NOONG FEBRUARY 4, 2015 ay inoperahan sa balakang (hips) ang Prima Ballerina ng bansa na si Lisa Macuja.
Pero nilinaw ng ballet dance icon na ang kanyang operasyon ay walang kinalaman sa kanyang pagsayaw ng ballet – for twenty long years now – kundi dahil umano sa edad. She’s now 50 years old.
“The hip surgery last February 4 was very successful, now I can walk without aid. I can even power walk and do some exercises and I can resume normal activity.
“I just can’t turn out yet because they shaved a little bit of my bone because there was growth that was impinged on my hip bone. So, they shaved that a little bit,” kuwento ni Lisa nang makausap namin recently.
Dahil ba sa ilang taon niyang pagsayaw ng ballet ang dahilan ng operasyon?
“I think, it’s (because of) age,” sagot ni Lisa. It’s not because I’ve been dancing for so long, unlike my previous surgeries where I had chronic tendonitis and the other one. Those were really ballet-related ‘coz I got injuries while dancing. This one, they just saw in the pelvic x-ray that there was bone growth. They wanted to address it right away, because it’s a precursor for arthritis and total hip joint replacement.”
Wala naman daw naging damage sa buto ng kanyang balakang at anim na linggo lang at gagaling na raw ang kanyang buto, ayon sa kanyang doktor.
“My hip is fine. There was no tear, there was no damage. So, as soon as my bone heals on March 16, I can slowly back dancing again.”
Bago ang operasyon, matindi raw ang sakit ang kanyang mga buto, at biglaan pala ang operasyon at hindi naka-schedule.
“They recommended that I’d undergo surgery within the year, pero I decided na, ‘Better na let’s do it now.’ So that for the rest of the year, I can be assured of normal activities.
“I remained hopeful. Kasi, my recovery has been quite fast. I was off pain killers before I was discharged. I was discharged a day early from the hospital. And I was up and about without the use of crutches, 8 days post-operation.”
Samantala, ibinalita ni Lisa ang 20th anniversary show ng kanyang Ballet Manila entitled “BM 2.0: A Triumphant 20-Year Celebration” sa February 28 (Sat.), 7:30 pm at March 1 (Sun.), 3pm sa Aliw Theater, Pasay City.
“It’s Ballet Manila’s 20th anniversary concert. The repertoire in 2 hours, it’s going to encapsulate the essence of Ballet Manila for the past 20 years.
“It’s gonna be an exciting program, I am very excited to do it, and moving forward into the next 20 years. So, I really want everyone to join us in Aliw Theater.
“They can purchase tickets from Ticketworld, even online. It’s their best way of supporting the Performing Arts, especially Ballet, buying tickets to the show,” say ni Lisa.
Mellow Thoughts
by Mell Navarro
