Story submitted by Helen on January 05, 19100 at 11:26:12:
Helen is , from .
Family:
Hi, im Helen, a 29 year old mum of two from Northampton in England, Callum is 8, and Cerys is 5 andhas Erbs Palsy in her right arm. Reading some of the messages from the new parents of erbs babies has brought back many emotions to me. Cerys was born after a fairly straighforward labour, but her shoulders were stuck in the birth canal, she was finally pulled from me weighing 9lb 4oz. She had no movement whatsoever in her arm, we were absoloutely devastated and were frantic to see some improvement. The advice we got ranged from, it will improve on its own, so theres no need to worry, to maybee her arm is sore and she does not want to move it (From a midwife!!!!)
Eventually at three months old Cerys began showing some signs of improvement and by the age of 18 months she was able to get her hand to her mouth. It was at this stage our paediatrician at the time discharged Cerys from his care saying that she had "enough movement to lead a fairly normal life". However, we were not happy with this, like all parents we wanted the best for our child, and Cerys still lacked external rotation of her forearm, which ment that she rose her elbow would always be raised and stuck out when raising her arm. At this time, I had heard about Drs Birch and Carlstedt at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in London, England, who where specialists in this field. I first went to see Mr Carlstedt when Cerys was two years old, and indeed there was much more that could be done for her to improve her range of movements. In July 1997 at three years of age she had an operation to release the sub scapular muscle in her shoulder. She was in an arm and body cast for six weeks following the surgery, which she coped with brilliantly, and the results of the surgery have been fantastic. Cerys now has external rotation of her forearm and no longer lifts her elbow. Her range of movements has improved immesely due to the surgery. She is now at school and doing well and enjoying life like any other 5 year old. My main concern for her future is the cosmentic side of things, she has a scar on her shoulder, and her shoulder slopes and does not look symentrical with the other side. She finds it difficult to wear strappy dresses, as the straps keep slipping off. However, these concerns seem small considering what our worries were at the beginning!!!
From our experience, I would advise anyone with a new baby with erbs, do get expert advice as soon as possible, however severe or mild the injury appears to be, do not be made to feel like a paranoid patient or fobbed of with the excuse that they have "enough" movement to have a "fairly" normal life. Why should your child have to make do with 80% movement when 95% may be possible!!! Love and best wishes to you all
Helen
©Copyright 1997 Erbs Palsy Information & Resource Group.