This dance piece, choreographed by Travis Wall on the dance show “So you think you can dance” has inspired me to write this reflection of my clinical experience thus far. This moving and emotional dance , performed by Robert Roldan and Allison Holker, is a contemporary styled dance about the support of a son for his mother during her struggle with breast cancer. Travis Wall is a famous choreographer and he based this routine on his mothers struggle through life with breast cancer and his struggle to help his mother fight this condition. The dance is performed to the song called “Fix you” by Coldplay. I think that both the song and the story behind the dance really show the importance of supporting and caring for loved ones. In my opinion, this dance represents the clinical experiences that I have faced and observed this year at my community block based in Mitchells Plain.
In this dance, Allison plays the role of the mother suffering from cancer and Robert plays the role of the son who is supporting her. Allison is wearing a pink coloured dress which represents the colour for breast cancer. The style of dance, the music and the story the dancers tell, I believe, represent the relationships between families and their loved ones who are suffering from an illness. From my experience working in the community and doing home visits has truly shown me the support and care of family members towards their loved ones who are suffering from an illness/ condition. These families come together to support those in need and provide the best care possible. This dance, for me, represents how individuals in these communities will do whatever it takes to care for their loved ones. Throughout this dance piece, Robert is constantly supporting Allison.
At the beginning of the dance you can see that Allison is weak, struggling to walk and is in need of assistance (see image on left). Robert then provides his physical support for her by lifting her up and supporting her as she walks. This shows how patients who are suffering sometimes need the physical and emotional support of their families throughout their battle of survival.
Throughout the routine, Allison is constantly falling and Robert is there to pick her up every time. Here the falls represent all the knocks and suffering the patients may go through during their recovery process, whether it may be side effects of medication, the hardships of the recovery process, bed sores or deterioration of their condition- family, carers, therapists and friends are there to support them through it all and will pick them up when they fall and try to “fix” them.
As the dance continues, Allison relies less on Robert for physical support and they begin to dance in sync with one another as if her condition is getting better (see image on right)- showing his positive impact on her recovery. This, in my opinion, represents how family support plays a huge role in the recovery process and how the support given by loved ones influences the well- being of an individual and encourages their motivation to recovery.
A real life example that relates to this dance that I have seen in my home visits within the community is when I observed how the wives of husbands who are suffering, care and look after them. In one instance, I witnessed a wife who looks after her elderly husband who is wheelchair bound and a hemiplegic. She does not work as she looks after her husband every day- cleaning him, dressing him, transferring him, feeding him etc. She explained how exhausted she was due to looking after him every day as no one else in her family wants to help her. However, she would not have it any other way as she loves her husband and knows that her care that she is giving is the best he is going to receive. Seeing the way she cares for him and the unconditional love they share for each other really shows the importance of support and care from family. This shows how family is everything and that they will do anything to “fix you”. The wife is doing all that she can for her husband and he only has her to care for him. She carries the responsibility of supporting his recovery and providing the emotional support to help conquer his condition. My experience in this community has also shown me how some individuals only have their family and they need their family support more than anything else due to the expenses of health care and their limited access to it. This shows how individuals need their family support more than anything else.
The dance ends with Allison placing her feet onto Roberts feet and they walk together as one (see image on left), showing how Robert is there for her every step of the way then after they look up into the distance with the lyrics of the song saying “lights will guide you home”… “and I will try to fix you”. This ending represents how families are there for their loved ones every step of their way through all the suffering, the hardships, the recovery and the journey to conquering their illness/ disease. The lyrics of the song “Fix you” are so powerful and are saying that through all the struggles/ heart ache/ times of suffering- “I will try to fix you”. The family will be there to make it better and make it right.
Together the dance and the music are giving the message that when you are unable to do anything about your situation (your disease, condition, physical or mental disability, pain etc.) and you are feeling helpless your family and your support system will be there to tell you it is alright, that you will be alright in the end and that with support and guidance and mentoring you will fight this as you are stronger than this condition.
This piece really helped me to understand and relate to what my patients are experiencing within the communities they live and how important the role of their families and support systems play in their recovery process and well-being. As a student physiotherapist there is only so much we can do to help a patient as we are not with them 24 hours a day and thus the support system and quality of care a patient receives at home from their family plays the biggest role for their recovery. Thus as physiotherapists, we play a massive role in educating families and care takers on conditions and treatment for patients. As said before, we cannot be with patients 24 hours a day and the fact that most of their care comes from home we need to look at a patient in an holistic manner. Through a holistic approach, we are able to identify when patients do not have sufficient family support as we look at a family as a whole and not just at the patient. Through family education and correct guidance we can play a huge role in home based caring and ensure the patient is receiving the best care possible.
Written by: Alexandra Heiberg
References:
SYTYCD Robert & Allison – Fix You. (2014). Retrieved 25 August 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EZtNQ9gmrU
WEILER, C. (2013). So You Think You Can Dance top 10 most memorable routines. Retrieved 25 August 2019, from https://www.hypable.com/so-you-think-you-can-dance-top-10-routines-in-sytycd-history/
5 thoughts on ““I WILL TRY TO FIX YOU””
Hey Alex, thank you for your post.
I really enjoyed how you included a dance routine as your media – this was a nice difference from the usual image. I really liked how the dance was inspired by the choreographers own experiences with helping a family member when they were sick as well as your explanation of how it relates to experiences you have seen on Community block. You did a really nice detailed explanation of the progression of the dance routine and how their relationship changed through the “son’s” help. I also liked how you focused on not only the dance routine but also the choice of music and specific lyrics.
I liked that you added in still life from the dance but i feel like you could have chosen a few more stronger images from the dance. Maybe caption them as well or refer to the specific movements in the text (such as “image 1 shows how the son is physically helping his mother” or something to that effect). The middle image especially is a cropped a bit strangely which stops the eye seeing they are actually dancing in sync. Possibly recrop the image or pick another which clearly shows their synchronized movements?
I enjoyed how you spoke broadly at the beginning about different hardships families face with sick loved ones and then you went in to specifics of a case in your block – this shows you applied a specific case to the assignment which links it all together.
This piece helped me see from a families perspective how a sick loved one impacts them and needs assistance through daily tasks. It also shows the care and love families have for their sick members as they will do anything to help them. Your reflection also showed a sense of understanding that we cannot help full time but the importance of sharing knowledge and helpful tips to family members can make them feel worthy and make their lives a bit easier. But possibly add a bit more onto the reflection part at the end as it seems a bit short? such as maybe how we as physios can assist in making home life a bit easier, from your experiences?
-Jess Funston.
Thank you Jess for the advice. Have taken your comments and guidance and have made the adjustments to the assignment.
hey Alex. i enjoy reading your post . I like the point that you were able to link the video with your writing. In the first paragraph you explained about the video and you were able to relate it to your clinical experience. This post made me see the important of family support especially when one is sick . On last paragraph you mention that as Physio there isn’t much we can do as we do not spend 24 hours with patients , maybe education to patients and family can help?. did you perhaps come across a patients with no family support? i think you should have add your view on how patients without family support will be like?. Thank you Alex enjoyed your post.. Hulisani
Thank you for your response. Have made the necessary adjustments. I do mention how a patient would be like with no family support as I say that they won’t be able to cope effectively with their condition, will not get through the recovery process and throughout I mention the advantages of family support – thus without it they won’t have these advantages.
Hey Alex,great choice of art work,i”m a big fan of Coldplay. I like how you interpreted the dance into real life situations. Your piece is great, however,I think you missed the “Ethical dilemma” part as I do not see a dilemma in the writing. Thank you.