Phantom pain is not so phantom
When I was in the operating room getting prepped for the c-section, the nice anesthesiologist was telling me everything he was doing and how it would make me feel (this will be cold, this will be colder, this will start the numbing, etc…) He wanted me to keep him updated if I was feeling the cold/colder/numbness/etc and let him know if I was feeling things he was not mentioning. Well, after a few minutes of his drug cocktail- I started feeling severe shoulder pain on my right side. It hurt so bad that I was not speaking loud enough for him to hear me so Kerry relayed the message that it really hurt. His response- it is not real pain. About 1 in 50 people have the sensation of shoulder pain but it is just a side effect. Well, it sure felt real! And, now five weeks later it is still there- as well, as back spasms and numbness in my arm. At my post-partum check-up, I was told ‘to see a doctor’ about the pain. Now, considering I was seeing a doctor at that moment it was a funny comment but I knew what he meant about seeing a specialist.
Finally, today I had my appointment. After waiting one hour and thirty-five minutes, I saw ‘the doctor.’ He confirmed it was not fake pain but that my back and shoulders were super tense and he thinks I have a pinched nerve. I guess I have the typical injury of a new mom. He prescribed physical therapy for the next month to see if that works out the problem. He wanted to see me back in four weeks but after learning that my 95 minute wait is fairly standard for his office, I will need to find another doctor. If I showed up 95 minutes late for my appointment I am sure I would not be seen by the doctor and would be billed some sort of ‘no-show’ fee. He was a tad perplexed that I would not be scheduling the next appointment but honestly I don’t like to wait and he did not provide a good reason for the long wait. He just confirmed what the nurse said that he has a lot of patients and this is a typical wait time. Ugh. If you know a good doctor with shorter office waiting times in Alexandria- let me know.
And, in Hadley news, here are a few of her professional pictures from a few weeks ago:
Kerry’s co-workers were very generous with gifts and gift cards (we won’t be having to buy our own diapers for a many months!) and it was nice to see some of my old friends.
Vicky has been calling Baby V ‘Agatha’ for months since Kerry would not tell her the names we were considering. So, the cards were all addressed to ‘Baby Aggie’ and she even wrote it on the board. Some of the people at the party were convinced this was our name choice.
We got some nice story books, the 
We both have the nicest co-workers! Thanks so much
We are not having a St.Patty’s Day baby but this was still a fun gift! No baby news yet and I am still on house arrest. We had an appointment yesterday and everything looks the same. Our doctor is perplexed and basically told us to just wait and see. So, we go back later this week for more of the same. But at most it is 16 days until we meet Baby V! If we make it to April 2nd (official due date) then I will be induced that day. We could have picked an earlier day but this guarantees my doctor will be the one in charge and Kerry and I were both happy about that. So, odds are still on a March baby but at least we know that it will not be past April 2nd!
Speaking of the office, my co-workers and boss have been great about my modified bed rest situation. They are now referring to it as my ‘house arrest,’ too and it has been nice to be able to work from home but to still rely on the peeps at the office to help me out. Then today, the UPS man banged on the door and Kerry and I got a HUGE box. And, another box and rumor of another box arriving tomorrow. My co-workers bought us the 
Also, they sent some blankets, bath items and a swaddle me for sleeping. I was so impressed with the gifts and how organized they were! They will be getting a pizza lunch from Kerry and I as our way of saying thank you!
