YUKO KAWAI
pianist
25
10/07/16 00:00
[Yuko's Leg Rehabilitation Diary - 25]
Spring came. I had to cancel my first concert in 2014, and the next one, and then the next one - the number of the cancelled concerts increased.
Summer came. Still I couldn't walk. In July, I was going to perform at a concert in August. I thought I could and I wanted, but I couldn't. In August, I was going to perform in September, but I couldn't.
Autumn came, and then winter came. I had been training hard all the time. I really wanted to be able to walk again as soon as possible.
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If someone loses the ability of walking - it means a leg cannot support the upper half of body. When we walk, a left leg supports the body, then a right leg supports the body, and it repeats and repeats.
When a leg stops supporting the body, its muscles begin to weaken quickly. If once it happened, it would be difficult/hard to come back to the normal condition. A training makes it possible to prevent a change for the worse, makes it possible to keep the same level, but to improve - it's extremely hard. We need a long time and have to be very patient. In the end I had to cancel all the concerts in 2014.
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'I'm a pianist who cannot walk - nobody needs such a person.' - I thought. I must be able to walk and travel on my own. If I cannot - it'll be "the end".
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My manager Andrzej has been very supportive, although I couldn't perform for a long time and had to cancel many concerts. He (, his wife and his sister) helped a lot: He visited me, talked to me, advised about doctors - did a lot of things as a manager. He didn't desert a pianist who couldn't walk and travel.
And not only Andrzej - the organisers and my chamber music/orchestral colleagues were so warm and told me that they would wait until I'm completely healthy. I cried.
photograph by Sławomir Kiełbowicz:
The Chopin monument and Yuko in Royal Łazienki Park, Warsaw
Spring came. I had to cancel my first concert in 2014, and the next one, and then the next one - the number of the cancelled concerts increased.
Summer came. Still I couldn't walk. In July, I was going to perform at a concert in August. I thought I could and I wanted, but I couldn't. In August, I was going to perform in September, but I couldn't.
Autumn came, and then winter came. I had been training hard all the time. I really wanted to be able to walk again as soon as possible.
---
If someone loses the ability of walking - it means a leg cannot support the upper half of body. When we walk, a left leg supports the body, then a right leg supports the body, and it repeats and repeats.
When a leg stops supporting the body, its muscles begin to weaken quickly. If once it happened, it would be difficult/hard to come back to the normal condition. A training makes it possible to prevent a change for the worse, makes it possible to keep the same level, but to improve - it's extremely hard. We need a long time and have to be very patient. In the end I had to cancel all the concerts in 2014.
---
'I'm a pianist who cannot walk - nobody needs such a person.' - I thought. I must be able to walk and travel on my own. If I cannot - it'll be "the end".
---
My manager Andrzej has been very supportive, although I couldn't perform for a long time and had to cancel many concerts. He (, his wife and his sister) helped a lot: He visited me, talked to me, advised about doctors - did a lot of things as a manager. He didn't desert a pianist who couldn't walk and travel.
And not only Andrzej - the organisers and my chamber music/orchestral colleagues were so warm and told me that they would wait until I'm completely healthy. I cried.
photograph by Sławomir Kiełbowicz:The Chopin monument and Yuko in Royal Łazienki Park, Warsaw