Personal Narrative: The Pain

The pain began slowly, pricking me with its sharp needles only while doing barre in ballet once a week. I ignored it, believing it to be normal, common discomfort that would soon go away, typical thoughts of a dancer whose entire sport is centered around “good pain”. Six months later, it had escalated to the degree that every step I took felt like an arrow to my knee. Dancing had become impossible, and it was determined that I should be taken to the orthopedist. The bland, brown and beige lobby became extraordinarily familiar as I waited two hours to be examined. The diagnosis finally came back as chronic patellar tendonitis, a condition in which the tendons in the knee have become inflamed, in my case due to genetic anatomical structure. I was told that while it would stop once I had ceased growing, the pain would be severely aggravated by dancing. I had a clear “choice” to make; keep dancing and risk further injury, or quit altogether. …show more content…
My knees shook and my hands twisted as I looked around the clean, polished, well-lit room of MidAtlantic Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation. The light gray rafters and fans of the high ceiling would become very familiar to me as I executed the repetitive exercises, mainly on my back. While the room was undecorated and rather blank, it felt bright and welcoming due to the energetic, optimistic attitude of the occupants. Everyone there, therapist or patient, was working towards a goal, making the environment that much more positive and