It Scored!

Soccer isn't supposed to be a sport where you use your arms but mine had a mind of its own this week. I made my run into the box on a corner kick in our game Friday and the ball decided to bounce off my arm and into the goal... The ref saw nothing and what do you know, I just scored a goal with my BPI shoulder! I laughed to myself as people congratulated me and I immediately knew it'd be my next blog post. Not many people can say they've scored a goal with their arm and especially not one with a birth injury. It was a very proud moment, even if I was the only one who understood why it was such a big deal. You never know what your arm could do for you :)

One Positive

In my college application to UC Berkeley, I wrote a little about my shoulder and its impact on my life. After receiving my application, they sent me an additional questionnaire to fill out in order to give them more insight into the extent of its effects. The second question was about the impact that my physical disability has had on my academic performance and I realized it hasn't been detrimental in that area of my life at all. I may have a torn nerve but I am lucky to be able to say that my brain can think just fine. There is always so much to be thankful for and it's sad how easy it is to forget that. I am incredibly happy to have academics as a part of my life in which I can perform and be treated normally :)

Feeling Like a Little Kid

BPI often binds you to dependency. Normal people survive their childhoods with the help of others and then slowly learn to live on their own without it. Oftentimes a brachial plexus injury makes that seem impossible. It's hard to feel independent when you still struggle to turn the steering wheel or put a shirt on or give a high five. When you still need people's help to do things any normal teenager should be able to. On top of that, people seem to no matter what treat you more like a child when they find out. They forget that you are the same person they've known as normal before you told them. No need for things to change just cause you now know something that always existed!

Some physical things may still be awkward for me but if anything, I'm mentally older because of my brachial plexus injury. To others I may seem more dependent, but in my mind I feel more independent than most people I meet. With an injury as uncommon as BPI, you learn to figure things out on your own much sooner than everyone else. 

Hair

As a girl with a brachial plexus injury, this is a big issue. I never used to be able to do my own hair. My arm couldn't get up there and even if it could, my hand probably wouldn't have the strength or control necessary. Even without BPI, doing hair is not an easy task. After several years, a surgery and OT, I can do my hair on my own. Well mostly. My ponytails are always slightly to one side and not exactly smooth. Braiding in the back is a near impossible task and don't even get me started on French braiding. My arm gets tired doing all of it. I've taken to simple hairdos. My hair goes up for soccer and stays down for pretty much everything else and that's fine with me! Less to worry about, right? And I'm not afraid to ask my mom or a friend for help if I do want to do something special with my hair. But usually I feel nothing is wrong with just letting it be. I can even blame it on laziness if I want :)