Gale Kaffka
Dear Fran, My son was hit by a car almost nine months ago. His left leg was amputated by the accident and his right leg had to be amputated six days later, both above the knee. During the first surgery after the accident his arms were stretched over his head for over eight hours causing a brachial plexus injury in both arms. After the first surgery on his legs (he will have his eleventh next week) he had limited movement in both triceps and nothing else. He now has good movement in both triceps, increasing movement in his right biceps, slight movement in his right wrist, he can curl all four fingers on both hands and move his thumbs froms side to side. His left wrist has no movement at this time and he still can't lift his left or right hand. He has complete numbness in his thumbs and index fingers, slight numbness in his middle fingers, the numbness travels from his fingers up the inside of his arms to his elbows. He has tingling on the inside of both arms from his armpits to his elbows when touched. I looked under brachial plexus injuries on the internet and have gotten great information including a list of brachial plexus specialists (I wrote 20 - six page letters detailing my son's injuries to these specialists) the response was incredible, very informative and supportive. Two things they all agreed with is 1. a good physiotherapist is very important and 2.no surgery should be done until it is certain all improvement is complete (the opinions regarding surgery varied, some feel surgery is helpful others don't feel it is too successful). You might want to go to the brachial plexus listings and read some of the information, there are also some chat groups where pleople discuss their injuries and successes. You will find that not all the pleople with brachial plexus injuries are babies and small children - you're not the Lone Ranger. I would be interested in hearing about your case in more detail if you feel you would like to contact me, please do. Stay positive, visualize complete recovery and create a reality of total wellness. Gale