United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I'm kinda bummed I just now discovered this resource/community! I've been dealing with this injury for several months now and the depression that has come along with my daily functions being impaired.

Here's my story: I've been playing roller derby for about 3 and a half years now and aside from a stress fracture my rookie season, have been fortunate enough to not have any serious injuries. Until last season.

At an outdoor practice in July of 2009, it suddenly started to rain. We kept skating and although we were not supposed to do any contact, another player hit me and sent me slipping into a wet spot on our track. I took a nasty fall on my left side, arm stretched over my head, shoulder pushed upward and my head hit the ground. Luckily I was wearing all my protective gear (helmet, knee & elbow pads, wristgaurds, etc.) or I'm sure it would have been much worse. I got up and just thought I had hurt my shoulder or pulled a muscle. I had immediate, intense pain under the shoulder blade, in my armpit and chest, but as the rollergirl standard kind of goes, I sucked it up and kept going. After practice that night, I was in tears because of the amount of pain I was in. My paramedic boyfriend assured me it would be ok, we just needed to ice it and let it rest. I sat out the next week of practice in the hopes that it would heal. It didn't.

I played in our July game and walked away relatively unscathed. I took hardly any hits to my left side and kept babying it as much as I could while still skating because i wanted to finish out my season. Before our August game, a visiting skater hit my left shoulder dead on, so hard I felt my back and neck crack. I knew it was bad then. I couldn't move my fingers very well, couldn't lift my arm above my head and couldn't even carry my skate bag. At the suggestion of my boyfriend and some self-diagnosis via WebMD, I wore a sling thinking I had damaged my rotator cuff or separated my shoulder. I didn't do any contact until our August game, where I took a few hard hits, but kept going thanks to adrenaline and ibuprofen.

After that game, I could barely use my arm. I couldn't turn my neck past a certain point and was typing 1-handed at work. My captains begged me to go see a doctor, but since I don't have insurance, i had to find a way I could afford. I went to my chiropractor, who x-rayed my neck and shoulder for me for only $30 so I could make sure nothing was broken. He was convinced I had damaged my AC joint and herniated a disc in my neck. I needed to see an orthopedic specialist.

Thankfully, I was in my last semester of college and my university health center has an orthopedic specialist that comes in once a week. So I made an appointment, brought in my xrays and was rather upset by how rushed the appointment was. I brought my boyfriend with me in case I missed something the doctor told me. He told me my xrays looked fine aside from some inflammation in my neck, which suggested a herniated disc, and the pain I was experiencing was almost certainly a brachial plexus injury. He told me to stop wearing the sling, showed me some basic physical therapy exercises to try to keep my mobility and said I should be fully healed in 2 months.

The next time I went to my chiropractor, I told him the diagnosis and he cringed. "Do you know how serious that is?" he said. "You better take care of it, seriously, if you don't, you're going to lose the use of your left arm entirely. I would rather you have a herniated disk or seperated shoulder than a brachial plexus injury." Now I was even more upset that the orthopedic surgeon had made it seem like it was nothing.

I did a lot of my own research, found rehab exercise info from the mayo clinic and tried to heal without further medical intervention over the 2 months my doctor recommended.

Well here it is, 5 months later and I'm probably at 60%. I had to make the painful decision to retire from roller derby, at least for this season, while I resolve this BPI. I fell into a seriously deep depression. I am normally independent to a fault, extremely active and don't let anything slow me down. Well, that wasn't possible anymore. I lost 2 job opportunities while in the sling, have gained 25 pounds in 5 months and can't seem to find a light at the end of the tunnel. I've now graduated from college, so the health center isn't an option. My fellow rollergirls don't seem to get it fully. My college friends don't get it either. My boyfriend doesn't know what more he can do. I'm stuck.

So I'm glad I found this resource. I hope I can find some comfort, reassurance and hope within these boards.

I live in Houston, Tx. and found 3 docs that are listed as BPI specialists here, so that's also reassuring. I'm hoping I can work out something with them payment-wise so I can get treatment without insurance. I am also looking for exercise ideas that won't aggravate the injury. I was told to only do things that are low-impact since the neck is involved and things like running my be too jarring.

Anyhoo, just felt the need to share and open up before I go through and read all your posts...

Much Love,
-Scarlet

Hey scarlett keep the head up,i had my injury in september 09,full root evulsion of c5,c6,c7,c8,t1 which is probably on the worser end of the scale,and when you talk about depresseion i know how you feel,we all do here on the boards.Me being 25 and a electriction(hands on) and then losing the full use of my left arm and hand,it is hard to take,and to depend on other people,you have to remain positive.

You should get a MRI scan done to see what damage has been done,but you say you have some movement in your arm/fingers which can only be a good thing,you really should see a BPI specialist ASAP as time is vital,they say within 6 months of injury ocurring.

I know personally it can be tough financially but you really need to do what you can to get seen to propely,again il say try remain positive i know its not easy.

LF

Hi Scarlet,

Have you seen a Dr and what is the extent of the injury?

Depending if you heal physically 100% or not, I hope you can heal mentally 100% soon. As an athlete, both before and after my injury, you can still do many things at a very high level. Read around about the athletics others are doing, either with little or no use, like me, or others that are closer to 100%, athletics can still be an amazing and fullfilling part of your life.

You can read some of my old posts, but the short version of my story is that I was a very competeitive water skier and was going to play college golf, got hurt two weeks after I turned 18. Still do tons of athletics and do most very well, the loss of my arm has not changed my passion for sports or the competitive juices.

This is a great site for both the physicall healing questions, but also the mental healing part as well, if there is anything I can do, please do not hesite to ask here or you can also e-mail me.

Dan

Hey Scarlet,
The simple fact of the deal is that your friends, family and bf aren't going to truly understand your injury. Sorry to tell you that, but its just fact. Thats not to say they won't be supportive, but they just wont understand. I always get people who say "can't you just do physical therapy?" and the only way I can explain it is that its like paralysis of the arm. The brain sends electrical signals through the nerves to work the body and if those nerves are disconected or injured, it cant send those messages. Kinda like I might wanna make a milkshake, and I've got a blender sitting there....but if it ain't plugged in, whatdaya do?

But this is a serious injury, and you should avoid activities that will further damage your condition. Don't let serious jarring or impact happen to your shoulder or arm. Don't do anything where you might easily fall. I have always been hands on too, working with my hands, played every intramural sport in college, like to participate in any challenging physical activity so I understand the mental adjustment that has to be made is very tough. Part of that, people not understanding, not knowing what to do, etc. is what contributes to the depression. I think that the depression just comes with acquiring this injury as an adult after you've always lived another way. But I promise you, it gets easier, and you get through it.

You must seek the advice of a BPI expert! Yesterday if possible! Time is very important. Hopefully your injury can be healed, but this is one of those things that just doesnt always heal on its own without help. This isn't just a scrape or a bruise. I have never been a "oh, lets go to the doctor" guy either but you have to in this instance. I know you said you don't have insurance, but an office visit might just be a couple of hundred bucks, maybe less. Just go see whats going on and take it from there.

When you say you are 60%, what does that mean exactly? movement / strength / feeling etc

Actually, from what I have read many people would be ecstatic to have 60% but that doesn't help you any I know.

My personal experience is that if you have suffered nerve compression but the sheath is still intact, you should have a good chance of (slow) recovery. Until you know more, or see some recovery, it is a very frightening time.