Misty Copeland is focused on healing as she continues to recover from hip replacement surgery.
The 43-year-old ballet icon, who confirmed in January that she underwent the procedure just weeks after taking her final bow in October, shared a glimpse of the first few days of her recovery in a candid Instagram post.
“A few months ago, I stepped off the stage after my final bow with @abtofficial, closing one chapter and unknowingly preparing for the next,” she wrote in the caption. “Not too long after that, I had hip replacement surgery. Since then, I’ve been focused on healing — physically, mentally, and patiently.”
The carousel included a clip of Copeland dressed in black shorts, a tan sweatshirt, and matching socks as she carefully walked down a hallway with the assistance of a walker. Other footage showed her wrist wrapped in bandages with tubes attached while resting in a hospital bed, a video of a CT scan being reviewed by a physician, a quiet POV shot from her bed with the television on, and a close-up of her hip covered with a bandage.
“These were my first few days: learning to walk again, resting, and letting my body do the work,” she continued. “Recovery isn’t glamorous, but every small step matters.”
In January, Copeland revealed she had undergone the procedure, reflecting on what it means to age as an elite athlete.
“It’s all a part of getting older and being an athlete,” she told USA Today at the time. “It’s part of accepting the beauty of having a body and how strong and powerful it is, and what we can come back from.”
Months earlier, in November, the retired ballerina opened up about pushing through her final performance while “barely walking.” She later learned she had bone spurs in her left hip, along with a labral tear and significant cartilage loss.
“My doctors, they were just like, ‘I don’t think this is a good idea for you to push for this performance,’” she recalled in an interview with NPR. “And I said, ‘Well, I’ve already agreed to it.’”
She added, “I was barely walking before and somehow, you know, mustered up the strength.”
