Having a Brachial plexus Injury can really limit the clothes and shoes you wear. That might not sound like a big issue, but to us it is. It can affect our jobs, health and fitness, self confidence and our social lives with friends and family. We can learn, with lots of practice, to wear some things that at first seem impossible, but it takes time, and adds to our frustration. So many of us choose to stay home rather than deal with not being able to wear something that is requ

Just because we can only use one arm doesn't mean we can't workout, strengthen and be fit. There are in fact many organisations around the world who can help develop workouts and weight lifting programs for for people with brachial plexus injuries. It's an important part of our recovery for our BPI arms, but also the strengthen our working arm. Overuse of our good arm can become a serious problem, so a regular strengthening program is a great idea. Done in moderation of cours

The nerve pain that I experience from my brachial plexus injury, is very unpleasant. Brachial plexus injury pain is very different for everyone. Many of you will know exactly what I'm talking about. Some of you might have it worse than I do. Many of you reading this may get a better understanding of the pain your loved one or patient deals with all the time. People with birth brachial plexus injuries may not feel as much, if any, pain like this. Please Mummies, don't panic ab

I confess that I don't know very much about neuroplasticity, but I do know a lot about nerve pain. If neuroplasticity does infact work, and can help people with brachial plexus injuries (and other chronic pain and conditions) to lessen our lifelong pain, then I happily share this article with you all, and hope that in turn, you will share it with others. Here's the article and below that is a great infographic - "This Nifty Infographic Is a Great Introduction to Neuroplastici

On behalf of Brachial Plexus Australia, I would like to thank Marleen Boom for her generous donation, which helped cover the costs of our legal public notice advising our intention to incorporate the association. Without Marleen, I'd still be only thinking about the future of this organisation! <3 Thank you Marleen! <3 If you would like to donate to help with the costs of registering the association and registering with ASIC, please click here - DONATE Feel free to share the

After my accident, like everybody with brachial plexus injuries, I was forced to sleep on my back. I HATED it so much. I never slept at night. I would sleep 2 hours here and 2 hours there, in bed, on the couch ... anywhere and from pure exhaustion. I was so exhausted and angry I started trying everything. I spent hours every day experimenting, trying to manoevre my arm around, using pillows, in the sling, out of the sling, with the wrist brace, without the wrist brace, and ev

"Each day when I awake I know I have one more day to make a difference in someone's life" ~ James Mann Something that makes a HUGE difference in my mental attitude when I wake up everyday, is knowing that today, I might find some information, meet someone, know something, know the right contact or just be there for someone, and truly make a positive difference in a persons life. Sure, there is a personal sense of satisfaction, but knowing that in some way, no matter how small

The Perth Southern Gazette has just published a follow up article about me and my dreams for Brachial Plexus Australia! ............... THE past year has been a tough journey for Victoria Park resident Rebecca Cochran but it’s also awoken a fiery desire for her to continue to help others in similar situations. A motorcycle accident in March 2015 left Ms Cochran with a brachial plexus injury.Initially, it rendered her right arm near useless but a year on Ms Cochran has had the

So I've enrolled in a Diploma of Counselling through the Australian College of Applied Psychology and a Diploma of Life Coaching through Estrada College which are both online courses through 2 top Australian colleges. They both start in May. I'll have to do a lot of work placement, and submit videos of me doing sessions with "clients" for assessment. Guess my husband will be getting some free sessions hahaha. I'm so excited about it! I can't wait to get stuck into it! 2 at on

I came across this story I wrote last year, and thought I would share it. I wrote it at the end of May 2015. I never got around to sharing it, so I thought in honour of my blog's 1st birthday, I'll post it as a bit of a throw back. So much of it is still the same as a typical day now, except I don't have a job, so I pretty much spend every day with my PJs on, un-brushed hair, no makeup or smudged makeup from whenever I last painted my face. Geez that makes me sound horribly d

So today marks my blog's 1st birthday! 1 year ago today, I decided to share my story, search for people like me, and give Australia a presence in the brachial plexus community, What a journey the last 12 months has been! I want to thank you all for all the love and support you have shown, the strength you've given me and the community you have welcomed me into. We all need to be there for each other. Brachial plexus injuries are horrible things to live through, whether you we

