Probably the most important factor in recovering from an injury is your state of mind. Your state of mind also helps in preventing serious injuries. All I have to say is Trust your instincts! Logic and Dance don’t always go hand in hand – If that nagging little voice in your head says hmmm – then listen to it! I was working with a choreographer in Toronto and he had a move he wanted me to do with two of the men. It involved us holding hands and jumping in opposite directions. Even as he was explaining it the warning bells were going off in my head. I just couldn’t see how it was going to physically work BUT it was one of those moments where I let other people talk me into it. You know the scenario – “Don’t be a wimp” and “Don’t be so negative”. The men and I stood on opposite sides of the room, we started running towards each other, we grabbed hands and we jumped. The force of the men pulled me sideways and I hit the floor with a thud, wrenching my ankle. The rehearsal stopped immediately. As I sat on the floor, my ankle started to swell. The choreographer glared at me. I worked my way up to a standing position and hobbled to the side of the room. I assured everyone that I was alright. I just needed to rest the ankle a bit and tomorrow I would be fine. OK – call me an optimist.
The next morning I got out of bed and did a face plant on the floor. My ankle was enormous and turning lovely shades of purple and blue. I sat on the floor and looked at it. Apparently this was a bit more serious than I had originally thought. I called my doctor and made an appointment. Meanwhile, my dog had to go outside to do her business. All I could think of as I was sliding on my butt down the hallway towards the front door was “Please don’t let anyone come out of their apartment right now and see me.” I saw the doctor and got the news – six torn ligaments in the ankle. I was out for six weeks. With the show opening in two weeks, this was not good. Initially I cried but then I got to thinking. When I was young and stupid, I was always twisting my ankles trying out dangerous moves. Back then, I’d get up off the floor, hobble a bit and then shake it off. Why was today any different from the past? What would happen if I pretended I didn’t know any better? I called the doctor and cancelled my next appointment, telling him that I’d see him after the shows were over. I then increased the number of appointments I had with the physical therapist for the ultra-sound treatments. I taped my ankle up and traded my ballet slippers for running shoes and went back to rehearsals. The running shoes gave me the spring that my ankle couldn’t. My only concession to the injury was asking to be replaced in one of the three pieces that I was scheduled to perform. It was of course the one I hurt myself in but that really wasn’t the deciding factor. That piece had the most one-legged landing jumps on the bad ankle and I wasn’t sure whether I could pull it off. I love to watch the video from this set of shows. I’m jumping around with everyone else and only I know how much I’m actually not using the bad ankle. I did go back to the doctor after the shows had finished. He was amazed. My ankle was practically healed – in three weeks. Shows what the power of the mind can do.