"When life is at the worst it can possibly be, dance."
Megan Van Dyke murmured those words from her hospital bed two years ago after a major accident almost took her life.
At just age 19, Megan was driving on Loop 1604 to come home from ballet rehearsal when she started feeling dizzy, dehydrated and out of breath.
She recalls listening to songs by her favorite Christian band as she cruised along the highway when she suddenly over-corrected her steering and flipped her car five times in midair.
A passer-by traveling in the opposite direction saw the accident as it happened and turned around to help. The women found Megan's cell phone at the crash site and called her father.
"The lady who stopped was my guardian angel," Megan said. "I wish I could thank her today. I wanted to let go, but she would not let me. She kept me alert."
The accident is a foggy memory for Megan. She remembers the music that was playing in the car and the feel of a tight grip on her hand.
Megan lost consciousness once the car went off the road. She remembers waking up to a pastor sitting beside her in the hospital room.
"That is when I realized I was saved by the grace of God," she said. "Everybody said I should have died."
Facing Recovery
Megan had too many dreams on the horizon to let go. She began dancing when she was just three years old at the Filmore Arts School in Washington D.C., and she was a model baby in pageants.
For her, performing on stage was what she had always called home, but now her ballet slippers were hung up on the wall.
Her doctors did not think she would be able to dance again, let alone walk.
Megan took the rehabilitation process one day at a time. She had a fractured cervical spine and a broken arm, requiring hospital therapy. She still occasionally sees doctors, but she thinks it's a good trade.
"Pain is something that I've come to live with and accept," Megan said. "I think that I will probably live with pain for the rest of my life, but it's a small price to pay for my life, and I can't really complain because it's a constant reminder of that day that rocked and changed my world as I know it."
"It serves as a reminder of the changes and the progress I've made and keeps me wanting to fight and push forward."
What She's Learned
Teary-eyed, she glanced at the photos of her accident during an interview for this story.
"This is the first time I’ve looked at these pictures of my accident," Megan said. "I had so much glass in my body, and the officers were shocked how much blood was in the vehicle. They thought I had another passenger riding with me."
She's 21 now and seems to be more grown up than that. Perhaps it's because of the struggle she has endured just to survive.
"When I wake up in the morning, my goal is to make 10 people smile and know that I made a small impact on them even for five minutes," she said with a wide smile.
She learned at a young age in her theater classes that a friendly smile can light up a room and a warm personality can put people at ease as she talks about her plans of helping others.
"You will never go anywhere in life without the help of someone else," she said. "The car accident made me appreciate the small things like the air in my lungs. I thank my mother for giving me life, and the car accident made me humble and more aware."
Giving Back
Megan is dancing again and now works full time at a San Antonio gym teaching young children and teens how to dance. She has plans of becoming a big-screen actress, Broadway dancer and motivational speaker.
"I want to change peoples’ lives and encourage them to do something new," Megan said. "I want to be the person who makes them strive to reach their dreams. I am very blessed."
She says her accident is a life lesson.
“It has made me realize that it is OK to ask for help, because I really can't do everything by myself," she said. "It's OK if I fail or have to take a break. It'll only make me stronger."
Megan also says her experience drew her into a deeper understanding of her spiritual life and relationship with God.
"My wreck has made me more faithful," she said. "I don't always know what's coming next, which keeps me living in the present, for the moment, and whenever I get scared and unsure of anything, I give everything to God and have faith that he will take care of everything, as he always has."
"Things will always fall into place even if I don't understand them right away. I know that He spared my life."
Dance Performance
You can see Megan Van Dyke in a live performance at the Palmetto Arts Center at Northwest Vista College on Thursday, Aug. 5 from 7 to 8 p.m. She will dance to her own choreographed piece called "Intricacies.” Her performance will be featured as part of an evening of contemporary modern dance from Mexico. Admission for the event is $2.
