Category / relief

by Kelly Mattei

Back Pain? Foot Pain? Leg Pain? OOFOS!

Back pain? Foot pain? Leg pain? OOFOS!

This summer, I learned about chronic pain. When I say I learned about it, I mean I experienced it, and that’s how I learned. I mentioned in The Only Pain I Want in My Life is…Champagne, which you can read here. I wrote that piece when I was less that a month into the excruciating pain of sciatica. At the time, I had no idea how long it would last.

Now it’s September, and while the pain is mostly gone (FINALLY!), I still have intermittent pain. It’s not severe, and it’s not constant, thank God, but I feel it sometimes. And yes, I’m still praying about it every day. I thank God every day that it’s better, and I pray every day asking Him to help me get well. I’ve done everything I can think of to help myself with it. I’ve seen multiple doctors. I’ve walked. I’ve done physical therapy. I’ve stretched. I’ve done new exercises as directed by the physical therapists. I’ve taken steroids. I’ve iced my back and heated it. I’ve used a TENS machine. I’ve used lidocaine patches and creams. I’ve worn sneakers instead of heels or sandals with every outfit since May. Seriously, I’ve done everything I can think to do.

And on my neighbors recommendation, I purchased some OOFOS recovery flip-flops. She said she had suffered from sciatica and plantar fasciitis, and the OOFOS helped, so I got some to wear around the house. Going barefoot hurts my back and feet, and after wearing sneakers at home all the time, I finally tried the OOFOS.

I have thanked my neighbor many times since.

I have thanked her and thanked her. I will be traveling to a sunny destination next week, and I will be especially thankful for my OOFOS there. All I can say is buy them if you experience back, leg, or foot pain. Try them. They might offer you some relief. If you’re hurting badly enough, you’re likely willing to try them. No, they’re not the cute, but they’re awesome. To purchase from the OOFOS store on Amazon and take advantage of Prime benefits, click here. You can see their various lines and choose for yourself. I choose the thong-style, but they also make slides, clogs, and even sneakers.

Hoping you have happy feet (and back and legs) soon!

by Kelly Mattei

The Only Pain I Want in My Life is…Champagne

The only pain I want in my life is champagne.

That’s not an original line from me. I saw it on a video on Instagram, but I’m taking it as my new motto. Why? Well, I’ve been suffering with sciatica for three weeks. Talk about pain! I have heard friends talk about the pain, but I had no idea exactly how painful it is! If you have never experienced it, count yourself among the lucky ones. It’s bad. Imagine a knife stabbing into your lower back, your butt cheek, and your leg…dragging all the way down your leg. Not kidding…it has brought me to tears several times, and I consider myself a person who has a pretty high pain threshold. The other bad thing about it? I don’t know if this will be a temporary situation or a permanent one!

We were just on vacation for a few days in Miami, and I was determined to enjoy my vacation, even with sciatica. I enjoyed it, but I suffered a lot too. Swimming pools are great for sciatica, and hot tubs are great for it too. I found a pretty powerful jet in the hot tub and focused it right on my back. Wow, sweet relief.

For three weeks, I have been praying that this pain will stop. I do my normal “sandwich method” prayer. I start with thanking God for something (a healthy daughter, a safe drive, etc). Next, in the middle, I ask Him to get rid of the pain. Then, on the other side of the sandwich, I thank Him again. I know it’s corny, but it’s how I like to pray. We have to be grateful, right?

I’m not kidding when I say the only pain I want is “champagne.” Honestly, I really like Prosecco too, but it didn’t fit in the motto. “The only pain I want in my life is Prosecco.” Yeah, that doesn’t work.

If you’re so inclined, send up some prayers for me….and feel free to stop by with a bottle of champagne (or Prosecco).