INDIANAPOLIS — For some, dance can be an escape from the real world.
"It's a very freeing experience. It makes me feel like I'm in another place, like I can just let go of all of the stress of the day," said Melyssa Sams, a registered nurse with IU Health's Simon Cancer Center.
Sams said dancing offers comfort.
It's the physical, mental and emotional health Sams is after. It helps her come to grips with an unrelenting coronavirus pandemic.
"It was surreal at first," Sams said. "This is something we never thought we'd see in our country."
Sams works in an out-patient clinic.
"My patient population is already susceptible, so I take care of leukemia and lymphoma patients, as well as sickle cell," Sams said.
At times, her virtual visits became overwhelming.
"When the numbers started going down, we went back to the office and back to the clinic, and we started seeing patients as usual again," Sams said. "And of course, then we have the spike — the second spike. Fortunately, we were more prepared for that one, so it was a smoother transition to virtual visits. Just making sure we kept the continuity of care was the biggest challenge."
She said she needed an outlet and turned to the one thing she's loved since she was 8 years old.
"I was dancing at a school called Alexander Coleman Company," Sams said. "We went to different places and performed. Sometimes, we practice for 2-3 hours a night, and that was after work, so of course, I was already exhausted from working, but dance is such an amazing experience that it was worth it. It was worth passing out on my bed at night after practicing for three hours, after working for eight."
It was a therapeutic and destressing experience that she said is good for her soul.
She recently had to take a break from dance to help support her daughter's new baby boy, who's back in school working on her bachelor's degree to become a nurse practitioner while also working full-time.
"It was kind of a lot to have on my plate at the time, but I do plan on going back," Sams said.
Back to dance, that is.
"If I can do it, anybody can do it. I'm 46," Sams said. "I just had a birthday, and its just a great experience."