United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

David is moving his arm now and starting to move his finger tips a bit we are so excited this is a very long haul and longer yet to come... We have a check up at Mayo on October 24th... Judy and David

how wonderful...how long did it take? Michele

Hi Judy,

HUGE congratulations to David - as well as you! It is so thrilling to finally see movement. I remember making John do it over & over so I could be sure I wasn't just imagining it. The first time he was in a swimming pool so gravity wasn't a factor, and he could move his arm all over the place - and I completely freaked out & completely embarrassed him but I didn't care.

Say hey to everybody at Mayo next time you're up, and keep us posted!

Take care,

Ellen

Well his accident was on October 28th, 2005 and his surgery was January 3rd, 2006 and just in the past month he has movement so almost a year and the docs told us at least 2 years he wouldn't move his arm so he is ahead of schedule...

Thanks Ellen you and your family have been so wonderful and I am gonna try to post on here more often. David is in hunter safety class and I thought that would be tough for him but he sure made me look foolish he is doing so well but I still wish this didn't happen to him I still feel bad for him in ways he will never know cause it is so hard to watch him be a kid and try to do the same things other kids are doing he so wanted to give up at first but he has a wonderful therapist now and he says giving up is not a thing in his vocabulary and David has really stuck with that he is playing football and trys baseball that one is a little tough but he isn't giving up his main thing is hunting and doing it well he did shoot a duck last weakend and he was so proud of himself all I could do was cry with happiness... Thank You so Much for being on here... Judy

Hi Judy,

Your visit to Mayo will be here before you know it. I'm so proud of all David is doing - looks like he won't let anything stop him. John is now at college & is doing great living the "independent" life. He uses a bike messenger bag to carry his schoolbooks & says it works great. He doesn't race competitively anymore but still rides his bike for pleasure. Another sport that might work pretty well for bpi-ers is golf. Something to consider.

Did you eat the duck??? I am SO impressed!

Take care & say 'hi' to the Mayo folks.

Ellen

Thanks for the feedback about the timeline. What was the extent of his injury? Did he have nerve transfers and other surgery? My son had nerve transfers done by Dr. Nath in February. He avulsed c5 through t1. He is getting sensation to his elbow but no movement. Michele

Hi Michele,

John also had all five avulsed four years ago when he was 15, and at the 2 1/2 month mark Mayo did the first of two gracilis muscle/nerve transfers. (The second surgery was done ~7 weeks after the first. I think Mayo now does both gracilis transfers in a single procedure.) They also rerouted John's phrenic nerve, did a crosslateral C7 as well as several intercostals (both for sensation & for movement.)

In terms of timing, right at the six month mark after each of the surgeries John got the beginning of movement (elbow first, then fingers). Lots of PT brought about increased range & strength.

I don't know what Dr. Nath does in his surgeries. As a plastic surgeon he might have a different technique or approach. The Mayo team includes specialties in neurosurgery, orthopedic & hand surgery. I think both neurosurgeons & plastic surgeons developed "microsurgery" techniques independent of each other.

Since the expectation of movement is directly related to the length of nerve regrowth needed, you probably would be better off asking Dr. Nath what to expect. I'm sure you already know nerves grow at a rate of ~ 1 inch per month, so he'll be able to advise you based on the distance the nerve was from the target muscle.

Keep us posted, and take care -

Ellen

Thank you for the reply...It's been 7 months and no movement. I guess I'll shoot Dr. Nath an email and ask...Michele

Hi Michele,

I thought a little bit more about it & remembered that it was close to 18 months before John got a flicker in his deltoid. I didn't want you to think everything "happened" at the six month mark - that's just when the first of the innervated muscles began to show movement, from each of his surgeries.

Take care & I'm sure you'll get good info from Dr. Nath.

Ellen