Our family has the unfortunate experience of having three members who've had to deal with TOS.
My son began having constant nagging arm pain around age 14, when he went through a growth spurt. Suddenly, he could not walk around for long periods, even though he had been otherwise very healthy and played sports.
He would hook his hand onto his opposite shoulder instead of letting it hang by his side to try and relieve the aching, and after a bit he would have to go sit down.
We saw the doc, they took xrays, saw that he has bilateral cervical ribs and suggested we consult with a specialist.
We got online and started searching for a doctor.
It was 2004.
We saw graphic surgical photos that nauseated and scared us about the surgery that could possibly help our son.
We cried, we prayed.
He continued to hurt.
Then a few days into our search, we found a TOS surgeon who had run a TOS clinic for years...locally.
We consulted, he recommended surgery.
Our son had a left rib resection the summer of '04.
Three weeks later he was off all pain meds.
Three months later doc cleared him for football training camp.
He healed crazy fast, did excellently.
I had him send a thankyou card and picture of him in his football uniform to his surgeon.
Little did we know we would be back the very next summer with our daughter.
