United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My grandson is 2 1/2 years old and has OBPI. My daughter and I have been looking for a support group here in San Antonio, Texas or in the vicinity for a while now and can't find one. Does anyone know of anybody we can talk to about what to expect as my grandson gets older? He is able to move his left arm a bit but has no movement in his wrist or hand but he's going to therapy 3 times a week. Any help will be appreciated.

You can also ask us on this board if you have specific questions/concerns.

marieke 33, LOBPI

If you find anything, let us know?

My grandson is 3 now and potty trained. He is unable to pick up his pants after he goes to the bathroom. Is there anything we can do to make it easier for him? He is able to move his left arm but has no movement or strength on his hand or wrist. He tries really hard to pick up his pants with just his right hand but can't do it. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hello MOMO5,
WELCOME to our UBPN FAMILY. Every question is welcome.

I suggest ELASTIC WAIST pants ONLY and help him to learn pull up one side at a time; however it would be VERY GOOD to help strenthen his BPI hand & arm if he does learn to try use that too at the same time his "good" hand is pulling up that side of his pants AND "use both hands to pull up on his "weaker" side.

Any toys that can be used to entice him to strenghen his "squeeze/grasp" on the injured hand , I do suggest...MAKE IT FUN & he won't tell it's good therapy...

Carolyn J
LOBPI adult/71

ps....there is NO such thing as a dumb question on ANY message forum board & evberyone is welcome on ALL message forums.


Message was edited by: Carolyn J

Hi,
If you go to our resource page you will find a registry list . I am pasting it here for you. This is what I found for San Antonio.http://ubpn.org/Registry/listRegist ... an+Antonio
Judy@ubpn.org
Within Reach
UBPN Board of Directors

Hi Carolyn and thanks for your reply. We do have him in elastic waist pants and we try to get him to use his affected hand but it's still quite weak. He is going to therapy 3 times a week. I worry about him starting pre-school next year and having to do things mostly on his own like going to the bathroom, carrying his food tray, etc. Hopefully by that time he'll have a bit more strength on his hand. We'll keep praying for that.

Hi Judy-T.
Thank you for sending me that information. I'll pass it on to my daughter so she can contact the 2 people from San Antonio on the list. I'm awfully glad I found this site, it's been very, very helpful and the people are great. I'll keep in touch and let you know what happens. Again, thanks.

Hi MoMo5

I use both hands to pull on slacks but can only use my thumb and index on my right hand. When I was small I use to pull up one side at a time with my unaffected arm. But in time was pushed to use both hands as best as I could.

It's best to get a child to do as many things as possible using both hands. I feel that even rom should be done on both arms. It may help the brain to reconnect to our injured side.

The unaffected arm should be exercised because it is restricted most of the time to the length of the injured arm. This, over time, for some of us causes contractures.


Kath robpi/adult