Making Progress

When Nicholas was born, he had a brachio-plexus injury. This is basically a nerve strain in his neck that affected the movement of his arm. We aren't sure if this occured before he was born, or if it happened during the birth; but when he was first born, he could not move his right arm at all.

So, while in the hospital, Nicholas had x-rays done, saw the orthopedist and at 10 days old had his first physical therapy appointment. At 11 days old, we went up to OHSU in Portland to see the orthopedist.

It was really hard for me--especially after I did some research on this issue and freaked myself out. I haven't talked much about this and most people can't even tell that anything was wrong at this point.
We have gotten a lot of good news, and the movement is coming back to Nicholas' arm better than we expected. He now has a pretty good range of motion, but we still have work to do. He still does have areas that need improvement, and we are continuing with his therapy. We don't know how long this will continue or if this will affect motor skills in the future (like crawling).
The power of prayer is amazing. I know that we have had friends and family all over the country praying for Nicholas and the orthopedist up in Portland was amazed at how much motion was coming back on its own at 11 days old. God has definitely been at work in helping Nicholas to heal, but also in helping me to come to terms with this issue. It is hard knowing that some babies with this injury do not fully recover. We are praying that Nicholas will continue to improve and that he will completely recover and be able to have full strength and use of his arm and hand. He is such a blessing to us and an example of God's faithfulness to answer prayer!