Road Trip

As we prepared to leave for Chicago, there were many times we almost changed our minds. All the doctors we had seen had told us that our daughter would be fine, or was as fine as she was going to get. What was the point, right? Here we were, preparing to drive 4 hours away to hear yet ANOTHER doctor tell us things were fine. To stop worrying. To get over it and just enjoy my kid already, because these were the cards we were dealt. Live with it, mama, let it go.



We almost didn't go at all. We didn't have the money, really, to pay for gas and a hotel stay. We considered what a pain it would be to entertain a toddler in a car for 4 hours. We went anyway. I felt like I had been led to find this opportunity to meet this top doctor by fate. By God. It wasn't something I had really been pursuing with any great fervor for several months. Then, one day, I decided to listen to nagging little voice that was telling me that there was more I could do for my daughter. I did more research. I found this doctor, and he was about to come to ME. Of course we should go. If nothing else, it would be a wonderful blessing to hear from Dr. Nath, a REAL expert in BPI, that our daughter was just dandy.

The drive to Chicago was pretty uneventful. We never got lost, ran out of gas, or picked up any hitchhikers. Our daughter was pretty content, though you could tell she was getting restless near the end. In choosing our accommodations, I had signed up for one of those online deals that gives you a four star hotel room for a flat fee if you don't care where you stay, and we happened to land a room in the hotel where we would be visiting the doctor. And they let us check in early. We wandered around for awhile, met some nice people, and then it was our turn.

We went into the room in good spirits, and told Dr. Nath our story. Almost immediately, he pulled up anonymous photos of other patients on his computer. He zeroed in on a young girl and pointed out the similarities to my daughter. It was as identical as you can expect in such a varied condition. This girl's left arm looked like my girl's left arm. See, I KNEW something was wrong!

Dr. Nath started talking about surgery. I started crying. My husband looked on with a sort of befuddled look on his face. I'm sure it was a flattering time for us. Yes, we had gone looking for answers, but really, we just wanted him to tell us what all the others had. How's that for irony? I'm mad at the other doctors for saying she's fine, but I want THIS one to say it, too. He showed us the after pictures of this girl. She looks amazing. Wonderful. A freakin' miracle. She has full function of her arm.

In only ten minutes, though we were completely devastated, we had become so relieved. This was an answer, finally. Hope. The best thing we could ever do for our daughter, probably in her lifetime. And she wasn't even 2 yet.


So, in our fog, we asked a lot of questions; here are the few I can remember:
Q. Would therapy alone ever allow her to have full function of her arm?
A. No, her issues stem from the placement of the bones in her arm, and from contracted muscles. When she was delivered, her arm was most likely twisted, and the bones became misaligned.

Q. What were the possible long-term outcomes if we chose not to have surgery?
A. Early-onset arthritis, continued decreased function of the limb, shortening of the arm, uneven growth rates, muscle contractions, muscle weakness.

Q. Would there be only one surgery?
A. Every child is different. Ours would need three.

Q. Why has this never been mentioned?
A. Most doctors are not aware of the long-term effects because they don't see enough kids or see them for a long enough time.

Q. How long do we have to get the procedures done and have the best outcomes?
A. The younger the child, the better chance for near-normal recovery. Erb's Palsy can become more complicated as children grow.

Dr. Nath's method is relatively new in the medical world, and he is the only one in the country practicing it. While he's famous in Houston, most people have never heard of him, until they get desperate enough for answers. He spent time with us, and seemed genuinely to care about how our kid turned out. He was compassionate, and showed enough outrage that this happens at all, that we just immediately trusted him. He was so confident and informative that we knew right away this was our doctor.