Danyelle Robertson

Mrs.Trelease

ELA 1010

12 September 2019

From patient to provider

From the time I could walk, dance consumed my life. I don’t know who I would be today

if it weren’t for dance. Everyday after school I would be at the studio for hours rehearsing. In

2017, I tore 12 muscles on both sides of my hips in a ballet class. After my injury, I was in

physical therapy for almost 2 years. What I thought was a tragedy ended up being a blessing in

disguise. Although I was told I couldn't dance anymore, I found a passion for something else.

Being in physical therapy made me realize that I want to go into the medical field, and I fell in

love with it. My injury ended up pushing me to pursue a medical career, which is why I am

currently taking an EMT course to further my medical knowledge.

Since dance requires so much dedication, it teaches people how to be disciplined and how

to manage time wisely. Growing up in such a strict, professional environment has influenced my

behavior today. It is because of balancing so much with dance that I am now able to balance my

academics, social life, and job in high school. Dance forces you to mature a lot quicker than your

peers do. Being under so much pressure at such a young age pushes you to mature quickly. There

isn’t an option when you’re in such a professional environment. Having to figure out how to

balance life at such a young age is difficult. I wouldnt understand why I couldn’t hangout with
my friends after school, or go to a family party. However, as I grew up I realized that I was being

prepared for the real world. I recognized that the world doesn’t revolve around me, and that I had

to be prepared for whatever challenges came my way.

Even though dance taught me so much, it took just as much away from me. I will never

be able to do the activities I used to do before my injury. Simple things such as walking uphill, or

walking up a flight of stairs causes pain in both of my hips. It was because of this pain that I

became so intrigued with trying to figure out what could be done to fix it. At first I couldn’t

stand going to physical therapy; it was painful, expensive, and time consuming. Nothing seemed

to be helping and we couldn’t figure out why. Then, a few weeks down the road I started doing

different types of electrotherapy, which was so interesting to me. This is when I began to

research the medical field.

Initially, I wanted to either go into occupational therapy or physical therapy. However

one day I went on a hike with my aunt, and she explained to me how much she loved her job as a

sonographer. After researching, ultrasound and x-ray became very interesting to me. It

fascinated me that the doctors could figure out what was wrong with my hips by looking at the

deepest parts of my muscles and tissue due to x-rays. In June of 2018, I went to San Diego to

shadow the owner of an ultrasound practice. It was genuinely one of the best experiences that I

have ever had. Watching the heartbeat of a 30 week old fetus made me realize how amazing

ultrasound was. I knew from then on that I wanted to go on to study sonography in college.

Having my passion taken away from me was one of the hardest things I’ve had to go

through. Something I had been doing my entire life was torn away from me in a matter of weeks.

But looking back now, I wouldn’t change anything, I truly believe everything happens for a
reason. If I wouldn’t have had to go to physical therapy, I wouldn’t have realized my passion for

medicine. I had the best experiences during the 13 years that I was able to dance, and I’m so

grateful for the opportunities I had. I learned the values of self discipline and work ethic, which

has prepared me for college. My injury which started off as such a burden, has turned out to be

such a positive experience in my life.