‪What everyone should know about occupational therapy, including what it actually is! I love going to my OT sessions. I get so much out of it and learn how to use every day tasks to exercise and improve my arm. "The goal of occupational therapy is to improve the quality of life of people with physical and mental challenges. And to make that even more awesome, occupational therapists accomplish this by creating individualized treatments based on what activities and occupations

So small miracle today … besides the HUGE improvement in my deltoids … my supraspinatus has decided it wants to work now. It’s intermittent but Jaslyn, my OT, managed to get it on film! The snow angel movement looks a bit bizarre, amd before filming I managed to do it with a much more normal look to it, but ….. here we are! #brachialplexus #brachialplexusinjury #brachialplexusinjuryaustralia #erbspalsy #nerveinjury #nerves #muscles #birthinjury #nervetransfer #disability #bra

Trauma survivors often have symptoms instead of memories. Those with traumatic brachial plexus injuries are no exception. Depression Irratibility Loss of interest Disassociation Numbing Decreased concentration Insomnia Emotional overwhelm Hopelessness Loss of a sense of the future Shame and worthlessness Little or no memories Nightmares Flashback Hypervigilance Mistrust Anxiety Panic attacks Chronic pain Headaches Substance abuse Eating disorders Feeling

Hey everyone. So at the moment I’m feeling really flat. I’m trying really hard to find a job but no luck. I apply for a heap everyday but the job market here in Perth is really screwed up! I’m so bored! All I do is clean, cook and watch TV! I’m going crazy! This is not who I am! The flip side however, is that I do have some things to do, my husband’s business management chores, bits of work for my own clients, the marketing course I signed up for …. but do you think I can bri

24 Feb 2016. 8 months post nerve transfer. Deltoids and triceps progress. #brachialplexus #brachialplexusinjury #brachialplexusinjuryaustralia #erbspalsy #nerveinjury #nerves #muscles #birthinjury #nervetransfer #disability #brachialgirl #blog #paralysis #subluxation #ot #occupationaltherapy #reinervate #supraspinatus #infraspinatu #Triceps #Deltoid #TeresMinor #musculocutaneous #brachialis #tricep #bicep #brainsignal #JaslynCullen

A bit of bicep action against gravity at last! Thanks to my OT, Jaslyn Cullen for filming www.jaslyncullen.com.au #brachialplexus #brachialplexusinjury #brachialplexusinjuryaustralia #erbspalsy #nerveinjury #nerves #muscles #nervetransfer #disability #brachialgirl #blog #surgery #nervesurgery #subluxation #bicepcurl #bicep #ot #occupationaltherapy #JaslynCullen

Here’s a snippet of me doing bicep curls today with a 500gram weight on my wrist. Filmed by my lovely OT, Jaslyn Cullen. #brachialplexus #brachialplexusinjury #brachialplexusinjuryaustralia #erbspalsy #nerveinjury #nerves #muscles #birthinjury #nervetransfer #disability #brachialgirl #blog #surgery #paralysis #subluxation #ot #occupationaltherapy #reinervate #scared #success #strength #bicepcurl #bicep #JaslynCullen

Experimenting for the next week with this little item. Let’s see if it helps stimulate my newly working muscles to get stronger! I’ll post a review in a week. This is a TENS and EMS machine. I”m using the EMS program on my bicep and anterior deltoid. The TENS function is believed to provide pain relief. #brachialplexus #brachialplexusinjury #brachialplexusinjuryaustralia #erbspalsy #nerveinjury #nerves #muscles #birthinjury #nervetransfer #disability #motorcycleaccident #trau

RAISING AWARENESS IN AUSTRALIA FOR BRACHIAL PLEXUS AND ERB’S PALSY INJURIES Did you know … The reported incidence of birth related brachial plexus injuries can vary from 2-5 of 1000 births. Out of these around 80% or more resolve themselves. The rest will go through multi-discipline treatments, including OT and PT therapies, nerve and tendon transfer surgeries and other treatments. Besides the birth injury, other causes of brachial plexus injuries include car, motorcycle, spo