January 19, 2026

An Honest Update: Living With Scoliosis Today

In recent months, my scoliosis has taken a significant turn. The curvature has progressed, creating serious balance challenges, increased pain, and pressure on my internal organs. I now attend physical therapy twice a week and rely on a cane or walker to stay steady and safe.

This has not been easy. It has required grief, courage, patience, and a new kind of strength. But I refuse to give up on my body or my spirit. I still swim three to four times a week. I still move. I still show up. I still believe in hope, healing, and resilience.

Scoliosis is often seen as something that only affects children, but many adults live with progression, chronic pain, and mobility changes. That is why awareness matters. That is why compassion matters. And that is why I continue sharing this journey. If someone feels less alone because of these words, then sharing them is worth it.

Alongside all of this, I have lived with the physical realities of scoliosis my entire life. I wore a Milwaukee brace as a child. I grew up in a body that required endurance. What many people do not expect is that I was also very athletic. I played tennis. I played basketball. I was an avid swimmer.

Swimming has always been part of my life, and it still is. Movement has never been optional for me. It has been a source of strength, grounding, and survival.

Over time, my scoliosis became more visible. Today, I walk with a cane. With that visibility came judgment. People assume limitation, fragility, and inability. What they do not see is the lifetime of strength that came long before the cane. Disability does not erase capability.

I am not broken.
I am not finished.
I am still moving forward.

And after all of this, after the losses and after I had already built a life, I learned the truth about my origins.

Healing does not always look like getting better. Sometimes healing looks like adapting. Sometimes it looks like listening to your body instead of fighting it. Sometimes it looks like courageously saying, “This is hard, and I am still here.”