30 January 2007
Fisrt diary entry in over two weeks. Very big news. I've taken the first step in achieving my ultimate goal. Ever since I had the brain surgery and started my journey in rehab, Tim has always reminded me that I want a 100% recovery and we want to get back to ballroom dancing one day. This 'ultimate goal' has upset many rehab specialists, including Fary from MECRS and John Olver from the Epworth. In fact, every time I see John, he will remind me that a 100% recovery is impossible. I never take their words seriously anyway because they always feed their patients with negative prognosis anyway.
I have been going to aerobics classes for a while now and a few months ago, one of Tim's collegue, Jane, gave me a contact and suggest that I try out some dance lessons. Jane is a good ballroom dancer and she told me about this dance teacher, Adam, whom she has spoken to and is happy to take me on as a student. It took me a while to get the courage to call him and arrange for a dance lesson. I know he coaches many top level competion dancers and felt really silly to approach him.
I finally got my act together and contacted him for an appointment. It turned out that he teaches mainly at Granada, a studio in East Malvern. It's really strange to go out there again. That's where I first learnt to dance back in 1995 and it's the place Tim and I met. Going to my lesson was like a walk down memory lane. The plance hasn't changed much in over 10 years. So, I had my first dance lesson last Tuesday. I think the last time I had a dance lesson was back in 1999, before Tim and I got married. I was so excited when I got to my lesson. I told Adam about my drama and that I had to work my butt off to even get to this stage - the first step in achieving my ultimate goal. A goal seems so close yet so far away... I'm not sure if he was ablt to comprehend how far I've come. From not being able to wiggle my toes in the left foot to here, on the dance floor.
He went through Waltz and Slow Rhythm, a simpler form of Slow Fox, with me, in the first lesson. It was kind of strange dance in my runners. I told Adam that I can't wear dance shoes and I have to wear the ankle brace because of the muscle imbalance. I actually went out shopping a few days before but couldn't find anything suitable for dancing. In the end, I decided to wear my gym gear since I'm treating this as rehab, I might as well turn up in my usual rehab gear - gym outfit with runners.
I had another lesson today and we went through Waltz, Slow Rhythm, Quickstep and Cha Cha. I was surprised that many steps seem familiar and came back to me very quickly. I mentioned this to Gavin last week when I went to the running group. I was so excited about my dance lesson so I told him about it. Actually, he was one of the few rehab professionals who never told me that I can never dance again. He said usually if it's someone's strength, you never forget that. For example, some guys there who can't walk but if you give them a football, they still remember how to kick it. When I told Tim about this, he asked me if that's the case, how come I don't remember how to walk again? That's a good question. I don't know the answer to that.
I have been going to aerobics classes for a while now and a few months ago, one of Tim's collegue, Jane, gave me a contact and suggest that I try out some dance lessons. Jane is a good ballroom dancer and she told me about this dance teacher, Adam, whom she has spoken to and is happy to take me on as a student. It took me a while to get the courage to call him and arrange for a dance lesson. I know he coaches many top level competion dancers and felt really silly to approach him.
I finally got my act together and contacted him for an appointment. It turned out that he teaches mainly at Granada, a studio in East Malvern. It's really strange to go out there again. That's where I first learnt to dance back in 1995 and it's the place Tim and I met. Going to my lesson was like a walk down memory lane. The plance hasn't changed much in over 10 years. So, I had my first dance lesson last Tuesday. I think the last time I had a dance lesson was back in 1999, before Tim and I got married. I was so excited when I got to my lesson. I told Adam about my drama and that I had to work my butt off to even get to this stage - the first step in achieving my ultimate goal. A goal seems so close yet so far away... I'm not sure if he was ablt to comprehend how far I've come. From not being able to wiggle my toes in the left foot to here, on the dance floor.
He went through Waltz and Slow Rhythm, a simpler form of Slow Fox, with me, in the first lesson. It was kind of strange dance in my runners. I told Adam that I can't wear dance shoes and I have to wear the ankle brace because of the muscle imbalance. I actually went out shopping a few days before but couldn't find anything suitable for dancing. In the end, I decided to wear my gym gear since I'm treating this as rehab, I might as well turn up in my usual rehab gear - gym outfit with runners.
I had another lesson today and we went through Waltz, Slow Rhythm, Quickstep and Cha Cha. I was surprised that many steps seem familiar and came back to me very quickly. I mentioned this to Gavin last week when I went to the running group. I was so excited about my dance lesson so I told him about it. Actually, he was one of the few rehab professionals who never told me that I can never dance again. He said usually if it's someone's strength, you never forget that. For example, some guys there who can't walk but if you give them a football, they still remember how to kick it. When I told Tim about this, he asked me if that's the case, how come I don't remember how to walk again? That's a good question. I don't know the answer to that.
posted by Teresa Liu at 2:07 AM
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