United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I recently gave birth to my daughter 4 months ago. She was diagnosed with shoulder dystocia commonly known as Erbs Palsy. This type of injury/disability was quite new to my husband and I. We are currently in PT with our daughter in order for her to regain fulll use of her arm. She can lift her arm about 120 degrees. She is making strides, but I am worried about her plateauing out and not being able to progress any further. I've been hearing about specialist in this field that work out of Texas,Virgina and 2 other places. Has anyone used these persons? and what were the results? Has anyone persued any legal actions against the negligent doctor? I have so many questions to ask, but afraid other doctors will not give the correct answers due to the quote on quote Doctors code of silence.

Nancy,
I am glad you have found this group! There are many people here who know what you are going through and can give opinions to your questions.
First let me tell you most parents post on the General Board. So you might want to re-post there to get more responses. I think this site UBPN and www.injurednewborn.com have been the most helpful to me for finding information about this injury.
I am very glad to hear that you are in therapy! It is important. There are specialist in Texas and Virginia as well as other places. Most people that post here see the Brachial Plexus Specialist at Texas Childrens Hosptial. I have gone to Seattle Childrens Hospital and since I moved I am getting ready to see someone at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Regardless of where you go it is important to see someone who is familiar with this type of injury.
And yes quite a few people do pursue legal action.
I know there are many people here that are ready and willing to share from our experiences with you! Ask away!
FYI... I have a almost 12 month old who has a Erb's Palsy (Brachial Plexus Injury) to his left arm/shoulder.
Hope to hear from you. If you would like to talk on the phone e-mail me and send me your number I will call you! Be sure to tell me where you live so I can be considerate of the time zones!
Kristie

Kristie, thanks for your speedy response. My daughter has her 4 month appointment tomorrow with her neurologist. We live in cincinnati, Oh. I am kind of cautious about putting my phone number out over the world wide web. I hope you understand. I do have a cell phone however that I use from time to time. That number is 513 708-8589. I have a personel e-mail address of an732@aol.com. Please feel free to e-mail me at anytime.
How did the injury happen to your child? how have you dealt with the problem, pain and possible guilt? I will be seeing an attorney in the next couple of days to see where we stand as far as legal help. I must admit, Morgan is progressing very well, but I still am angry about this injury and it did not have to be like this. If only the doctor would have been more confident in her own skills instead of scared to death. That is another story in and of itself.

Thanks again,
Nancy

Nancy,
I would have gotten back to you faster but didn't see the post until this AM! I totally understand about not wanting to post you number on the internet. I should have explained that all you have to do is click on my name (at the top of my post)and it will bring up info on me that includes my e-mail address!! Sorry I forgot about that!
I am in West Virginia... in Parkersburg. I think that is a few hours away from you. I recently met someone that is only about 20 mintues I think.
Ian's injury also happened at birth. He is almot 12 months and is progressing well but still has delays in his developement. In regards to a lawyer... I would recomend checking out UBPN's resource page or posting on the main page and asking parents who they have used. A lot of Lawyers will work in other states. Have a one that is familiar with BPI injuries is very important.
I will e-mail or call soon!
Kristie

Nancy,

Welcome to the message board! and sorry to hear about Morgan's injuries. There is a sheet on this site that may be helpful for you to read at this point..here is the direct link to it

http://ubpn.org/awareness/A2001Rnewparentguide.html
It gives you ideas of the timeframes for recovery, etc.

My daughter Maia is 3 1/2 now and we did go to a couple of bpi clinics but ended up going to Texas Childrens Hospital and we are very satisfied with how much they were able to help Maia. I have it all journalized at http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/homepage.html

On that site you will also find information about a lot of different things that may be helpful at this time including the page on attorneys. We have decided to take legal action and are in the midst of our case at this time - we have done our depositions.

The specialist in Virgina is Dr. Terzis and she has a website....the link is at the top in the resources section - medical link - close to the bottom.... there are also lists of other there as well. We personally didn't go to her, but I hope that others who have will come forward if they see this post and tell you about their experiences.

If you are from Cincinnati - I know that there is a big support group in Columbus and they have a picnic each year - it might be a great way to meet others and their children. Karen Ritz organized a couple of the picnics and her email address is ohioerbspalsy@aol.com - she also has a website but I don't have the link at hand - I will certainly get it for you however.

What they look for at this point is the hand-to-mouth movement without the assist at gravity. And that should be there at this particular time. So I would highly suggest that you see a specialist as soon as you can so that Morgan can be evaluated. If Morgan does have a severe injury then repairs have to be done at a certain timeframe for the best outcomes. If they find that Morgan's injuries are not severe and don't require surgical intervention - they will certainly tell you and give you direction on what to look for next. Texas accepts video for a cursory look... http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/video.html (change the mail code to 1610.10)

Please ask as many questions as you can muster. Also in that awareness section is a link for Birth Injuries and you will find a wealth of information there. http://ubpn.org/awareness.

Btw - free medical airfare is available if you have to travel and medical discounted hotels as well. I have it listed on the travel page Maia's site.

Please update us ok?
God Bless,
francine

ps - sorry to bombard you....
give Morgan a big kissie from us!!