…or not…You know, I have exercised in some way, shape, or form for all of my life. When I wasn't the S T A R basketball player in 6th grade (final championship score 4 to 2 and guess who scored BOTH baskets????..Uh ya!), I was swimming or biking at the beach with my sister. I love team sports, but most of all, I just like to move and have fun. Typically, most of us have changed what exercise means and how we do it as we age. . Our bodies just DO NOT react in the same way as they used to, and unfortunately becomes more of a chore than a joy. About 3 years ago, I heard and felt a pop in my calf while playing tennis. Of course, it was doubles and I am competitive, so I sucked it up and played to the end of the match. Unfortunately, my adult body (the one with the childish mind) felt it the next day, and the next, and the next until I got an MRI. It's never good when the tech asks you to stay while he finds a doctor. SO what do you know? The knee and calf muscle are intact, but I had a highly unusually large tumor on my femur bone (which just happened to be "caught" on the film). After a week of stress and hell and an appointment with an oncologist (again…not a good sign), I was given the all clear and told that I have probably had this "cortical desmoid" tumor all my life. Some things are just better if we don't know about them! Onward to my "Boot Camp" class stage with the navy seal instructor…I never puked, but I DID manage a tear in my Achilles tendon and, once again, was slowed down by my own body crying out as if to say, "STOP or I'll shoot!" …All of this said, I typically jog, or walk with friends accompanied by some push- ups, sit ups, and other "Red Neck Yoga" style moves. Regardless, it feels good to MOVE and when I skip it I feel lazy and chubby.
2 months ago I woke up with a neck strain. I wish I could tell you that I had gone parachuting, or bungee- jumping, or that it was during the 3rd phase of my triathlon in New York City. Unfortunately, I just "slept wrong" and thought it was a fluke. As the weeks have passed, the pain has increased, and tomorrow I am faced with a trip to a neurosurgeon after a troubling MRI. My favorite brother in law is a chiropractor and wisely pointed out that with an MRI such as this, I must have injured it earlier in life. With that, I remembered, as part of my student teaching, we did a gymnastics unit. Now, I am 5'11" and was ONLY a gymnast in my own mind. I could do enough to get by, so when I was teaching how to spot, it didn't really dawn on me not to let my kids spot ME. That was the day, in 1986, that the spot went awry and I landed on my head doing a back handspring. If you don't think your own life is a miracle, maybe you should do a gut check and think about all of the times that something "could have" happened but didn't. The past 4 weeks in complete pain have made me realize so many obvious things:
If you have your health, don't complain about "having to" exercise, just go do it and find something you enjoy doing!
Being a couch potato isn't really all it's cracked up to be
Sleep is a gift
I have SO much…BE grateful! (My amazing friend Mary K. recommended "1000 Gifts" an excellent book!)
SO…tomorrow is an appointment with a neurosurgeon. I will be able to WALK in to that appointment and for that I am grateful. Life is fragile…stay active…and stay tuned!
I welcome your prayers!
Coffee Talk Mom
Comments