Gotta Dance
To fill her competitive urge after retiring from powerlifting, Dr. Lynn Gerald participated in a Dancing-with-the-Stars style ballroom dance contest last spring called “Living Life to the Fullest.” It served as a fundraiser for a friend who had developed breast cancer.
“Ballroom dancing was her thing,” Dr. Gerald said. “She organized a competition among people who were COVID health care workers, so most of the people who participated were physicians. I was a public health person who had done a lot in COVID. And we all danced with a professional dancer. It was a lot of fun. I haven't kept it up, but I really enjoyed it.”
Dr. Gerald was paired with Mandy Turner, a Dream Dance studio instructor, and did an East Coast swing routine to Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me with Your Best Shot.” The winner was Katri Typpo, MD, MPH, a College of Medicine – Tucson associate professor and critical care division chief for pediatrics.
Originally, dance organizers also wanted her husband and fellow Zuckerman College of Public Health faculty member Joe Gerald, MD, PhD, to compete. “It’s not gonna happen,” was his reply, she said with a laugh.