A Pain in the Neck!

Two Thursday mornings ago, I was washing my hair when I felt a little "tweak" in my neck. I got out of the shower and the pain started getting really intense, so much so that I wasn't able to go on Spencer's field trip that morning. I took some muscle relaxers that Dave had and stayed in bed all day. Dave had spoken to our doctor in the morning and he said if I wasn't getting better later in the day to call him. Well, at dinnertime I commented, "I survived childbirth, so I can make it through this." That's when Dave decided we better call the doctor!

So, Dr. Byrd sent me to the Westlake Hospital ER to get checked out just in case. What a family adventure! Spencer took his "body encyclopedia" book and impressed the nurses and doctor with his interest in everything. I could tell Spencer was a little nervous about the situation because he starts talking non-stop when he's feeling that way.

The X-rays didn't show anything out of the ordinary, so the ER doc said it was probably a sprained neck. And he tried to make me feel better by saying, "You'd be surprised how many people injure their necks while washing their hair in the shower!" I got an Rx for more muscle relaxers and pain meds and was on my way.

When I saw Dr. Byrd the next morning, he prescribed a steroid/anti-inflammatory and that really started making me feel better. He thought I might have a herniated disc. I can honestly say, other than labor, that was the worst pain I've ever felt, and it was very intense for a few days. Very difficult to move around and get comfortable to sleep. Luckily (or not...) I was up and around in time for my work trip to Minnesota the following week.

Something interesting has come out of this saga. As you may or may not know, Spencer always climbs into bed with us at some point during the night (usually not as late as we might hope). Well, when I was in so much pain, we couldn't allow him in the bed with us, so Dave talked to him about it and he agreed that he would sleep all night in his own bed. There were a few tears the first night, but overall the transition was pretty easy. He even said that he was feeling more rested each morning! Once I was feeling better, we explained that we'd continue with the new arrangement. I think we caught him off-guard with that, but he has been a little trooper and is doing such a good job! We still see him a couple of times a night, but he goes back to his bed - sometimes he needs Mommy to tuck him in of course. :)