I’m surprised and honored to be the January 2024 Member Spotlight. There are so many amazing people at 212, I am humbled to say the least!
My name is Erin and I have been a member of 212 since October 2022.
I am the founder and owner of The Dance Factory MA in Attleboro, MA where I’m celebrating my 20th year in business. I don’t have children of my own, but I do have a baby. I’ve dreamed of having my baby since I was young, I created it from nothing, been responsible of taking care of it, worried about it day and night, sacrificed for it and I’ve seen it grow into what it is now… it’s my business. Being the sole proprietor of a business is extremely time consuming. I think we can all relate to that feeling, whether it be expectations in our jobs, financial responsibilities or taking care of our families. It can become all consuming… mind and body. It’s important to make time for ourselves and have goals in our personal life, even if we move towards them just a step at a time.
I’ve always been active, I teach multiple style of dance and I am a Tap Dancer. As 2 decades as a Dance Studio Owner have gone by, not everything has been a walk in the park. Especially when I recently faced a pretty big obstacle.
Each year, my studio has an Annual Dance Concert at The Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Providence RI. The other teachers and I always make an appearance during the show and perform a routine. I think it's important for my students to see we as teachers still continue to learn and grow as dancers too.
A few years ago while I was on stage, I felt a pop in my right knee and a spiraling sensation throughout my entire leg. I kept dancing but I remember thinking, well that can’t be good. It felt like my right leg was spaghetti underneath me, but I completed every choreographed step. Then I flipped the switch to director/producer and turned my focus to everyone else. Even though, I perform in the show, it’s not about me… it’s about the students. So only at the end of the night, after everyone had left did I mention to my family that I thought I may have hurt myself.
I didn’t even go to the hospital that night, by the next day my leg was locked in a bent position and I had to be carried out of the house to the car. I didn’t want to face the fact that I did something serious. Nothing to see here, Ive got too much to do…DENIAL!
Well, I completely tore my ACL, along with a partial PCL tear and meniscus. It took months of PT to reduce swelling and gain range of motion back just to be approved for surgery. I had to have a new ACL created from a hamstring graft, add that to the list of things to recover from.
I was devastated. How was I going to do my job? Everything…EVERYTHING I had done in my life has been so I could be a Dance Studio Owner. I NEED my body to do my job and make a living. I thought this was the end of my life’s work.
Three days after my knee surgery I was at PT and was rushed to the Emergency Room due to a pulmonary embolism in my lung and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in my right calf. Ok, No.. this is the end I thought. I spent almost a week in the hospital at a complete loss. How was I ever going to come back from this?
When I was sent home, I couldn’t do anything by myself except hang on the bathroom sink and cry. Chained to crutches, locked in an immobilizer brace, going to Physical Therapy multiple times a week for what seemed to be a lifetime.
It was soul crushing, so far to go to recover. Getting off the crutches, getting out of the brace… standing up and learning to walk again…did I mention I own a Dance School for a living?! I could only worry about one thing at a time, see the next task at hand. So I just took one assisted step at a time, stand up, great. Next…. Right foot… left foot. One step at a time, not even one day at a time. Just one step.
The following year my goal was to just produce the show, I was able to dance but no where near capacity. My physical therapist had to come the show to treat me before and after just so I could make an appearance. But it was a step in the right direction, it didn’t matter how many more there were. It was a step forward. I wore the brace for a few more years until I was cleared to move onto more difficult skills but I took it one step at a time. Eventually, this lead to me not needing to wear the brace at all. Ok great no brace, next step…
I came back from this injury only to head into a PANDEMIC! As we all know… that changed everything. So I lost the knee brace only to get faced with a mask! Coming out of the pandemic, the next step was to find a gym or a fitness routine to focus on strengthening and conditioning to continue to gain strength so as to not have another life changing injury.
Nothing really fit…. I tried a bunch of places, a bunch of follow along workouts… nothing excited me or motivated me. I also like to be part of a group that’s bigger than just me. I like to be the student, so I can remember what its like on the other side. I didn’t feel like anything was right for me. I felt like I was wondering with no direction.
I moved to Rumford in September 2022 and while on a walk exploring my new neighborhood (step by step), I heard music and motivating voices. I tried to discreetly walk by… I saw the 212 sign, but I was too nervous to go in, so just like most of us now, I went home and looked it up online.
I saw Kerry had played for the New England Patriots, had my surgery at Brigham at Gillette Stadium, so I took that as a sign to go check it out. First step was a consultation…Kerry was attentive, understanding and motivating so I decided to sign up! Next step CHECK!
My experience at 212 is always so positive and rewarding, I try my best to get there as much as I can. I get such a sense of accomplishment from completing a work out! I leave feeling refreshed and ready to tackle my day!
I remember when I couldn’t even stand, I thought I will remember this and I will never ever complain about cross training! Now I just think, what’s the next step? At 212, I think … one rep at a time. The doctors said I would not come back at full capacity, but I believe I am a better technical Tap Dancer now then I ever was. A lot of my strength, my staminia and confidence to do hard things is thanks to my time at 212.
I am beyond grateful to my amazing family who supported me during this journey. They carried me, helped me take each step, made me believe in myself again and now they can stand back and cheer me on. I had an incredible Orthopedic Surgeon and an angel for a Physical Therapist (she literally saved my life when she sent me to the ER for the DVT and Pullmonary Embolism).
The coaches at 212 personalize workouts, I feel like they listen to your goals/struggles/ challenges and create an environment that makes you successful. Each client is an individual but yet all on the same team. As for the people… they are all so welcoming and inspiring. We’re all just taking one step at a time to reach our goals and everyone here wants everyone else to be successful! Thankfully most days one of the steps I take is into 212.
