I guess I’ve been one of the lucky ones. In almost 30 years of dancing, teaching and performing, I really have hardly ever hurt myself, and nothing noteworthy….until now.

A couple of weeks ago I was getting ready to start my FIRST Washington State performance - absolute first time I’ve danced up here since we moved the end of May. It was a place kind of out in the boonies that one of my forum friends had invited dancers to, so it was a freebie, but I was just looking forward to dancing.

I went on third, and had just gotten through the intro on my piece and was turning to start the fast part……. ok, something’s weird….. then…… POP! It was the oddest sensation, feeling something in my calf just… let go.

Ok, so in all my gazillion years of dancing, I have NEVER ONCE not finished a performance. Never. I’ve danced with migraines (a lot), with the flu, with sprained ankles (yes, you CAN keep that foot off the floor most of the time!), torn shoulder muscles (which I hurt at my old day job, not dancing) and with glass in my feet.

This was different.

I sat down and the waitress brought me a bag of ice. I could NOT put my heel down, so I ended up gathering my stuff and leaving. I felt so strange. So I’ve been hobbling around my 3-story house for two weeks. I use one of my dance canes to walk with when I go out. My calf has recolored itself in lovely shades of green, dark purple and some other colors I can’t name, from a little below my knee to my ankle. It’s all on the inside back area, and from the front it looks just fine, except for the bruising around the ankle.

What I finally decided (without benefit of doctors) is that I tore a tendon. I actually thought I’d be doing better by two weeks, but I really am not able to stay off of it, and there have been a few occasions when I know something I did hurt it. Otherwise I’ve done as much of the recommended stuff as possible: icing, elevation, compression. It really IS a major injury. Could I have prevented it? I have no clue. All I know is when you lose the use of a leg, even for a short time, it really makes you think.

My conclusion: As soon as I am able, I’m going to really start putting myself into dance conditioning, and start performing again as soon as possible.