Folks, this is what my first week in my 40s looked like.
No joke. I wasn’t 40 for even 24 hours and I was cripple!
First off, I NEVER EVER thought I’d be on a scooter rippin’ around Wegmans. Like ever. But when you literally can’t walk, you have no choice. You pimp that sucker and make your husband laugh.
Yes, I, Andrea, was cruising around on the ol’ scooter in the grocery store. Making new fellow friends who were also looking slick as ever on these bad boys. I learned in my 20 minutes on being on one that it’s a secret club. People see you on them, yes. But you don’t know about the bond with other fellow riders until you ride one yourself. Kinda like a real motorcycle, but not as cool. Ha ha.
At the beginning of July, I felt like I might have pulled a muscle on our water mat while wrestling my hubby and kids at the river, but it didn’t seem like a big deal. I used my big booty to push them off 90% of the time, so how I hurt my leg is a serious question.
The back of my leg bothered me, but nothing to the point of even having a limp. I mean, I went up and down our river lot steps, which is A LOT of dang steps, over and over and over again, all of July!?
Jump to the day of my birthday, Sunday, August 3. I noticed getting out of the water in the back of our boat that behind my knee was really bothering me. That night, I pulled our boat home with the Titan, but I couldn’t hoist my rear up in our lifted truck.
Chris helped give me a boost.
I came home, and was fine, but I was two-stepping like Granny Grunt. On my way up to bed, two-stepping slowly up the steps, my left leg gave out on me, and down I went onto the top of our landing. I’ve never in my life felt that kind of pain. I knew something was seriously wrong. I couldn’t get up. I would have had to roll my fat butt down the steps if no one was home. No joke. It was bad.
Chris and Ty had to carry me to bed. Kenzy was bawling because she saw the pain I was in and was scared. I wasn’t going to the ER at 9:30 p.m. even though my son and husband thought I needed to go immediately.
“Give me meds and a heating pad. I’m sleeping this crap off,” I said.
Well, I got one hour of sleep and was in so much pain that Chris called off work and took me to the ER at 6:30 that morning.
They did X-rays and an ultrasound. They said it was a baker’s cyst and wanted me to see Ortho as soon as possible. They sent me home in a leg brace, crutches, and very, very good pain medicine.
I kept it up and iced it a lot.
Tuesday afternoon, we visited State College Ortho, where they had to consult multiple doctors because they were unsure if the issue was related to the baker’s cyst.
They couldn’t believe I could even walk.
I had to ask them to remove the fluid.
They said most people do not opt to do that because it’s so painful. I said, “I can’t sleep. I can’t walk. I can’t possibly get any more uncomfortable. Do what you need to do. Take it out, please.”
“Ma’am, it’s only a 50/50 chance this will even work,” the doc told me.
“I don’t care if it’s a 10% chance. Please try it.”
They did. They took out 6cc of fluid.
I could stand right away, but as soon as I went to step down, my leg gave out, and the awful pain was still there.
Now, each day it has slowly gotten better.
Thursday night, I started walking with no crutches.
Saturday, I could finally at least drive the Titan — everything we own is standard, and it’s my clutch leg. That weekend, I could finally go out in the yard and tend to my garden, but I couldn’t do the steps normally. There is still definitely something wrong. You can’t make this up.
The night after my 40th birthday. I was on a complete high from such an incredible weekend. You can go from real high to real low in the matter of seconds. I was so low that I was on the floor, haha!
I am doing better this week but still struggle a bit with steps. It’s so strange. I don’t understand it. Let me tell you, it really opens your eyes to how blessed you are to be able to sleep or live pain-free. Blessed to have two legs to walk with. Blessed to be able to do everyday things that our body does for us that we just take for granted.
I’m not just going into 40 with an open mind, but an open heart and gratefulness.
I am still determined that this will be my best decade yet. God has a lot in store for me.
I can feel it.
Skinny Chicken Parmesan
Ingredients:
• 1 pound penne pasta, protein pasta, or whole wheat
• 1 24 ounce jar marinara sauce (lower sugar, optional)
• 15 ounces diced tomatoes
• 1 pound boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs, whole wheat
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, optional, ground oregano
Directions:
Cook pasta according to the package directions, and drain. Preheat the oven to 375°. In a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish, combine the cooked pasta, marinara, tomatoes, and chicken. Stir well. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and seasoning.
After 40 minutes, remove the casserole and stir in the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly over the top. Leave uncovered, return to the oven, and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the top is crispy.
