Another "Bump" that needs soothing

[l2daisygirl]

My daughter's studio just finished participating as guests in another studio's spring "festival". Little did I know, as I was watching her dance in the first of two shows, (watching as only a Mother does), that she was dancing and crying at the same time.

 

It seems she has an exacerbation of an achilles tendonitis/posterior impingement of her ankle. Needless to say, she was pulled from the second show.

 

Unfortunately, our "festival" of sorts is this weekend, in which, not only was she dancing, but also partcipating in our studio's Musical Theatre Company for the second act as well. Tickets are purchased, Grandparents are in town, expectations are high...and it doesn't look like she will be dancing.

 

I've tried to explain that yes, I am sad, but not so much that she will not be dancing, but sad that she has worked so hard, (perhaps to a fault), and will not get to show the fruits of her labor, sad that she never missed a rehearsal, sad that she skipped spring break, when some were in Europe, or on cruises, sad that she , of all the dancers, was always the one an hour early, and quite honestly, MAD that it had to happen to her. Also, I will honestly admit, lastly, I'm sad I will not get to see her dance the roles she prepared so well for. I need some encouraging words, here.

 

Fortunately, our recital is 4 weeks away. She will be seeing an Ortho that I work with tomorrow, and hopefully start PT tomorrow as well. We'll see what happens in a few weeks.

 

Redstorm---sorry to jump on your bandwagon, but we all gotta stick together. I'm sure MANY of you have felt our pain. It just will make it so much easier to hear it from someone else on this Board, who understands, and can send an encouraging word.

[Babsaroo]

Oh 12daisygirl,

 

The mom side of my brain aches for you and your dd. The nurse side of my brain is shouting brava, brava for placing recovery above performance...especially for a young dancer.

 

It does always seem that Murphy's Law strikes the one who is working hard, doing without, staying on task and out of trouble. It will be a bump in the road and both of you will survive no doubt...but these bumps can jar the best of us and take time to heal. It's OK to have ballet mom hurt feelings for a while, especially on this board. Ballet moms know the heart of ballet moms for their dks.

 

My dd has a friend who injured her knee hours before Nutcracker last year..same story about family coming in, tickets bought, etc. She couldn't dance Nut or participate in the Young Artists program with her classmates. She spent the time working hard with rehab and was an excellent example for the other dancers in the class. Her mom is a member of this board, so hopefully she's come along and give some pointers.

 

You and your dd are in my prayers for a swift and complete recovery.

[l2daisygirl]

Thank you so much for the reply, Babs.

 

I knew someone would come along, and quite honestly, have been waiting to go to bed until I heard an "atta boy" from the crowd. I know for a fact that readers here are "empathetic", as apposed to being "sympathetic" posters.

 

This too shall pass...

[sgmca]

I am so sorry to hear that your daughter is hurting. I was amazed by her dancing last Friday night. And to think that she was dancing so beautifully in pain!

 

I know it must be very difficult -for both of you- for her not to be able to dance this weekend after she has been working so hard for this performance, but I really think you are doing the right thing. You are both in our prayers~

[Momof3darlings]

I, too, am sorry your DD is hurting. It IS tough to see what they have worked for blow up in smoke due to an injury. But smoke does in fact clear and you've taken the right steps to help her through. Sure she's mad, she deserves to be. And you deserve to be saddened. But more than that, she deserves to be a healthy dancer.

 

vj

[Redstorm]

12daisygirl: If you lived closer, I would be over with a nice bottle of wine. Whether it is an physical injury or emotional distress, it is hard to see our hard working daughters suffer. I feel your pain more than you know. Hang in there and hats off to you as well for putting your daughters wellbeing first.

[mini cooper]

We had a similar disappointing experience a few weeks ago. At class, dd landed a jump badly, and chipped a bone in her ankle. Fortunately this bone chip was not accompanied by a terrible sprain.

 

This was two weeks before they were going to be dancing with two other companies in our region at the small theatre in Hobby Center which is a really neat theatre in Houston. It was very disappointing for her not to get to perform @ Hobby. I enjoyed watching the other dancers, and realized how little I normally watch them when my dd is performing! She ended up being a prop on stage. She got to wear a costume, etc. and sit beautifully still on stage!

 

During the recovery time, dd accompanied me to the gym during her normal class time. She rode a recumbent bike with very little resistance to keep her cardio system conditioned. She never missed a rehearsal. Even though it was looking like she would not perform, she attended every rehearsal. She gradually eased back into barre, but not full class, and still just observed rehearsal.

 

Coppelia was a couple of weeks ago (about 4 1/2 weeks after the injury), and she was able to perform. Attending all the rehearsals even when she could not dance really helped her stay tuned into everything. In one performance she was a friend (with the principals), and one of the fellow-corps moms commented on how well she blended in with the principals. That certainly warmed my heart!

 

DD did not have any pain when she started back to barre. She still feels a little weak on the ankle, but she is feeling stronger all the time. She could have pushed herself sooner, and the ortho predicted that she would. He commented many times on the toughness and hard-headedness of dancers. I think dd proved him wrong! We said many, many prayers, and I think the answered prayer was the acceptance that she could not dance at Hobby. At first she was determined that she would, but over a few days she realized that she simply needed to take as much time as her body needed to heal.

 

12daisygirl, this is a long post to simply say, hang in there. Your dd is young; she will heal; get good advice, and hang in there. This is really a very small blip on the radar screen that is her life (and your's).

