Against All Odds

In 2018 Company Artist Dylan Lackey faced this sobering possibility when he developed a severe back injury. The story that unfolded was beyond imagination. Two spinal surgeries, a disappearing surgeon, deportation, and a global pandemic. In an extraordinary tale of resilience Dylan overcame these hurdles to make a triumphant return to the stage after a full spinal disc replacement, making him the only known dancer to return to performance after this surgery.

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Dylan performed with premier US ballet company, Houston Ballet for seven years before accepting a Company Artist contract with Queensland Ballet in 2017.

Within a few short months Dylan packed up his life and moved to Australia, where he quickly fell in love with the culture, and the company. But less than a year after the big move Dylan started noticing a strange sensation in his right hamstring.

“I was struggling to do anything with my right leg, but I thought it was a muscular problem. I’d never experienced nerve pain, so I didn't know how to differentiate the two."

Suspecting the issue may be neurological, Queensland Ballet Head of Performance Health at the time, Zara Gomes, immediately referred Dylan to Doctor Matthew Hislop, a leading Sports and Exercise Medicine Physician who ordered an MRI. The imaging showed a protrusion of the L5-S1 disc leading to compression on the S1 nerve root.

Initially, guided by Doctor Hislop, Zara, and QB’s skilled in-house health team, Dylan took a conservative approach, involving plenty of rest and a personally tailored Pilates and strength and conditioning program.

“We also tried cortisone injections and lots of different things, but after a few months it became clear the piece of disc material sitting on that nerve was not going away,” said Dylan.

So, in April 2018 Dylan underwent a microdiscectomy, a minimally invasive surgical procedure to remove the part of the herniated disc that was compressing his nerve.  

“At the time Dylan was a good candidate for the microdiscectomy," says current Head of Performance Health at Queensland Ballet, Michelle White, “only one level of his spine was affected, the rest was healthy. However, we knew the surgery was not necessarily fixing the root of the problem, rather alleviating the pressure to allow him to get back to full function. The alternative was major spinal surgery, a hugely invasive procedure which may have brought an end to his career”.

Dylan’s initial recovery was positive, and he was able to return to full performance capacity by October 2018.

But six months after returning to the stage Dylan’s symptoms returned more severely than ever.

“We were performing Jiri Kylian’s Soldier’s Mass which is very physical, but when you get the opportunity to dance a Kylian ballet you can’t pass it up. I was hiding how bad the pain was. I would do the show and then wait for everyone to leave the stage, and I’d limp back to the dressing room".

This was when the gravity of the injury really became apparent, says Dylan.

“The medical and artistic staff wanted to take me off, but I was like ‘no, no, I’m fine’, because in my head I thought this might be my last time performing. With the symptoms coming back I knew there was a good chance this could be the end of my career."

Then one morning in daily class, things came to a head.

Dylan was sent straight for another MRI which confirmed the disc had deteriorated.

“The doctor kept saying it was a complete failure of the L5-S1 discs meaning my vertebrae were pretty much just squashed on top of each other, and there was no disc anymore. So, it was immediate surgical intervention”.

Dylan was told that if he continued to dance, he could end up with severe lifelong damage to the nerve, leading to loss of function in his leg or foot. So begun the hunt for a surgeon. Three of the four surgeons Dylan and Michelle spoke to suggested a vertebral fusion, a common surgical intervention for degenerative discs. However, this option posed serious risks.

“For us the spinal fusion was our last option as there was a high risk that Dylan would not regain enough spinal range to return to professional ballet”, says Michelle.

The fourth surgeon suggested an alternative approach, a full disc replacement. This intervention is less common and comes with its own risks, however, the doctor was confident Dylan could recover enough strength and range to return to the stage, and so Dylan decided to go ahead.

Despite some fear Dylan says he knew the surgery was vital.

“At that point I couldn’t lie down without pain, I couldn’t function. I was severely disabled, grumpy and depressed and knew I needed the surgery to get my quality of life back. I reflected on how lucky I was to have been a professional dancer and do some of the amazing works I'd done, and so dance was just going to be a bonus if it could happen”.

Then, mere weeks before Dylan was due to be admitted, in a series of events no one could have predicted, Dylan’s surgeon abruptly closed his practice, and Dylan’s bridging visa ran out.

“I lost my surgeon, and I lost my right to live in Australia in the same week."

Originally on a Temporary Activity visa. Dylan had applied for a renewal but was put on a bridging visa while the approval was pending. Unfortunately, that bridging visa ran out before the new one was approved.

“I was freaking out; I had to leave the country to enable a new visa to be processed so I limped my way around an island for a week. Luckily Queensland Ballet looked after me really well.”

Queensland Ballet was able to expedite Dylan’s visa allowing him to return to Brisbane within the week where the hunt began for a new surgeon who was willing to do a disc replacement.

Eventually Queensland Ballet's medical team found Dr Laurence McEntee, a highly regarded orthopedic spine surgeon specializing in artificial disc replacements.

“Dylan felt instantly comfortable with Dr. McEntee. He had worked with gymnasts and rugby players but was very committed to understanding the unique demands of professional ballet. He attended performances and spoke extensively with us about the physical expectations” says Michelle.

Dr McEntee says his time spent at Queensland Ballet further affirmed the suitability and necessity of the surgery.

“It was clear when watching the dancers perform, that Dylan would require both mobility and stability in his lower back to allow him to continue to function at the extremely high level required of a professional dancer. Disc replacement surgery allowed him to get back to this high level of function."

After an additional few months' recovering to everyday function, Dylan was given clearance to return to the studio, testing out his new hardware with some very simple barre exercises and Pilates. This was an exciting but anxious time- whilst Dylan’s surgery and recovery had gone well, the question of whether or not he’d be able to return to the stage remained unanswered.

Then, in another twist of bad fortune, the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

“The first day I was allowed to start doing a little bit of barre with the company was the day that Li (former Queensland Ballet Artistic Director) called the company in for a meeting and said everyone needs to go home”

“It was ridiculously lonely because I’d already experienced three months of what felt like lockdown after the surgery and then had to do several more months”.

Luckily Michelle was able to visit Dylan weekly for treatments, ensuring his rehabilitation went smoothly.

“During COVID physiotherapists were still allowed to do home visits, but we had to get creative with treatment and exercises in a small apartment space. Overall, it was a positive experience, not only for the physical gains but also the social and emotional support during a long rehabilitation process” says Michelle.

Dylan agrees that the lockdown had its benefits.

“It ended up working in my favor. There was no rush for me to get back to the stage because there was no stage to return to! So, I had several extra months to rehab slowly”.

Dylan returned to the stage at the end of 2020, 12 months after major spine surgery. “That was when I went, ‘all right I'm back! Yeah. I can do this. This has worked and I'm the first person to do it’. It was pretty incredible.”

“It is a real privilege to be able to help someone who functions at such a high level get back to doing what they love”.

Michelle was equally thrilled.

“As a health team there is always an overwhelming feeling of joy, seeing the dancer back on stage. And while performance is always our end goal, for me the journey is just as important. The dancer learns so much about themselves and it takes a whole team effort to get them through each phase, riding the highs and lows together”.

As for Dylan...