United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

My daughter Madison is having her second surgery at TCH in Houston on January 13th. She had her first one in Febuary 2002. She is 15 months old and I was just wondering what to expect from this surgery. I know she will be in the "statue of liberty" cast (as some call it) but I am not sure what to expect afterwards. Any information would be great.

Thanks

Hi! I have a whole section on our experience with Maia... now granted you probably won't want to read most parts of my journal because it was a really horrible time for us....it was the first time we ever saw Maia in extremely severe pain and right after the surgery we all ended up with the flu and Maia was puking all the time into her splint and we didn't have extra straps - so there is a LOT Of whoas me in there. (It's so easy to look back now of course)

BUT I have a great page on What to expect on the day of surgery - and that's pretty non emotional and should give you a good idea of things..and I have a good page on the splints so that you can see the SOL splint up close, etc.

Here are the links:

http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/homepage.html
look in the mod quad section (there are also pictures of the surgery itself too)

http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/solsplint.html
up close and personal with the statue of liberty splint

http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/dayofsurg.html
What To Expect On The Day Of Surgery

http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/travel.html
free airfares, hotels and more....

so just keep an open mind and know that each child's/family's experience is different....

ask lots of questions - we're here to support you through this hard time,

big hugs,
francine

Just remember the SOL is really not as scary and as bad as it looks. You will get the hang of it quick. My daughter was 10 mo. when she had the mod quad. I was surprised at how well she took being in the splint, especially since she had just started to crawl 2 weeks before surgery. I think the older and more aware they are the harder, until the can fully understand. 10 mo. and 15 mo. is a big difference. Belle is 15 mo. now and she is having her 3rd in March, so we're in the same boat. Good Luck

Matthew had mod quad at 18 months. We bought lots of videos and toys, and can't forget his sister to cheer him up. After he got into a room we bought Melanie in to see him and she walked in saying "hi my pookie pooh" and he smiled and let out a little laugh.
Be prepared to occupy your child for an hour or so during splinting. I was surprised on how well Matthew did during that. If you've been there once you know the ropes.
We purchased shampoo in a cap and wipes with soap on them to make bathing easy and they worked great.
The next day Matthew wanted to get out of the crib and run around. He didn't let the sol hold him back one bit.
Good luck