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Story by: Stefan in Accra, Ghana West Africa
My son Stefan is about 11mths old now. During delivery, a vacuum was used to pull him out. However when his head appeared , it was left with the shoulder. the doctor said he had broad shoulders so he pressed my tummy. finally he came out only for me to be told that he had shoulder dystocia in the right arm.
He was put in intensive care and my husband and I were assured that because he was a child, he would regain movement in his arm within some few months. The arm was limp and there was virtually no feeling in it.
We were introduced to an American trained nuerosurgeon who explainedthat the birth injury that our son had was related to his nerves so we needed to activate them by going for physotherapy. For about 10 months we have been taking our son for PT thrice in a week. This includes the use of electrical stimulation (something Im concerned about its sideeffects).
At 10mths, Stefan can raise his arm to his head with some difficulty though. There is a remarkable improvement from his shoulder to elbow. However, his wrist is still feeble, there is no movement in it as well as his fingers. His fingers always seem to be clinged. He therefore never been able to hold anything with his right hand. When walking, the elbow to hand portion of his arm always seems to be lifted high.
Because of minimal use of his wrist and fingers, that part his arm has little muscle development.
Reading stories of other parents with children as mine gives me hope that something could be done for him and that we are not alone. However, in our part of the world, there are no specialised hospitals Erb's.I would like to know if there are any charity organisations that can help sponser my son to get the needed attention he deserves. I would not want him to say one day, that I did not try my best for him. I would want to help him lead
a normal adn happy childhood like all other kids. Please any help in the form of encouragement, exercises to do constantly at home for him and sponsorship would be appreciated. Contact address is caboagye@vra.accra.com
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