Mother shares achievements of child after brachial plexus injury

“That was the happiest day of my life.” It is a sentence that is often used to describe some of life’s most important events. As we grow, we may say it when we graduate from college, when we meet the love of our life or when we walk down the aisle and pledge the rest of our lives to that other person.

The words above are the closest most parents can come to describing the day that their child was born. For some, however, the day that should be the “happiest” is filled with indescribable feelings of pain, heartbreak, worry, frustration, fear, anticipation and much more. These emotions come when the doctor begins to explain that something went wrong.

Many people may not know what a brachial plexus injury is, but those words can change a life forever. It is an injury that can be caused during labor, when a child’s arm is pulled with such force that the nerves in the shoulder are stretched or torn. When these nerves tear, it can cause Erb’s palsy or a paralysis of the arm.

The United Brachial Plexus Network has given one mom support that she is incredibly thankful for after her child was born under these circumstances. The mother is grateful that her child’s life was saved during birth, but it will never be the same as her peers. The child has Erb’s palsy and is currently undergoing several medical procedures such as a nerve-graft surgery to repair the damage to her arm.

The mother celebrates her 14-month-old daughter’s achievements, like being able to “pull things down” and “try to climb.” She can even lift some heavier objects. “That’s awesome for a brachial plexus kid,” she shared in her efforts to raise awareness for those with this type of injury.

This family’s story is a great example of the life kids with a birth injury can go on to have, but also the importance of a birth injury lawsuit in California. These medical treatments are not free, but are extremely expensive. The care that these children need also stretches well into the future. Compensation from these lawsuits gives families the funding a child often needs to set them up for the best future possible.

Source: Fox 23, “Owasso mother raising awareness after child’s birth injury,” Michelle Linn, Sept. 23, 2013