The mystery illnesses are like the climate change of the human body.
Sarah Ramey
I had so many plans for 2022. I wasn’t planning on resolutions per say but I did have a list of things I wanted to get done. All that has been put on hold though. On December 29 or 30th, all the days have run together now, I lost feeling in my left hand. It quickly spread up my left arm under my armpit and all down my torso. Essentially from my left groin up the centre of my body crossing my belly button and up to my collarbone and down my spine, my entire left side feels asleep. It’s so weird! My hand is cramped up like a claw and I can’t feel whether or not I’m wearing a shirt, I can only feel the weight of the garment on my shoulders! My arm aches, it pulses, and I have shooting pains in my fingertips. I’m exhausted from living with the constant pain. I honestly don’t even have descriptive words to describe how terrible it feels. As I lay in bed and worry, I think of all the people out there that have chronic pain and ask myself how they live with it? I honestly don’t know how they live with it! I have continued to do yoga, or at least as much as I can. Typing has been difficult as my fingers will not listen to me and every time a hit a button, my fingers pulse and ache.
Ninja has been a superhero! We have had record-breaking snowfalls and he has still kept the house clean, made dinners, got the kids to all their activities and has taken care of me ❤️. Even though I am feeling super sorry for myself I also feel lucky to have a partner that has my back literally in sickness and in health.
The kids see what’s going on. They are worried. Especially HoneyBear. I understand, it’s how I felt when my Mom was diagnosed with MS all those years ago. I’m not gonna lie, I’m scared. Like really scared! However, I am trying to keep a positive outlook because we honestly don’t know what it is. My doctor was off for the holidays but as soon as he got back on January 4, he saw me right away. Since then I’ve had another Covid test, negative! I have also had a complete bloodwork exam which all came back really good except my thyroid was a bit high and we are adjusting my medication for that . I am going in for an urgent MRI tomorrow. I’ve never had an MRI. I’m scared of what I will find out but I also can’t wait. I need to know how I can help myself. I need to do some thing!
So that’s how 2022 has started for me. I’m thankful that all my clients are 100% understanding. I am grateful for Ninja. All my family has been super supportive and will continue to be while I get through this. I have my fingers crossed this is a faulty nerve that needs some physiotherapy and I will be back on my feet in no time! Because I have to be. I am young. I have a young family. I have dreams and I have a lot on my to do list of life. I’m not ready to accept anything until I have found out what is going on. Hopefully (I think 😬) that will be soon 💛.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #258: Epic Snow HERE! This week, we crawl out from a blanket of snow to discuss: PC Points, weather, Don’t Look Up, Bad Manners, animated films, Omicron, my numbness, 2-tier health care, Quebec, Hockey & Crazy Eddie.
With all the snow this past week we have needed some belly filling comfort food to keep us warm! Tis did the trick! It is kind of like chicken pot pie without the pie! We LOVED it! Slow cooker meals are perfect for winter days!
Crockpot Chicken Stew
Adapted from Sweet and Savory Meals
2 chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons oil
1/3 cup white wine
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Italian herbs, chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, chopped
3 potatoes, washed and cut into cubes
1 cup peas
4 cups chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add oil. Once the oil is shimmering, brown the chicken in batches. Cook until golden brown.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine.
Add the chicken and white wine mixture from the pan to the crockpot.
Add the chicken and the rest of the ingredients, except peas, cream and cornstarch.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
When there are 30 more minutes towards the end of cooking, add the cream and the peas, stir well.
In a measuring cup, dissolve 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in 1/2 cup of broth from crockpot until no lumps are visible and slowly pour the mixture into the stew.
Stir and cook for 30 more minutes.
The weather was all sorts of cray cray this week! We got SO much snow! After Ninja was done clearing all of our client’s snow, he took the Girls to their old school for some sledding. The Girls were off school this week due to COVID-19s new variant, Omicron and SBean and I had some arguments while stuck in the house all week. BUT, we will always forgive and love each other. She made a giant doughnut and set up her new telescope! I began Yoga with Adriene’s monthly challenge MOVE, we had some yummy dishes, Ninja took SBean to Sing 2, Ninja and the Girl’s took Grandma out for lunch for her birthday and then to finish off our week we celebrated CabbagePatch’s 5th birthday with her 💛.