 

Take care,

mc

[l2daisygirl]

DD had her appt this morning, that is, what there was of it. I took her to the Ortho office I work at, and I know these guys are big in town, and can probably rehab football players well, but they have no clue with dancers. I basically told them what was wrong with her, from her past experience, and my research and background. They are clueless as to how to treat dancers. Anyway, the reason I brought her in was to get a script for physical therapy which I did.

 

Today, she iced her, and did a procedure called "iontophoresis" which uses electrical impulses to put medication/anti inflammatorys through the skin and directly into the tissues. She is going to work her 3 times this week, at getting the inflammation down and getting her moving. Then she will continue that, but also work her strengthening issues. There's no worry about snapping a tendon at this point. I will do an MRI tomorrow just to make sure there's nothing else going on. They also put her on a prescription anti inflam.

 

 

 

The Dr. gave her a "brace" but just because he didn't really have any other idea. He said, "I have a "low-profile" brace you can even dance in!!!" and then brought out something the size of MONTANA. (we both just looked at each other) When we explained what pointe shoes looked like to his medical assistant, she said, "well maybe you'll just have to dance in your tennis shoes!!!" GADS!!!

 

Anyway, they don't get it, but the therapist does, which is why we went in the first place. We will follow up with this Dr. once more in a few weeks and then go back to our old ortho. His bio says he used to work with the Memphis Ballet, but that could mean a lot, or a little, who knows

 

As a side note, I asked the therapist about the brace. She said she really needed to be MOVING the ankle, not immobilizing it, and to wear it if she was going to be walking a lot or climbing stairs, otherwise, try to get it moving without pain, or it will get stiff.

 

Today's a better day...

[Guest cozette]

12daisygirl,

I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter's achilles tendonitis, and especially her not being able to perform! I truly feel for BOTH of you! We went through this after my dd returned from her summer intensive 2 years ago. We thought she had ruptured a tendon at first! It was so scary. It didn't interfer with any performances, but did interrupt the return to dance after the summer. She was placed on anti inflammatory medicines, a "cast shoe", and told to stay off it for 2 - 6 wks. She did stay off of it completely for 2 weeks, then returned to do barre at 4 weeks, and was back to normal after 6 weeks. She fortunately, has not had anymore problems with it. The waiting is the hardest part, but she'll be in great shape again before you know it! We'll be thinking of you both!

[Balletmom]

12daisygirl, I'm sending my best wishes for your daughter's speedy recovery!

 

Injuries scare me to death, especially when I realize my daughter may not always admit to me just how bad she's really hurting.

[pal]

ldaisygirl: Hey you guys --- dau. and I are so sorry to read about this. I know how much time she put into preparing. This seems to be the season of injuries. My daughter has a good friend that is recovering from a severe sprain and the lead performer of her school danced in pain this past weekend w/ a foot injury. It was her last year of performing as a student w/ the school.

 

I know you well and you'll get her back on her feet again dancing just a beautifully as ever. I'll email you later tonight ---- take care ---- should I send some couscous down????

 

p

[imdriving]

12daisygirl,

 

I'm so sorry for the disappointing weekend. Babsaroo was referring to my dd and her knee injury. She was so devastated and Grandma didn't help by questioning why she came if dd was going to get injured. But these things pass.

 

A wonderful russian dancer told me "next year" and I continued to protest about how hard she worked how disappointed we all were. I thought she doesn't get it. The wise woman said "next year" again but more firmly. Later it occured to me that this is a process. The performance is just part of the goal and the strength of character my daughter showed was such reinforcement to me. We are on the right path. Yes, she will be injured and disappointed and frustrated but it is what she does to overcome these issues that develops her.

 

DD did recover but I must confess to lots of worries and that is what pains me about your dd. We question if we are doing the right thing but in our hearts we know our dd's love the dance and we just want to keep them safe. The goals seem at odds at times but I have come to realize I am fostering the growth of a complete person not just a dancer. She has come to know herself and her goals through adversity that I wouldn't wish on anyone. But that is what makes her my special girl and the chore is to keep it in perspective.

 

I wish for you patience and strength during the healing. And soon you too will be watching her soar. But in the meantime be kind to yourself. I'm sure you will find her the best doctors available and she will heal and be a stronger person.

[l2daisygirl]

Thank you all so much. Right now is the time I needed to hear all of the things you are saying. Patience IS a virtue, and I'm at my last straw right now!! I just about killed the pharmacy tech that took 45 minutes in the drive thru to bring me HALF a prescription of Naprosyn!! (they were out of it and I will have to go back in a few days!)

 

Maybe the break will be good for both of us.

 

Grandparents are set to come back in a month for recital.

[Jacqueline]

12daisygirl,

 

This too shall pass! I feel your pain about the PTs and orthos who don't quite get dance (although there are many out there who do -- you just have to find them )

After a couple of minor injuries I have come to the conclusion that some of the orthos and PTs my dd was seeing -- while well meaning -- have no clue what it is to train as a ballet dancer, none whatsoever! Finally, we found an excellent PT here in LA who completely understands ballet... the intensity of the training, the strain it puts on the body, especially the adolescent one. I wish we could clone her and send her to you in Texas!

 

For your dd, the important -- and hard thing -- is to allow healing time! She is still young, and I know it is hard for her (and for you) to forgo performances -- but in the long run it will strengthen her. After all, she has a wonderful summer at SF before her and we are looking forward to seeing her there!

[l2daisygirl]

She will be there with bells on!!!!