find each other. What a sad situation...to think you are all alone with your condition for half a century!
We have all had the same experiences growing up...stupid remarks, un-informed gym teachers, straps falling down off of our shoulders, shirt sleeves that don't fit, and most importantly, no one to share those feelings with until a short time ago. How much easier it all could have been if I had had these wonderful people to share my feelings with when I was growing up! It is truly like having lived your life in a maze and finally finding your way out.

Welcome ),
-Stephanie

Wow Stephanie! You said that so well. The maze describes things great.