MY DAUGHTER, SAMANTHA, IS 5 YEARS OLD. AT BIRTH SAMANTHA SUFFERED FROM BRACHIAL PLEXUS INJURY TO HER RIGHT SHOULDER AND ARM. AT 2 MONTHS SAMANTHA STARTED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 3X'S PER WEEK. THIS WORKED SOMEWHAT BUT NOT ENOUGH. AT AGE 18MONTHS SHE STARTED SPEECH THERAPY BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT TALKING. AT AGE 3 SAMANTHA UNDERWENT SURGERY FOR THE ERB'S PALSY. DR. LINDELL(TOLEDO HOSPITAL ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON) DID 3 MUSCLE RELEASES TO HELP REPAIR HER ARM. THIS SURGERY WENT VERY WELL AND I FEEL WAS A MIRACLE FOR MY LITTLE GIRL. SAMANTHA IS NOW 5 YEARS OLD AND DOES EVERYTHING THAT HER CLASSMATES DO. SHE IS VERY ACTIVE IN DANCE AND RUNS 3 MILES WITH HER DAD ON WEEKENDS. OH AND ABOUT THE SPEECH, HER TEACHERS CAN'T BELIEVE HOW INTELLIGENT AND WELL SPOKEN SHE IS. HER LAST CONFERENCE SHOWED EXCELLENCE IN ALL AREAS OF EDUCATIONAL SKILLS.

I HOPE THIS SHEDS SOME LIGHT ON THE PARENTS WHO ARE SAD AND DON'T HAVE HOPE. THE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS, YOU ARE YOUR CHILDS BEST THERAPIST, WHETHER IN SPEECH, OT, PT, ETC... PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO DO THE EXERCISES AND MAKE YOUR CHILD STRONG. MANY DAYS I FELT HOPELESS AND WANTED TO GIVE UP, BUT ONE LOOK AT SAMANTHA AND I FELT STRONG AGAIN.

September 1999

Samantha had a Tendon Transfer 6 weeks ago. She is doing great and will be out of her brace in one week. She now has external rotation and can turn her hand over. Samantha and I will be in Washington DC for the conference (See ANOUNCEMENTS for more info) and meeting all the families. I will be wearing my Mrs. Northwood Banner, so say Hi! and introduce yourselves. See you there!

LORI O'HENRY
TOLEDO, OHIO
Email Lori here.

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