Charly Reveals A Health Update After Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

For many of the dancers on America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, joining the team is a lifelong dream. It certainly was for Season 2 rookie Charly Barby — but as the Netflix docuseries shows, making that dream come true wasn’t always a straightforward journey.

Charly’s Health Emergency

Charly was cut during last season’s training camp, after which she moved to Dallas to dedicate herself to training for the next season. “Ever since then, I’ve been stuck on the DCC style and trying to emulate and figure out exactly what that is,” she says in the new season (which premiered on June 18). “Every single class that I go to, I do full glam, full hair, full makeup, just so I can practice.”

But in the month before auditions, Charly was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism — a blood clot in her lung. “The doctor said, ‘It killed the top part of your lung, so it’s deceased right now. And you are so lucky that it didn’t go to your brain or your heart,’” Charly recalls. “Because essentially, it could have killed me in an instant if that happened.”

Charly says she began to feel better after taking blood thinners and pain medication. However, she was still recuperating when she decided to send in her audition video, even though she hadn’t been walking just days earlier.

Fortunately, after sending in her tape and nailing her in-person audition — set to Taylor Swift’s “I Did Something Bad” — Charly advanced to training camp and ultimately made the team alongside her best friend, Kelly Villares.

A Positive Update

So, how is Charly doing today?

“The bounce back from that is pretty quick, just because blood thinners are a very powerful medication,” Charly tells Bustle of her recovery. “I’ve been on them for a full year, and I was also diagnosed with a blood clot disorder. So that does explain a little bit of it. But I’m learning. I’m going to the doctor pretty much monthly now, just to get checkups, make sure my blood looks normal, everything like that.”

Charly says it’s been a learning experience. “There’s a lot more that came with that than I thought there was going to be.” But “health-wise right now, I’m doing great,” she adds. “Which is amazing!”

In fact, Charly was even able to participate in the team’s Texas Tour in May. “[The tour] is one of the hardest stamina things we’ve really done,” she says. “So to be able to complete that a year later, from having a blood clot where my lung was dead, is incredible. It’s something that I’m proud of.”