So what have I been up to in the meantime? The usual really. I had a rough week not so long ago that ended with a frustrating phone call to my medical aid which resulted in full blown tears on my side because I couldn't hear them! Why can't all businesses have a text/email address for the Deaf/HoH??? I'd love to know... but I'll cover that in later posts.
I'd like to share my latest accomplishment with you all. I've mentioned before that I dance. Well dancing is something I gave up when I was younger due to my frustration at never being flexible or balanced enough. I've also never had the typical 'dancer body' and my self-consciousness and anxiety led to me pretending for years that I was useless to get out of having to dance. In hindsight, I should have never given up so easily. The stage was truly my home and it would've helped an awful lot in my acting career being able to dance as well! But when my hearing dropped dramatically in high school, I all but abandoned my love for dance, knowing that not being able to hear the beat would affect me.
Well, post university, I found myself hobby-less and desperate for an outlet. I found an adult ballet class and joined. I flittered between dance schools, never quite feeling comfortable in the classes I was in. But one thing it did do was reignite my passion for dance. Unfortunately at the end of 2015 I fell down a flight of stairs, badly injuring my neck, wrist and ankle. I was out of dancing for 6 months and in that time my husband and I moved to a new part of town and I could no longer attend class at the studio I was at. By chance a friend mentioned to me that she knew of a studio in my suburb! Eager, I joined the ballet class and this year, I ventured back into modern.
I cannot explain how amazing being part of these classes has been. They are painstakingly patient with me, despite my lack of balance (darn inner ear damage) and me not hearing the music! I really started to thrive again, loving dancing despite it all. I'm with the most amazing group of ladies, we are all so different but are joined by our love for dance.
Then the unthinkable happened, a freak accident which resulted in the same ankle being badly injured with nerve damage. Honestly I sometimes just wonder why ME. Being back in a moon boot and crutches for over 10 weeks was soul destroying. Being disabled in one way is bad enough. Temporarily disabled in another way was no picnic. I felt just so utterly HELPLESS. I was bedrest for a while and got quite depressed.
But here's the crazy thing about me, I don't give up that easily. My dance studio had it's yearly show coming up end of August and I just KNEW that I had to be in it. Bearing in mind that my injury occurred in March so honestly, most people didn't think I could do it... and really, neither did I until about a month before. But post-injury rehab is a real thing, so is getting yourself up after you've fallen (in my case, way to literally at times!) And all I needed to do was put my mind to it. Being disabled has taught me that I really can do anything if I'm determined and stubborn enough, and BOY am I stubborn!
So the 26 August came and there I was. Walking, dancing, performing. Disability, injury and all, I was there. I performed in FOUR numbers and yes, by the end my foot was KILLING me but it was all worth it. I performed far better than I thought I would and proved to myself that there is nothing the world can tell me I can't do.
So my question today is, What is holding YOU back from doing what you love? Disabilities can be a real issue but there are ways of still accomplishing them. Hey, if the girl who got called 'fall-apart' in school can dance and perform, I don't see why you can't.
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