{"id":808,"date":"2020-04-30T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/?p=808"},"modified":"2020-05-01T07:13:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-01T12:13:47","slug":"anniversary-acceptance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/anniversary-acceptance","title":{"rendered":"Anniversary\/Acceptance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_63699\"  width=\"540\" height=\"304\"  data-origwidth=\"540\" data-origheight=\"304\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/anLbn_s5uwI?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;modestbranding=0&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>May 1, 2009, is such a profound day in my life. It is the day I will never forget, and its anniversary fills my heart with dread and sends shivers down my spine.\u00a0 I had no idea when\u00a0I awoke that Spring Friday morning 11 years ago that I would later find myself pinned under the tire of a 15-ton New York City Bus. I had no idea how my life would be forever changed, with an unbelievably different trajectory.<br>\u00a0<br>Even as recently as 2019, while everyone applauded how well I was recovering, my pain had increased, mobility decreased, and I knew that something was wrong with my leg.\u00a0 Fearing the worst, I imagined things like fusing my knee and amputation and I was<br>reluctant to face that news.\u00a0 In July 2019, I met with the amazing orthopedic surgeon Dr. Austin Fragomen at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. Fortunately, he had other plans for me.<br>\u00a0<br>To my relief and surprise, I was scheduled for surgery #20 on October 8, 2019, where my rounded bones were re-broken and literally moved and set straight.\u00a0 Though the procedure was a complete success, the recovery was slow, more painful, and much<br>harder than I had anticipated.<br>\u00a0<br>In the days, weeks, months, and even years after the 2009 accident my focus was on physically and emotionally surviving.\u00a0 Crying and staring at the ceiling became tiresome and I was aware that I needed to \u2018Accept\u2019 my situation as my \u2018new normal\u2019.\u00a0 I did not know it at the time, but I had already begun implementing Step Two of the Victory Dance in \u2018Dance Because You Can.\u2019<br>\u00a0<br>Acceptance has always been an option, freedom of choice to move ahead no matter what I was facing.\u00a0 I had plenty of practice accepting my physical limitations, going back to 1991 when I stopped driving because I was blinded by severe diabetes eye<br>complications.\u00a0 The journey has\u00a0been long and difficult, but accepting the situation leads me to look at what is possible.\u00a0 I found myself developing other skills, returning to dance to create a valuable and productive life, as a choreographer.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>I am not an optimist by nature.\u00a0 It is something I work at daily.\u00a0 I am never satisfied with my work and I feel there is always more I can accomplish. Maybe it all feeds my need to be perfect. The lessons continue as I learn how to care for myself. Managing my<br>diabetes and my physical therapy is a daily and full-time job. I have accepted, as part of my reality, my need to create a new imagined life for myself and I am able to manage the reactions, expectations, and unsolicited advice of others.\u00a0<br>\u00a0<br>When I wake up afraid and feeling sad, I remember that it is my choice how I react to the conditions of my life.\u00a0 I do not have to stay stuck, even when I DO NOT like what is happening. Acceptance, Step Two of\u00a0Your Victory Dance, opens the door to<br>possibilities and transformation which has become a metaphor for my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reflecting on my life, I HAVE accomplished many things.&nbsp; The manifestation of the choreography for the successfully acclaimed Victory Dance Project. The professional dance company was birthed as an idea while I was pinned under that tire of the New<br>York City bus.&nbsp; I promised that if I survived the night, I would create my \u2018Victory Dance\u2019.<br>&nbsp;<br>The book \u2018Dance Because You Can\u2019 was awarded the 2019 EVVY Award for Best Non-Fiction book of the year.&nbsp; A full-length documentary feature film is completed and in distribution negotiation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I cared for my ailing Father until his final breath after we chanted Nam Myoho Renge Kyo together one last time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking back on this, as I do in the past 11 years, I feel immense appreciation.&nbsp; It has been tough, and at times brutal.&nbsp; There have been moments when I did not think I would survive, physically or emotionally.&nbsp; These moments pass even though the obstacles continue. There is no time for pity within the mantra of acceptance, determination, and transformation.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>Spring presents itself to me again and in this time of COVID-19 isolation, there is time for reflection and gratitude. COVID-19 has certainly given us a chance to redirect our energy and get creative about self-care.&nbsp; I was undergoing surgery to remove the cumbersome and uncomfortable external plates in New York City in February when the Corona Virus outbreak began.&nbsp;&nbsp;Gratefully I returned home to Florida before the outbreak locked down the world. Our lives are being impacted in ways we could have never imagined.<br>&nbsp;<br>11 years later, I continue to determine to create a new \u2018normal\u2019; my body and my leg have been rebuilt and my life continues to take on new forms.&nbsp; There are aspects of my personal and professional life yet unfulfilled, but I just accept and redetermine daily.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>My story continues to be a process with plenty of ups and downs.&nbsp; I remind myself that sometimes, I may not react perfectly all the time and that is O.K. because I am human.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My question is always, how can we use acceptance to create value?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can we use this traumatic unprecedented pandemic and transform it into triumph? We fight, we persevered, and every day, we choose to take another step.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We are creating our Victory Dance together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 1, 2009, is such a profound day in my life. It is the day I will never forget, and its anniversary fills my heart with dread and sends shivers down [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,26,24],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amyjordanspeaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}