ROBPI and Dr Kozin

Forum for parents of injured who are seeking information from other parents or people living with the injury. All welcome
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katiexdobratz
Posts: 26
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 7:49 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: Baby with Brachial Plexus Injury

ROBPI and Dr Kozin

Post by katiexdobratz »

Our daughter was born with a ROBPI injury. She can lift her arm to ninety degrees and had no external rotation. We have been through many many things this past ten and a half months. We had been seeing a specialist in Milwaukee Childrens Hospital for our daughters bpi injury, and to say the least we were not impressed. The guy always seemed to be heading out the door, like he had someplace better to be when he had surgical consults with us. Likewise I have been doing much research, and thanks to all the people I have met on here, i had a very good idea what should happen regarding her care, and what may help. I had a hunch that her shoulder was disclocated. I brought this up to many of her specialists here, and they all said no no she isnt. Well my friend Melissa has a daughter with the same exact symptoms as mine, and I felt in my heart that her shoulder was out. So i managed to get an mri scheduled. Shortly before the mri we had a consult in milwaukee where he recommended nerve surgery. For some reason i panicked at the thought of that....absolute terror in my heart. I knew it was not what my baby needed. So I called philadelphia shriners hospital and talked to the amazing nurse linda, who is dr kozins nurse, and she acutally said please do not do it!!! get an mri and do not do nerve surgery on her!! They only do nerve surgery if the child has no elbow flexion by six months. After a few weeks of talking to her, dr kozin called me and said, send me a video clip of your daughter and i will give you my opinion. I did that, and he called me and said i can tell she is dislocated, get an mri asap and send it to me. So we did. And lo and behold--she was extremely dislocated. Let me tell you that was the last time we will ever see the surgeon in milwaukee. Even after confronted with the results of her dislocation, the surgeon STILL wanted to perform the nerve surgery and just "keep an eye" on the dislocation. I couldnt believe it!! After ten months of people interacting with my daughter, touching her and watching her...it was a man thousands of miles away who saw her dislocation from a three minute video clip. He recommended tendon transfer and getting the shoulder back in place, so we scheduled it. Both dr kozin and linda helped us so much with our getting her in and taking care of things. She just had the surgery on the 8th of May and meeting them in person, they were even nicer than i imagined. These people actually want to help your kids. They actually care. They return calls and emails just to help ease your mind. They didnt even know we were coming down to philly until a few weeks before her surgery, yet they took the time to answer all my questions and advise me that nerve surgery was not a good option. These people saved my daughter. I can never ever thank them enough for everything they have done for her. If you are going through something similar, always trust your instincts and ALWAYS get a second opinion!! Dr Kozin is the best second opinion because he actually CARES about these little kids!! He knows they are someones child, someones family, and not just another surgery, another bpi injury. Linda is the same way. Without them and this site....my baby would have been at the mercy of a dr who wanted to do unnecessary surgeries on her and who knows what she could have lost from it. I hope that this can help another terrified parent like i was...there are other options out there and do not be afraid to go after them. Always follow what you think is best for your child. :D Katie
Carolyn J
Posts: 3424
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:22 pm
Injury Description, Date, extent, surgical intervention etc: LOBPI. I am 77 yrs old and never had a name for my injuries until 2004 when I found UBPN at age 66.

My injuries are: LOBPI on upper body and Cerebrael Palsy on the lower left extremities. The only intervention I've had is a tendon transplant from my left leg to my left foot to enable flexing t age 24 in 1962. Before that, my foot would freeze without notice on the side when wearing heels AND I always did wear them at work "to fit in" I also stuttered until around age 18-19...just outgrew it...no therapy for it. Also suffered from very very low self esteem; severe Depression and Anxiety attacks started at menopause. I stuffed emotions and over-compensated in every thing I did to "fit in" and be "invisible". My injuries were Never addressed or talked about until age 66. I am a late bloomer!!!!!

I welcome any and all questions about "My Journey".
There is NO SUCH THING AS A DUMB QUESTION.
Sharing helps to Heal. HUGS do too.
Location: Tacoma WA
Contact:

Re: ROBPI and Dr Kozin

Post by Carolyn J »

THANX for posting your experiences, Kaitie. I am sure you will help many parents who come here. Sharing experience is
powerful help/support !
Carolyn J
LOBPI/74+++ 8-)
Corinne
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2001 9:25 pm

Re: ROBPI and Dr Kozin

Post by Corinne »

Dr Kozin was an expert for the defense in our trial. He certainly didn't do anything helpful for our child. So glad he helped you.
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