by Tams » Sat Aug 15, 2015 7:50 pm
For anyone following my thread, I have to say that I stopped the upwards drift and started losing again when I regained the health to do weight-bearing exercise. It was such a battle not to balloon terribly over the 4-5months I was not allowed to weight bear (I was doing pilates and I was in the pool - boring!). The minute I was permitted to do just 15mins a day/every 2 days of dance...it was all I was allowed at the beginning...was when my body started to remember 'normal'. I'm now doing 30mins of dance on most days. It is SUCH A JOY. I'm still doing 1-1.5hrs everyday of rehab in addition. And I'm still seeing my rehab specialists weekly.
I'm also seeing some declines in physical ability (more pain) with the increased dance, so I'm still not out of the woods, and still do not have carte-blanche to do what I want (DANCE!!), and I still have to drag myself to the rehab mat (I'm a bit mentally over it after 6 months! But I have to remind myself of why I need to do it...it just is not optional) .
I am frequently discouraged. But those times are when I look at things 'small picture', or compare myself with able bodied people 20 years my junior. When I compare the longer term pic of just ME over the past 7 months, then I have ACHIEVED:
-30mins of dancing daily compared to not even able to stand
-3x30sec with 2kg weights leg lifts compared to only able to lift my leg for 10secs
-20xbridges (butt work) with zero back pain compared to CANNOT DO ANY butt or ab work because of the pull on my back
Anyway, just wanted to update about about my injury and mental health for those of you who have encouraged me through the injury. I'm making progress. And I'm booked for a National Comp in November (JOY!!...a bit of fear about the body too). The medicos and I are working with the theory of just a bit over a very long lead time, and I can probably be ready for a comp without breaking anything...
I think I will be designing costumes with a bit more coverage for this year - just in case I am not there with the weight. I'm all for dressing for your body!