Intro to BPI (Brachial Plexus Injury)

A Bachial Plexus Injury (shortened as BPI) is when there is damage on nerves going from your spine, all the way inside your arm (aka Brachial Plexus). Usually by an excessive pull, but it can happen trough other situations like knife or gunshot injuries.

The nerves composing the BP are C5, C6, C7, C8 and T1. Each one is independently, or in combination with others, responsible for movements and sensory areas of certain parts of your arm. For example, is C5 is damaged, arm abduction and sensation over the shoulder are affected. The resulting injury can go from weakness or numbness, to total paralysis and loss of sensitivity of affected areas.

If you are reading this, I hope it is just out of curiosity. It could also be that are you ran into a similar situation I did 1 year ago, and google searches led you here. If that's the case, it's going to be fine, things will get better. You'll have to work hard for it, but you'll get your life back.

People around you might think 'it's just an arm, some people had it worse, man up'. It is true, some people have it way worse. Among everything, be grateful for what you still have. There are people who would do anything for being on your shoes right now. Let that motivate you.

So it is just an arm. But it can change many things in your live. Most people won't understand that, because they have never faced it. Depending on your lifestyle and nerves involved, it will affect you more or less. For me, most of the things I love doing were hindered or impeded by my injury. I can't objectively tell how bad it really was. Subjectively, for me, it was morally devastating.

It is not just loosing the mobility of one arm, but also the associated problems that comes along with it. In my case, 2 months after the accident, I wasn't able to walk 1 KM without having to stop. My back was killing me from the loose hanging arm weight, no matter how well I tried to adjust the arm sling. I used to be a marathon runner, and at that point I couldn't even go for a decent stroll.

Surprisingly, when I told people about my nerve injury, some thought I should still be able to move my arm. More people than you might think. So much for biology at school.

I've spent countless hours reading about nerve structure, types of nerve injuries, recovery results and surgical procedures. It is a fascinating read overall. But my point on writing this is not to cover what is already well explained on other sites and published medical papers. It is to tell a human side of the story, the journey that comes along with it. I couldn't find enough of this part on the internet. There are many things I would have loved to be told about right from the start, and instead I had to learn them on the go, sometimes the hard way. I hope my experiences will help others trough their own journeys.

I couldn't finish this intro without mentioning something I found decisive for the best possible recovery. I had checked with 7 different professionals before my procedure. My chats with some doctors can only be described as horror stories. On the other hand, some of them were surprisingly overconfident and over promising. Luckily, I found the right professionals along the way.

My two cents for those travelling the same path as I did, and I can't stress this enough, don't go with your first physician's opinion, unless his or her name is present on several study cases or medical papers on the internet. Doesn't matter how confident the doctor seems to be, or what is being promised, or even how cheap it is. You might end up on his / her hands anyway, but because it was your own choice, not just because it was the first doctor you visited and you trusted that person. This will be covered further in another post, but please, follow my advice. It is important.