Summer Rollercoaster Ride
I had the amazing opportunity to start my summer as an intern with the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City! I lived and worked in the city, supervising young artists in the dorms, escorting them to and from classes, facilitating check-in, and taking them to Broadway shows! I was allowed to learn so much about dance administration and all the organizational efforts that go into running a well-oiled and successful summer intensive. Unfortunately, this amazing opportunity was cut short when I was admitted to the hospital. I spent 7 days at the beginning of July in NYU Langone Hospital, being treated by some of the best doctors in the world, and trying to find out why I had gotten so sick. Eventually, after many labs and tests, my new diagnosis came back and I discovered that I had Ulcerative Colitis. Ulcerative Colitis is at its core a disease that means when I am in a flare-up, my immune cells attack my digestive tract like it is a foreign body, causing me to struggle to retain nutrients. I checked out of the hospital on the Fourth of July, seventeen pounds lighter, with a scary diagnosis, but with a new doctor in Oklahoma City who was certain he could help me get back on track.
My new doctor provided me with medication and a treatment plan that would hopefully have me ready to return to my dance program in the fall with renewed strength and health! So, I began to turn my attention to other ways to make the remainder of my summer as productive as possible since I was not cleared to travel back to New York to complete my internship. Luckily for me, I have a strong background in costuming, thanks to my position as a Costume Shop Staff at the Ann Lacy School of American Dance and Entertainment, and a local dance studio was looking for someone to make customer Kuzco style headpieces for one of their competition team group numbers in the fall. This was such a fun and challenging project to undertake as it was different from the work I had previously done! The outcome was better than I could have imagined and I am so proud of this build! It filled me with a renewed vigor and appreciation for costuming as I head into my position as the Costume Shop Student Professional in the fall!
In addition to this new costuming endeavor, I have spent much of my free time rebuilding my strength so I can have a smooth adjustment when I return to Oklahoma City University in August. I have been going on daily walks, taking a ballet barre, and doing a jazz “center technique development” program similar to what I have become accustomed to at OCU. All of these things have begun helping me rebuild muscle, and improve my stamina in a very short amount of time! I know that this disease will continue to impact the rest of my career, but with the help of excellent doctors and my knowledge of how I could bounce back after this flare-up, I am very confident that I will continue to navigate it with a positive and productive outlook, pivoting whenever necessary.
