Letter: Learn about traumatic brachial plexus injuries

The brachial plexus injury community is celebrating the annual International Brachial Plexus Injury Awareness Month during the month of October. Those of us in the local community of individuals and families affected by brachial plexus injuries implore you to join us in the effort to educate the public about infants injured at birth or others affected by traumatic brachial plexus injuries.

I know this injury all too well because I have a beautiful 13-year-old daughter who suffered this injury during her birth. When she was born she weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces and she was a beautiful baby girl. At first when the doctors told me her little arm suffered damage during birth I did not realize the severity of the damage. I never heard of the injury “brachial plexus” never mind knowing what it was.

Brachial plexus is a network of nerves in the neck that control the shoulder, arm and hand. When my daughter was born she had damage to all 5 nerves. She could not move her arm from her shoulder down to her fingers. This is such a serious injury, yet there is so little knowledge of this injury.

My daughter was in therapy both physical and occupational for the first 11 years of her life. Not only at the centers but also at home. Her life was about therapy.

When she was born she had no use of her arm and now 13 years later and after major surgeries she has maybe 40 percent use of her arm. She may do things differently than most but she figures out a way to get things done.

Can you imagine how difficult it can be to zipper your jacket or to tie your shoe with only one hand. This can be difficult, but she managed to find a way to do these things.

We sometimes take having our hands and arms for granted, but not my daughter. There are some things that she cannot do such as hang from monkey bars, or do a cartwheel. But that doesn’t stop her from achieving her goals.

When you see a child doing things differently than you or I, don’t be so fast to pass judgment. Our children didn’t ask for this to happen.

For more information about brachial plexus injuries, call the United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc. at 781-315-6161 or visit www.ubpn.org.

Melissa Daggett

Fall River