A Letter From Kayla

March 1, 2012


Dance Spirit
receives tons of letters from readers, and we love it! You tell us about your struggles with and accomplishments in dance and about the dancers on our magazine’s pages who inspire you. And often, those letters inspire us. Recently, we got an email from 14-year-old Kayla, whose story of her battle with a devastating knee condition was so heartfelt and brave. I’ve posted it here, so we can all learn something from her strength.

Dear
DS,

Dance is my life. I’ve danced since the age of 3, but this year I lost it.

Since grade five I’ve suffered from knee pain. At first, doctors said I had too much cartilage, so I had to do a lot of physical activity to wear it down. But they were wrong, and that actually made it worse. That didn’t stop me, and I continued to dance.

In early October 2011 I saw a new doctor who diagnosed me with osteochondritis of the knee. This means my cartilage was cracked, and fluid was pushing my bone out from behind my knee. Basically, my bone was about to break off. The disease has four stages (four being the worst), and I was at stage three. I was rushed into surgery on November 22 and had three screws put in my knee to push the fluid out. I was on crutches for 11 weeks, and I was told that I couldn’t dance for an entire year. I go into surgery again on March 22 to take out the screws. That’s when I will find out if my knee is healed and if I will be able to dance again.

For Christmas I got a subscription to
Dance Spirit, and it’s how I keep up with dance. I love receiving a new magazine every month, and I spend as long as possible reading it because it’s the closest I can get to dancing.

One day soon, I hope to attend dance camps and conventions and improve my dancing enough to try out for “So You Think You Can Dance.” I’m excited to see what my future brings!

Sincerely,

Kayla G, 14, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks for sharing, Kayla! Your positive attitude and genuine love for dancing is contagious. DS wishes you all the best for a full recovery and a future filled with dance.

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