Story submitted by Rebecca McKamie on October 04, 1998 at 14:05:51:
Rebecca McKamie is , from Justin,Texas USA.
Family:Charles, Rebecca,kids 18, 15, 11
My daughter Juli is 15 years old. In February 98 she complained of severe weakness in her shoulder
after throwing a basketball during practice. After her trainer suspected a dislocation, she was examined
and no dislocation was seen. After 2 ER visits and no diagnosis we noticed a severe winging of the
scapula and severe loss of Range in Motion. We consulted an Orthopedic who completed an MRI. We
again were given no direct diagnosis. We were told to GO HOME and wait it out. After additional visits
and no progress Juli began to try and return to athletics. After only 2 weeks of practice she sustained
another blow to a very unstable shoulder. This time the shoulder dislocated to the back and swelling
and pain sent us back to the ER. Again we were told that it was not broken, however Juli lost over 75%
of her shoulder use. The Orthopedic sent us for an EMG because her Serratus Anterior was still
paralyzed from the injury 7 months ago. We were seen by an inexperienced Neurologist who conveyed
He had not seen this type of injury. I spent days on the Internet trying to find anyone who could help us
figure out what to do. The Erbs Palsy Association had many stories. Thank God one of them was about
a child like my Juli. I read Rebecca's story and boldly called the number her mother Lois Spinder had
listed. She was a God send. After many hours of phone calls, we contacted Dr. Rahul Nath. We were
immediately impressed with his knowledge and training. We quickly flew to Houston where Dr. Nath had
set up all our testing and appointments. The Houston Medical facilities are incredible. We were seen by
a group of doctors who knew EXACTLY what we were going through and gave us many options to work
with in hopes of recovery for Juli's paralysis. We are now in ROM therapy for her Dorsi muscle spasms
and we look forward to surgery later this year. Thank You Lois and Thank You Dr. Nath and Brenda for
making us believe that Dr.'s still care and people really do come first!
[
©Copyright 1997 Erbs Palsy Information & Resource Group.