We have had a lot of appointments since the last update on where Spencer’s status sits on the brachial plexus scale. It has been tough and heart breaking but we have answers and we have direction for treatment.
Our first task was to get Spencer to Sainte Justine hospital for the battery of tests. He was scheduled for an MRI-C Spine, X-Rays, Ultra Sound of the shoulder and a Fluoroscopy of the diaphragm. For the MRI Spencer had to be put under. That was hard to watch but at the same time I kept thinking this stuff would be great for parents :-). Then he had the X-rays which was traumatizing for me as a parent. He was awake for them and poor little guy was strapped to a board and I had to hold him in certain positions. I should have just told them that I was pregnant so I didn’t have to do it. Peter went in for the Fluoroscopy. Then we went together into the ultrasound.
We had our meeting with Dr. Janelle last week to go over the final results. This is what we know from those tests. Spencer’s C8 nerve is the affected nerve. The tear is at the root and therefore can not be repaired. This affects mostly the hand and lower trunk movement. So it looks like there isn’t much we can do for the nerve but for the muscles and joint we will be working to try and keep him strong and flexible. Spencer is very strong for the most part he just has some movements that he struggles with, mostly abduction and supination. Because the C8 nerve is the affected one then his thumb does not move. He has great pointer and middle finger movement and uses these two fingers to pick up things or to transfer to his left hand. Other than the tightness in the shoulder he has great range and uses his right arm a lot more than some children with this type of injury.
The next step is Botox. He will be getting injections into his shoulder area and then he will be placed in a brace. Depending on how tight he is at the time leading up to the appointment he will be placed in one of two braces. It will either be a plastic or plaster brace. If he has to have a plaster brace this will be for 3 to 4 weeks, if it’s a plastic brace it will be mostly worn at night. There are more things planned but one step at a time. There was talk of shoulder release, tendon transfer for the thumb and a small nerve transfer to help with the movement of the shoulder, but not the big brachial plexus nerve graft.
So this is where we are. While I’m very upset and heart broken that we can’t fix his C8 nerve I am at least happy that we are moving forward with his treatment.
Spencer's Birth Injury 
Hi! After reading your blog, I had to reach out to you. My son, Jake, who will be one years old on Jan 18th suffered the same injury. He had avulsion to his C4 and C5 nerves. It has been a VERY emotional rollar coaster for me. His father has been able to handle this much better than I. However, he suffers his pain & agony more internally. I continue to struggle with “why did this happen?”, “why us?”, “I hate the doctor who did this”, etc… As I am sure you can relate! Jake did have the surgery when he was 9 months old. The surgery entailed “splicing” 2 of his good nerves and connecting them into his bicep and shoulder muscle. He is doing great! The medical team, including the surgeon, have told us that he is way above progress vs. where he should be at this stage of recovery. When I hear this, my eyes fill with water of happiness! It has been such a long journey and yet we still have a long way to go. I try to find the silver lining in all this…of course the obvious being blessed with our beautiful and healthy boy…but more of a direct teaching from god to me. In the end, I hope my prayers are answered with “please god, don’t let his injured arm be significantly noticable for I don’t want my son to suffer anymore then he already has”.