Sigh of Relief

Hi again! 

After the Body's in Motion photo shoot earlier I was feeling pretty discouraged. I felt like I couldn't do anything and that I was an outsider. I saw all these dancers just doing any trick that they wanted without thinking "will I land on my good foot or bad foot if I do this move?" I fell into a self-pity for a little bit, even though I was aware that I was people unreasonable ( I mean I did have major surgery not all that long ago) I still wanted to pout and feel bad for myself. I eventually got over it and continued on with the rest of my dad. I even came home and made a delicious and healthy dinner, which definitely put me in a good mood again. 

I was laying on the couch reading over some other WISE students blogs with  I happened acrossed Lauren Herrick's blog. Lauren and I have been friends for a while and we both did gymnastics at the same place for years and years. I read her most recent post about her trying to do ariels (a no handed cartwheel) for the first time since this summer. She admitted that she wasn't able to do them as well as she used to and that she stumbled a little bit. I knew exactly what she meant when she said it was frustrating, but at the same time she had to understand that it isn't something that you can necessarily jump right back into after months off. It is the same with my ankle. I am techinically cleared to start trying to dance again, but that doesn't mean I am going to be competition ready right from the beginning. It is going to take time and most importantly patience to let my body heal and recover. 

When we got the assignment to review other people's blogs I thought it was going to be interesting, but not very helpful. I am glad that I was completely wrong!! Reading the blogs of other WISE students is keeping me focused on the reality of my situation and also reminding me that it is only the beginning! There is still lots of time to figure it all out!

Talk soon, 

Abbie

Body's In Motion

What's better than not having to go to class all morning? Pretty much nothing. No I am not skipping I am on an in school field trip in the auditorium with the photography classes. Basically the project is for the photographers to take pictures of dancers for a project. I have done it the last two years and love every second of it. Some of the schools dancer's are here dancing their hearts out and showing off what they can do.. And they have some talent! If this were last year I would be up there on the stage doing my favorite jumps, doing turns, and showing all the choreographed routines I know. This year is way different. I did a couple jumps and a little bit of stretching but my ankle is just too weak to do anything else. Definitely a bummer. But I know that I have a lot of time left to recover and soon I will be back dancing again.. But right now it kinda sucks being in the audience and not the performer.

But it makes me happy knowing that these girls are up there doing what they love

A Friend and a Fellow Blogger

Part of the requirements for this project is to look at other WISE students blogs and respond to them. One of my best friends, practically siblings since Kindergarten, Patrick Hollister is also creating his blog on getting fit and eating healthy. I have seen a lot of what he is blogging first hand, but reading it has made me see just how much he is accomplishing! In on of his recent post he mentioned a plan to focus on one aspect of his project by not stressing over it, just taking a night to stop and think about it. Instead of running around in circles freaking out about the "coulda, woulda, shoulda", simply thinking what can I do better from this point on is a great way to attack the challenges that we are going to face during the next 16 weeks.

I hope that I can apply this "Stop and reevaluate" mindset as I progress. Part of my goal is to get back into shape (which has only been two trips to the gym so far). In the future, instead of beating myself up for not going to the gym like I said I would, I will try to remember that it isn't the end of the world and I can always go the next day!

Check out Patrick's blog!


http://getfitstayfitproject.blogspot.com/

Wednesday WISE Day

So it is official... I have the best WISE mentor! This project is going well so far, the dance is starting to be choreographed I have an amazing costume, but by far the best part so far is Mrs. Augustine. I knew she was going to be a good mentor because she was a dancer, she has seen me since almost the first day after surgery, and she is always happy and smiling, but I was not ready for the level of dedication and support she has already given in just two meetings. She is on the exact same page as me when it comes to where the project should be heading and has been nothing less than excited about every part of the journey so far. She has already given me so many ideas (which I will share once I think them through a little more) and she makes me truly believe that I can and will accomplish all of my goals.

I was also in the studio again today. I did not add on anymore to the dance, but I did review what I already have over and over. So far I really like what I have and if everything continues going the way it does I think this dance is going to be amazing. It is hard to explain what it feels like to be dancing again. One one hand I am completely terrified and extremely cautious about another injury, but on the other hand I feel like I cannot stop smiling the entire time I am there. I still can't do much of anything on my right side, but even being able to do an eighth of what I could do before is the best feeling ever!

This is a video that I found while I was spending hours on YouTube. I love this song and the dancer is incredibly talented, but she goes far beyond that in her dancing. She puts all of her emotions and everything she has into the dance. I also like that she does not try to put in every move she has ever learned. She highlights her strengths while following the story of the song, something that I hope to accomplish in my own solo. Fix You Contemporary Dance

Workouts Day 1

Part of my project is trying to get back into shape for this dance. It has been almost eight months since I've officially workout/danced. Physical therapy is a workout, I'm always exhausted after my appointments, but none of what I do there is cardio. Being in the studio for the past two weeks I've noticed that I do not have the stamina that I need to get through this 2 1/2 minute dance. I have a membership to Island Health and Fitness and have committed to going to the gym at least twice a week. So this morning I dragged myself out of bed before school and went to the gym.

