The stage lights were shining, the music roaring, the crowd cheering. Everything was going as planned, until Izabella heard a sudden crack. That was the moment she felt her knee officially give out on her. 

Grant, a competitive dancer, suffered from a life-changing injury.

“So I was on stage and I was doing my production, which is like a group of like all of us on the competitive team, basically, and I was just dancing and I jumped and I felt a pop in my knee and I was like, wow, that’s a feeling I’ve never felt before, and like 30 seconds later, I jumped again and I realized the same thing happened, but this time it hurt a lot more,” said Grant. 

Grant tore two separate ligaments in her knee, her ACL and her Meniscus. These tears occurred at her first dance competition of the season at the end of the long day. It was horrifying finding out what had happened, not only to her, but those close to her as well.

Grant’s mother, Megan Grant, found it difficult to wrap her head around the injury at first.

“Maybe just a little bit of a shock myself just trying to understand how that happened. It was really just a freak fluke kind of thing. So it was just kind of a shock.” 

After her injury, Grant had to stop going to dance for at least nine months post-operation. This completely changed her life emotionally, physically, and mentally. 

“My everyday life changed a lot because I wasn’t able to do things like walking at first, because you know, I was on crutches. I had a lot of weight bearing issues, and I couldn’t do things that I normally did, like dancing. I couldn’t jump, I couldn’t be all hyper and energetic, like I like to be. So it was a lot. It was really hard to, like, change my everyday life.” 

Izabella also had to suffer with the mental aspect of it all, even while going through recovery.

“I was definitely not the same person without dance for almost a year, basically, and I feel like I still am kind of mentally affected from it because I sometimes just have fears in my head, like I’m scared I’ll like retear it and it’s definitely a scary thing when I’m dancing to just be like, any minute now I could be retorn.”

Even the closest person to Izabella, her mother, saw major changes through how she was as a person without dance. 

“I think that you know, just the gravity of the situation knowing how it impacted her and not being able to do something that she’s done for the majority of her life and just fear of maybe not being able to do it the same to get back to where she was. So I think that it was definitely evident that it affected her mental state.”

Many things changed in Grant’s life while she had to deal with her surgery and her recovery. She even had to be excused from her academic and societal duties which hurt others just as much as her. 

Amanda William’s daughter, Olivia Williams, was distraught at missing out on time with Grant.

“Well, of course, my daughter was a little bit sad on the day she wasn’t at school. They really enjoy going to school together, being able to catch up on a daily basis and chit chat and gossip about friends in life and school and all of those things. So whenever she wasn’t around, it was a little bit of a bummer for my daughter.” 

But even through all these setbacks and difficult times, Grant still got back up again. She did not let her hardship interfere with all the goals for dance she had set for herself. Grant is now fully recovered and back to dancing just as she always would. 

Grant says that her daughter is beginning to regain her confidence.

“She is doing well, and I think she is finally getting back to a point where she was prior to the injury and her confidence is growing and she feels more strength in her leg.”  

Izabella’s story can help other people realize to not let difficult times get in the way of goals. If it is truly important, then it will be achieved, no matter the circumstances. 

“I think that if they can see that, you know, she’s made it through, she handled it,” said Williams. “Well that, you know, seeing that even though there’s a setback, it doesn’t define you, that you’re able to move forward. You just have to keep your mind set on your ultimate goal of getting better and getting back to the life you want to lead.”

Her story can not only help the people immediately going through difficult times. It can also help the loved ones that have to go through the journey with them, like their parents. 

“I think as a mother and as a parent, just wanting other parents to know, I mean, you have to give your child the space that they need, because it is scary, but they need to feel those things in order to grow and I think really just also being there and knowing that there’s going to be hard days and days that it’s not fun at all. But just being there and being supportive is important.” 

Even through the cracks and breaks of life, do not be discouraged, because just like Izabella, everyone can get what they strive for. A breaking point will always be healed, and that break, eventually, will become a new growth.