June Is Scoliosis Awareness Month — Let’s Set the Curve Straight
Every June, we shine a light on scoliosis and the millions of people worldwide who live with it, often quietly and often misunderstood.
As an ambassador for Set Scoliosis Straight, I have seen firsthand how scoliosis affects more than the spine. It impacts confidence, mental health, and daily life for children, teens, and adults alike.
Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine that most commonly appears during adolescence, but many adults live with it too, sometimes without even knowing. Early detection matters. Awareness saves years of unnecessary pain and uncertainty.
Why awareness matters:
Too many cases go undiagnosed
Young people deserve understanding and support
Visibility leads to empathy and empathy leads to change
This month, I invite you to:
✔ Learn the signs
✔ Share your story
✔ Support awareness in any way you can
Together, we can change the conversation and Set Scoliosis Straight. 💚
#ScoliosisAwarenessMonth #SetScoliosisStraight #SupportTheCurve #JuneAwareness #SpinalHealth
🌿 Healing Looks Different for All of Us
By Diana Kayla Hochberg
Author of Connected: Finding My Truth
Living with severe scoliosis has shaped how I move through the world physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Healing for me does not look like fast runs or rigorous routines.
It looks like chair yoga that honors the unique curve of my spine.
It looks like swimming laps three to four times a week, where I feel both light and free.
It looks like writing, reflecting, and breathing through the truth of being sold through the black market without consent, without paperwork, and without answers.
It took decades for me to uncover the real story of my life. In Connected: Finding My Truth, I share what happened when a single sentence shattered everything I believed about who I was and how I fought to reclaim it all.
Healing is not one size fits all. And it does not always look like transformation. Sometimes it looks like accepting the body you live in, finding new ways to move, and reconnecting with a truth that was stolen.
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My Journey: Strength, Scoliosis, and the Power of Perseverance
As an Ambassador for Setting Scoliosis Straight, I recently had a profound realization, one I had never fully acknowledged before. My book, Connected: Finding My Truth, is more than a memoir. It is a testament to resilience, a deep dive into my hidden family history, and an exploration of the truths that shape us.
My story began long before I even knew I had one to tell.
In 1965, during a back-to-school shopping trip, my father noticed something concerning. I was not standing straight. That simple observation led us to a pediatrician and then to a specialist in New York City. After extensive testing at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, I was diagnosed with Levoconvex Scoliosis. I was too young to grasp what it meant, but I could see the fear in my parents’ eyes.
Dr. Jacob Graham, an orthopedic specialist, recommended a Milwaukee back brace to slow the progression of my condition. At the same time, my mother was battling cancer, leaving my father as my only caregiver. It was a difficult and uncertain time.
Then I overheard something that would change my life forever.
Dr. Graham, speaking privately to my father, unknowingly shattered my spirit when he said, “She probably won’t be able to have children and might be in a wheelchair by the time she’s forty.”
That moment could have broken me. Instead, it lit a fire inside me. I refused to let my condition or anyone else’s predictions define my future.
For three and a half years, I endured the physical and emotional burden of the Milwaukee brace. I watched my peers live their teenage years while I felt trapped, physically by the brace and emotionally by the limitations others placed on me. But I never gave up.
Today, I stand tall, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. I am a proud mother, a stepmother, and in 2024, I became a grandmother. The future I was told I would never have has become my greatest blessing.
Over the years, as my scoliosis worsened, I sought new ways to manage my pain. I found Jason C. Rosenberg, a compassionate specialist in Neurology and Pain Medicine, who is exploring non-opioid treatment options to help me live with less suffering and more strength. I live with daily pain, but I refuse to let it slow me down.
But scoliosis is only one part of my story.
In writing Connected: Finding My Truth, I uncovered more than my own resilience. I uncovered secrets buried deep within my family’s past. My journey of perseverance mirrors the journey I took to piece together long-lost truths. The same determination that pushed me to defy medical odds also drove me to uncover the mysteries that shaped my identity.
If you would like to understand more about my journey, both personal and investigative, you can find my book and its reviews at:
www.dianakaylahochberg.com
Never let someone else’s prediction dictate your future.
Keep fighting. Keep believing. And above all, never give up.