25 minutes- elliptical machine
15 minutes- abs, and upper body strength

I'm already feeling sore and tomorrow I'm sure it will be worse, but I also know that it will pay off in the long run!

The Surgery

Hi again!

One of the main reasons I decided that I was going to create a dance solo for my WISE project is because I thought I wasn't going to be able to dance again. I feel at a competition last July. It was our national competition and probably the worse possible time for me to get injured because summer rehearsals are when we really buckle down and learn so much. I was devastated when I feel and new that dancing would be put on hold for a while, but I refused to let myself believe that it might be almost a year before I was back on the stage again.
I had been dealing with an ankle injury for a year and a half by the time that competition came around. I was taping my ankle every day for rehearsals and had tried every ankle brace on the market. Nothing took the pain away, but it made the pain at least tolerable. When I did gymnastics, we always worked through the pain. When you are beating your body up the way we were, it was only natural that things were going to start hurting. I tired a blind eye to the pain and just thought it was something that I could work through. I should have listened to the injury though. I should have stopped dancing long before I did (more like was forced to).
On August 28,2012, I had my surgery. The formal title: Ostochondral Allograft with Ligament Reconstruction. Basically, I needed a torn ligament repaired on the outside of my right ankle and on the inside of that foot, I needed a piece of cadaver bone (held in place with two metal screws) to fill in the quarter size hole I had worn into the bone.
This is a website gives a pretty good over view of what that surgery entailed. I did not read this website until months after surgery and I had no idea the severity of the surgery and the complexity until I read it... I still can't believe they actually did that to me!

Allograft Surgery!

Four 8-counts down! (2/21)

Yesterday I had my first meeting with my mentor Mrs. Augustine and it made me 10x more excited for this project! She seems to be just as interesting and exciting about this project as I am and I can already tell she is going to be a huge motivator for this dance!

I also had another session in the studio, it went way better than last week and the choreography came much more easily this time. I have approximately four 8-counts down (roughly 20-25 seconds). I love what I have come up with so far and am already looking forward to next week in the studio!

ALSO! Picked out a possible costume.. I really like it (now just have to wait to see if the company still has it!)


Abbie

Oh Mondays...

Monday already? Weekends go by too fast. Yes it is said by every teenager everywhere but it is true. Today is going to be a busy day. Not only do I have school and a dread Statistics test, but the craziness isn't going to stop there. I am going to the gym right after school to try to get in a quick workout (maybe elliptical and some weight machines) before I have to run over to work at Head Over Heels Gymnastics to cover for a coworker. Then after that ends I have a physical therapy appointment with Jackie. And then home and homework, and probably some Netflix.. There is always Netflix! Today will be the first true test of how this project will affect my everyday life and I am excited to see what happens.

Talk soon,
Abbie

It's Time! (2/6)

All semester we have been building up anticipated for this project.. And it is finally here! With so much to do and some much to accomplish, from picking a song, to choreography, to costume, it is hard to know where to start!

Let's break it down into two week spans:

For the first two weeks the most important thing that needs to happen is picking a piece of music. You can't have a dance without a song! I want this music to help show the journey I have been through and the struggles I have overcome. I also need to start choreographing. Because I have never choreographed a whole dance before, I have no idea how long it is going to take me, so I want to give myself plenty of time to figure it out! The next two weeks will also be filled with at least three more physical therapy appointments with my physical therapist Jackie (my miracle worker!) to keep improving my ankle strength and ability so that I am able to actually make it through the whole dance in one piece!

Let the games begin!
Abbie :)

Take Your Mark, Get Set, GO! (2/5)

Dear Reader,

So it isn't so much "ready, set, go" it's more "and 5, 6, 7, 8." This is the first post of my official WISE project blog! Super exciting if you ask me! There has been a lot of talk about what people are doing for their WISE project and what things they are going to make or what skill they are going to learn, and I guess my project will have a final "thing", but I want this project to be a lot more than that. My goal by the end of the next 16 weeks is to choreograph and preform a dance solo in my studio's end of the year recital. I have been dancing for about five years and have competed at both regional and national competitions. I have competed two solos over the years, both acrobatic solos, to Cry Me A River and When I'm Gone. I have been able to hold my own in the dance world, I even place fourth at a national competition last March (needless to say I was pretty excited!) But my dance career has come to an abrupt halt over the last six months.

I already had a bad ankle and shouldn't have been competing in the first place, but I thought I could push through the pain and dance anyway. Wrong. It took one wrong landing at a competition in July to completely shatter my ankle and end my dancing career.

I had my surgery on August 28,2012 to fix the damage and everything was a success!It has been nearly six months of no activity (barely walking has been a struggle!) and it is time for me to get back on the dance floor! During the next semester I am going to learn how to dance again and how to choreograph a dance with totally different restrictions than before. I'm not sure what the journey will be like, but I'm ready to find out!

Talk soon,
Abbie :)