Corynn was born with a brachial plexus injury resulting in Erb's Palsy on the right shoulder and arm. This was the result of the combination of a quick labor and her size. She was 9lbs 10 oz and 22 inches long. A BIG BABY! Her right shoulder was caught on my pubic bone and the doctor pulled her out forcefully which ripped her arm nerves out of her spinal cord. John and I were in complete shock and the doctor and nurses wouldn't tell us anything and down played the whole situation. When our pediatrician came in the next day to see her, he immediately called a neurosurgeon to look at her. The neurosurgeon told us she would need to go to a Brachial Plexus clinic in TX and have some surgeries to correct the damage.
My father-in-law was very adamant about taking Corynn to Mayo Clinic instead. It was a great choice- they did an awesome job. During our initial visit we were told that Corynn will NEVER have full use of her shoulder or elbow and the most we could expect would be 30-40 % range of motion and use. She wouldn't be able to touch her head, comb her hair, raise her arm above her head or extend out to the side. John and I were in shock... its not like it was life threatening - but it was a disability that would affect her forever... and people/kids can be so mean. She underwent the surgery and we hoped for the best. They took a nerve out of her right leg from the back of her knee to her heel and cut it into tiny slices. They then bundled the slices together to form a bridge between the severed nerve and the spinal cord. So she had an incision down the back of her lower leg and on her neck. They then took the nerves that allowed her to flip her wrist and transferred them to her elbow so that she could have limited use of her elbow. She was only 3 months old when this all happened. SCARY!
So after all this we are hoping and praying for the best results: 30-40% movement and range. Well- she far exceeded all the surgeons expectations. She recovered ahead of schedule and better than expected. Here is a picture of Corynn playing on the swing set.
And to think they said she would never do that! We were also told she wouldn't be able to do this...
It is amazing what medical science and faith can do! Thank you Jeff and Nancy, Brother Smith, Dr. Spinner, Dr.Bishop, Dr. Shin and the nurses at St. Mary's Hospital!
4 comments:
I never would have known...she seems completely normal! Its amazing what can be done!
I know! Usually people just notice the scar on her leg and then assume it was her leg that was hurt! It is so crazy what they can do now a days!
Go Corynn!! That is so awesome Audra... what a miracle!
That is amazing. What a trial though.
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