United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

As I sit here in utter frustration and will try to keep this post short. My son is 16 months old and has a global BPI on his left side, effecting c5-t1. My son had a nerve graft surgery a year ago this past September. He was hospitalized in January with pnuemonia and severe dehydration from that illness. He did pretty well, health wise the rest of the winter and spring. But now, since the beginning of June (of this year) to the present day, he has been sick ALOT. I have had him to the Dr. so many times now that I have lost count. According to what the Drs have told me, he has had SIX viral infections, a cold, and was just hospitalized for C-Diff!!! This has all ocurred in less than 4 1/2 months. He got out of the hospital for the C-Diff and was on antibiotics for it, and started vomitting five days after being released. The dr said that he had a new viral infection! Arg!! As of today he has been off the antibiotics for four days and just spiked a fever. I have no idea if there is a corolation between his chronic illnesses and the BPI? I must mention that my husband and 9 year old daughter all live in the same house and NONE of us have caught ANY of these illnesses that he has had. I have searched the internet for hours with no avail, so I am reaching out to other parents here to see if ANYONE has had this experience. ANY input would be greatly appreciated!! PLEASE Help!!!

I would suggest two things: get your son to a pulmonologist and to an allergist... what you wrote sounds so much like what my daughter went through. We found out that her diaphragm was very weak on the injured side and that she wasn't getting much oxygen in at all (which really messed up her immune system capabilites). Then we researched further and found a major allergy to pollens and mold... and that it was the mold that was really wreaking the most havoc. At first we had her on major amount of steroids and other lung meds with treatments all day long it seemed -- but once we treated the mold allergy (BIO ALLERS), the dehydration, and added singing (diaphrgam strengthening) to her daily life --- all the illnesses changed and dropped away.

We came home from camp and today Maia was sick -- I had no idea why and then I heard from a neighbor that we had major rain storms all weekend - so this means a spike in the outdoor mold. So I'm giving her a larger dose of her Bio Allers for mold and she's feeling much better now, more stable. If I couldn't control it that way - then my next step would be to give her a short term of inhaled (nasal) steroids. (plus she ate a lot of sugar goodies at the camp - ugh)

On a daily basis Maia takes vitamin C, Bioplasma (meltable in your mouth, minerals from Hylands) and Bioallers (for mold grass and tree pollens - during season) -- I make sure that she sleeps adequately (most important) and drinks a good amount of water and we try hard to keep her sugar intake to a minimum. We also keep her bed and pillows very clean (change them often) and wash the floor in her room. We also use a cool mist humidifier (only in open areas of the house so that it doesn't become mold producing) with some essential oils for better breathing.

I hope this helps some. I know that all kids are different (I say it all the time) but maybe something I said resonates with what you are experiencing with your son?

-francine (francine@litzfamily.com)