09/18/2020
Friends and students,
As many of you know, I had a wildly unexpected ankle injury while in Oregon visiting my family in late July, which resulted in surgery to place a titanium plate and several screws to pin my bones back together. Thank you all for your prayers as everything unfolded...I am truly so, so grateful for them. It was, and still very much is, a very humbling experience to go through, as others of you who have broken bones can relate to!
To share the latest update with you: I was cleared yesterday to begin walking (with a boot and a cane, but hey, still walking...!) and, already, the process is quite different from scooting around on my knee scooter. This next "chapter" of recovery will require immense physical and mental concentration with PT 3-4 days a week, along with follow-ups with my orthopedic doctor every 4 weeks (roughly). It's certainly a long road ahead, but one that I'm expected to make a full recovery from in a few months time. When I asked my surgeon what my general timeline of recovery would be, I joked with him, asking "I'll be walking by Christmas, right?" to which he replied, "Yeah, maybe...but I can't promise it won't be unassisted." That was a bit of a reality check, as you can imagine.
With these considerations in mind, I have decided to take a short break from teaching my (virtual) private students for the month of October. Please know that I did not make this decision lightly, but ultimately know that my weekly schedule needs to be 100% flexible for physical therapy and recovery time. I plan to jump back in with regularly scheduled lessons during the month of November, just in time to get started on holiday music. During this time, I will not be accepting any new students and can guarantee that all current students will have a time slot with me in November, so if you wish to stay with me as your teacher, I will hold your spot until we start up again in a few weeks.
I cannot emphasize enough how grateful I am for all of your continued flexibility, understanding, and grace during this time -- I truly have the very best students/families ever! As always, I'm always happy to answer any questions you may have. I am honored to be guiding you/your child(ren) through this amazing journey of music-making at the piano and consider it one of my life's greatest joys. Thank you for sharing that experience with me!
Warmly,
Emily