Mason's Journey in the Land of Brachial Plexus Part 1

Part I

What are the odds?

During one to three out of every 1,000 births a child is born with a Brachial Plexus (also referred to as Erbs Palsy) injury. With odds like that it seems highly unlikely to expect that your child would be born with such an injury. Guess the odds were in our favor.

Preparing for birth

Like any other couple my husband and I were ecstatic when we found out that we were expecting. The excitement increased as my due date approached. I remember one night while we were watching TV my husband said what if something is wrong and our child is not healthy. I immediately became upset (why would you say that to a pregnant woman??) and said “Let’s not think that way. Everything will be fine”.  In hindsight, I know that my husband wasn't trying to be a pessimistic, but was trying to prepare me for some of the realities that can occur from childbirth.

Tick-Tock

My original due date was July 20^th however my son was not ready to make an appearance. Needless to say all of the wives tales on how to expedite labor did not work for me. At 41 weeks I was scheduled for an induction. I was extremely nervous about the birthing process after watching endless episodes of Baby Story on TLC and birthing videos.

The whole process took less than 24 hours but I pushed for 2 hours straight and finally Mason was introduced to the world ( I will spare you all of the not so nice details). I wanted them to lay him on my chest but they whisked him away immediately to evaluate him. With all of the excitement it didn't cross my mind that something was wrong.

Psychic Vibes?

Once they cleaned up Mason, swaddled him and dressed him in his hospital cap they laid him on my chest. As all mothers know no words can express the first time that you gaze into your child’s eyes. As he was laying there the Dr. was explaining that Mason suffered an injury to his right arm from the birthing process. She was saying that it’s called Erbs Palsy and usually children recover by the time that they are 3 months. It was hard to process as I had just accomplished to most incredible feat of my life, and was overcome with emotion.

Thinking back to that conversation with my husband, I have to wonder was he getting some type of vibe telling him that something may be wrong?

Recovery and Parent Training

 

I was in the hospital for 3 days after giving birth, during that time I was trying to absorb tons of information from the doctors, nurses, lactation specialist and the physical therapists.  We were told that Mason would need physical therapy to prevent the muscles in his right arm from stiffening and were given exercises to try with him at home on a routine basis.

Although my husband and I were concerned we didn't let his injury overshadow the joy that we were experiencing from being first time parents, plus we were determined to do whatever it took to help our son progress. We never viewed the injury as a way to feel sorry for ourselves, or turn it into a legal battle with the hospital. The injury just makes Mason even more special and loved.