Wednesday brought a bit of a mishap. I got out of my car and with a quick hop up onto the curb, I felt a pop in my left calf. The pain was instant and I fell forward over the car and let out a gasp.
I’d never felt anything like that before so I started to panic. Luckily I could move the leg, but I couldn’t be sure that the injury was minor. The pain increased when I tried to put weight down on my left foot. I freaked out. Meanwhile Walter, who was with me at the time, is watching all this in helpless wide-eyed confusion. The next day he said he was still traumatized because he didn’t know what was going on and thought I got shanked in the back by the way I went down. “Shanked,” he said. That made me laugh.
I had a good, long cry at my pain and misfortune. I just kept thinking, “But our show’s on Sunday!! Why?!? WHY!!?!” An hour later I headed off to a soloist rehearsal, where I hobbled through my solea. It quickly became evident what kinds of moves would be problematic. It’s like the muscle would tell me, “Nope! Not letting you do that!” It would just stop me mid-step. The one bright spot was that I felt completely comfortable with the musicians and the solea. It was just that damn leg causing me stress.
My doctor looked at me like I was high when I told him I’m dancing on Sunday. Turns out I’ve got a minor tear in the muscle. In the end he said I can do it if I feel like I can, but that he cannot guarantee I won’t pop something else mid performance. He also made me promise to take three weeks off from the dance after the show.
Last night I showed up to group rehearsal having rested and iced the leg for 24 hours and I did feel better. Not good, but better. The siguiriya was particularly brutal on my bandaged calf and I wondered if i should bow out of this one. If I do, I need to decide tonight. That would suck because I really love this dance.
I’ve been referring to myself as Peg Leg or Peggy the last couple of days. This morning Homegirl Karan texted to ask how I’m feeling and to suggest I use the stage name Peggy Pierna for this show. This made me laugh out loud. That girl cracks me up. They all do. And this is what I love most about my flamenco life.
Wish me luck and say a prayer for me, will ya please? I just want to be able to get out there and dance, not even just for me, but for my teacher and friends who count on me to do my part and for the family that’s coming to see me. I hate letting people down.
Married to the Dance 