For those of you that remember my last dance competition, things did not go very well. The event was in Portland, Oregon and we had flown there the night before the competition. I am not entirely sure what happened, but for whatever reason, I was totally wiped out and in a brain fog. I did compete and I survived, the only thing was that I really don’t remember much of it at all. I DO however remember my black dance panties! I have THAT on film.

The competition this past weekend was in San Jose, Ca. and it did not require a plane ride. It was a six hour drive, but I seemed to tolerate it much better than being in the air. That, coupled with the fact that I did not dance until noon, bode much better for my overall well-being.

In some regards I felt that I danced better than I did in Portland and in others not so much. The not so much was directly related to my making some pretty major changes in the way I actually dance, due to my muscles, tendons and joints finally healing, after being poisoned by Cipro for the past 15 months. Ironically, my muscle, joint and tendon pain seemed to dramatically improve after my chemotherapy. Maybe the Sprycel is helping to keep it at bay; who knows?

Since I do get a one day per week reprieve from Sprycel, I chose to forgo my daily dose the night before I competed. I definitely had a bit more energy and was much more clear-headed at this competition than I was at the last one. I once again came in 2^nd Overall, but my individual scores were much improved; and that for me is a win! I still have a ton of things to work on and we got a brand new Cha Cha routine while we were there, so I hope that my brain and body will decide to start co-operating on a more regular basis.

I AM going to dance my way through this damned leukemia!

I won’t tell you that it has been an easy road, and I won’t tell you that it has been fun; but I will tell you that I am thrilled to be here and able to dance. I am not nearly as prepared or as strong as I would like to be, but the fact that I am here at all; is a small miracle. All of the well wishes and prayers from my friends, family and extended dance family have given me the courage and strength to persevere and push through the fatigue and bone pain in order to do something that I love.

I know that the “smart, wise” thing to do would probably have been to not push myself so hard and to just “sit this one out”, but there is something to be said for needing a healthy mind, spirit and soul in order to have a healthy body. Not attending this event would have dampened my spirits greatly. When I was first diagnosed with leukemia, I secretly made a pact with myself. I said, “Self, you are going to get out of here and be well enough to attend LAPD (Los Angeles Dance Premier), you are going to compete and you are going to be OK. You CAN and WILL do it!”

I must admit that there were times that I really didn’t think that it was going to be possible. The very first time that I stepped onto a dance floor after chemo, I was VERY weak and wobbly.  It was very difficult to hold my arms in dance frame. The muscles were practically non-existent and where the jugular catheter was, still hurt like crazy. I had very little stamina and was still a bit short of breath.  Dancing one routine was physically exhausting!

Joe insisted that we only dance 5 routines. A good call, as I probably would have attempted to dance all eight. We left out the most strenuous ones; Polka, East Coast Swing and Cha Cha, although Waltz is probably even more strenuous, we needed to dance it to have this competition qualify me towards World’s.

We arrived Friday evening and checked into the hotel. I was scheduled to compete at 8:00am. After checking in, we went down to check into the event. Running into so many familiar faces was almost overwhelming. So many had been following my story and wishing me well and praying for me; it was what gave me the strength to be here. Being here made me realize just how precious and fragile life can be; your whole world can turn upside down in one single second.

Life is precious and can be short. It is filled with ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, challenges and victories. It is our choice to live our life as we see fit; but my advice to you is to live it to the fullest. Take chances and push yourself; do when you can and accept when you can’t. OK, I may not be the best example of this, but I DID cut down the dances from eight to five! I am here and I am going to compete in the morning!

Joe and I did a quick run through our routines and peeked into a ballroom. I, of course heard music and wanted to dance. Joe, the responsible one, on the other hand said, “No, we are going to bed!”  I turned down my lip in hopes of encouraging him onto the dance floor at least once, but it didn’t work. Up to bed we went and I was asleep within minutes. Imagine that!

