United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi. My name is Ellen and I am presently in the process of adopting a little girl from China who has been diagnosed with BPI. She has received therapy in China and appears to have made some progress and has some function in her arm. I would love to hear from others who may have adopted children with this special need or those who began treatment when the child was a bit older. She will likely be about 4 by the time she arrives her. I look forward to hearing from others.

Ellen

Hi Ellen! And welcome to the message board and congratulations on having this little sweety from China join your family soon!

My daughter is almost 4 and she has a left bpi but she also has had 3 surgeries already. You can read about her at http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/homepage.html

On this site there is an awareness section that has a whole bunch of stuff that will help you educate yourself about bpi's. http://ubpn.org/awareness - click on birth injury. The Margaret Storment page and the Stretching the Limits page will help with the therapy side. There is a school page for if she will be going to school. There's a lot of stuff there - you'll see!

Anyway- where are you located? If we know where you are living then we can tell you if there is a brachial plexus specialist in your area. Also - keep an eye on this page: http://www.injurednewborn.com/gatherings.html it lists all the picnics and gatherings around the U.S. so that you can meet other families, the kids and sometimes, the doctors (from TCH).

Take care and hope that the final process of the adoption goes easily.

-francine

Francine.

Thanks for your reply. I live in Tampa and would love to know if there are any specialists in the area. there is a Shriners Hospital.

Ellen