Imagine spending 20 years building a flourishing career, then having all that hard work crumble before your eyes. That was the reality for dancer/choreographer Blacka Di Danca whose career came to a halt last year after a meal he had triggered a severe allergic reaction that led to him sustaining serious head injuries.

Ten months later, Blacka has opened up about the ordeal and the emotional road to recovery from the Anaphylactic shock – a road he hopes leads him back to the dance floor very soon.

“Things were going really great for me. I had my AirBnB thing going where I was providing housing for dancers and choreographers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Buss Down Challenge which went viral on social media led to the creation of my own label, through the label we created our own music group called Danca Mafia. I was doing really well,” he told OBSERVER ONLINE.

But things took an unexpected turn for the worse when the dancer fainted during the 2021 staging of Miami Carnival.

Blacka recalls ordering a burrito at the popular event and specifically asking for a particular item to be left out of his meal. He recalls double checking the order to ensure that the item (which he was allergic to) was not included in his burrito. He then remembers taking a few bites before passing out and ending up in the emergency room.

“I fainted. I fell to the ground, landed on the concrete and passed out,” he said. “It was the first time I ever fainted in my life and I wasn’t quite sure what was happening. I was sent to the emergency room and that’s all I really remember.”

The dancer/choreographer said he received a few stitches and was treated for the allergic reaction but was never given an MRI. He said he believed at the time he was admitted, doctors were still handling more than they could manage because of the pandemic and just treated his immediate concerns. Blacka shared that it wasn’t until having a conversation with a friend of his, who is a medical doctor, that he realised he suffered a concussion.

“Everything, after coming back from the emergency room, would hurt. Loud sounds, music, the sunlight, even whispers sometimes,” he explained. “It was just pressure, pressure, pressure. I couldn’t take jobs because of how I was feeling. I have been turning down opportunities because I still get migraines today. It’s been nine going on 10 months and I’m literally still tryna figure stuff out, it’s crazy.”

Blacka told OBSERVER ONLINE that, in his quest to figure things out, he was finally able to speak with a neurologist over the past few weeks, adding that the results from recommended tests will determine his therapy routine. He is hoping that the latter will lead him back to the profession he misses, indicating that it has been a hard road staying away.

“This was the first time I was going through any of this in my life. The trauma and the injury was something placed in my life while I was busy doing me and winning, so it was a lot. I am not just a dancer, I am also an actor and I am turning down all kinds of jobs because of this injury,” he said. “My past nine months have been a whole bunch of nos while still trying to figure out how to pay my bills.”

“But I have made the decision to just live,” he continued. “The most I can do is get up, put one foot in front of the other and just do what needs to be done. So I have started going back to events and just moving when I can. I put in earplugs and have started to perform again. I am doing my best.”

While choosing to remain optimistic about his recovery process, Blacka said his tragedy taught him to tap into his business mind.

“This whole situation has allowed me to tap into my mental and build a skillset that I never would have otherwise and so I am grateful for every phase in my life,” he said. “I will never speak limits and so I will always adjust and keep moving forward.”

Blacka Di Danca has a GoFundMe account set up to assist with his recovery process. The page has a US $10,000 target and has already raised over US$8,000. Anyone wishing to assist Blacka on his road to recovery are welcomed to donate to the cause at https://www.gofundme.com/f/Help-Support-Blackas-Recovery.