So, I guess there are two things bothering me today:

1. Cipro poisoning SUCKS! I know that I should be grateful for the improvements that I have made, and I AM however, I am still so irritated that my body has been so compromised by Cipro. The fact that they continually dispense this drug without informing the patient of the potential side effects is criminal!

Of course, my small improvement of being able to slightly bend my toes caused me to test my limits and try to walk and dance like a normal person. That would be USING my toes and pushing off with my toes as opposed to walking and dancing on my heels. That unfortunately led to a bit of a toe injury on my right foot, yup, the BIG TOE! Ugh, wonder how long it will take that to heal?
2. I hate the inflammation underneath the skin that causes the skin itself to be so tender that you don’t want to sit or lie on it. The back of my thighs are killing me today, thank God it seems to be an intermittent side effect. It is so strange because een the slightest touch makes them feel as tough they are on fire! It has been long 5 months now.

So that being said, I hope those of you that have never been effected by Cipro, Levaquinn, Avelox, or any other floroquinolone, take my advice and steer clear of this poison! For those of you in the same boat or worse off, my best wishes to you and I hope you are having one of those “good” days!

Beer Goggles

While it is proper etiquette to dance when asked, there are appropriate times when it is all right to politely decline. In other words, it’s OK, to say no. Generally you wouldn’t say no, just because someone is less experienced than you, or you don’t like the outfit they have on, or even if they have bad breath. (although you might want to share a mint or two) But it is perfectly acceptable to say no if someone has had too much to drink, or if they are inappropriate in any way.

I have had the good fortune to experience both of these happy occasions. One night, not long ago, down at the local honky tonk, a “regular” asked me to dance. Now this particular dude, is a fan of seeing just how many rotations he can get a lady to do, during one song. Kind of like the tea cups at Disneyland. The first time I actually danced with him, I got off the dance floor and was so nauseated that I had to go home. Now however, I can spin like a top. But back to the valid reason to just say “no”: Within a few seconds into our dance, I realized that Mr. Twirly Man was having a bit of a problem standing on his own two feet. Fortunately for me, I figured this out rather quickly and was able to do damage control and self preservation well enough to walk us both off the dance floor in one piece, no injuries.

Ras #2 (Cindy) was not quite so lucky………..I saw Mr. Twirly Man heading right towards her, before I could maneuver my way across the room to warn her, it was too late, and there they were, right in the middle of the dance floor….. I feared for the worst and was not disappointed (ok, evil side of me)….. Once, twice, three times around and then *crash*, she was on her rear, legs up, for all the world to see…… Not a fun dance had by all!

Needless to say, this is the perfect example of when to say no, which we both did, for the rest of the evening. And yes, we warned all of the other girls, too. Seems Mr. Twirly Man had a bit too much fun at “Alive After Five”, in Boise, before he came dancing. So, I guess the moral to this story is to bring a breath-alizer?

Another really good time to say no is when a “gentleman”, ( I speak the term loosely) is just a bit to “friendly”, dances just a bit too close for comfort, and/or has wandering hands or eyes. If keeping a stiff frame does not seem to do the trick, I’ll share a little tip that I use. I break free from his iron clad hold and say, “This is my dance space, this is YOUR dance space, now, Let’s Dance”! Thank you Baby Houser, (Dirty Dancing, in case you were wondering). If this does not work, I have been known to just simply turn and walk off the dance floor. Ladies, you do not have to put up with inappropriate behavior on, or off, (for that matter) the dance floor!

It doesn’t take too long to establish the un-dancables, and after saying no, three, four and sometimes even five times, they will eventually quit asking and leave you alone. They are a relentless bunch, so do not cave, or they will never leave you alone.

Luckily, this is not a common occurrence since most dancers’ generally drink water, but if you are out, in a bar, on a Friday or Saturday night, be mindful…… you can’t say that you haven’t been warned!

Of course men, I am speaking from my experiences as a “girl”, I am sure you all have your own horror stories, too. Please feel free to share, I would love to hear just how out of control we girls can be. Maybe it will help us keep our P’s and Q’s in check.

Happy Dancing!