Abby Lee Miller Reflects on 'Horrific Pain' of Becoming Paralyzed From the Neck Down Before Her Lymphoma Diagnosis (2023)

• In a new Instagram post, Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller reflects on becoming paralyzed from the neck down due to Burkitt lymphoma.
• In 2018, the 56-year-old was admitted to emergency surgery for what was assumed to be an infection on her spine, but doctors discovered a cancerous mass.
• Since then, she has made great strides in physical therapy and is working toward walking on her own.

It’s been four years since Dance Moms’Abby Lee Miller took steps unassisted, let alone did a plié. The 56-year-old is still recovering from the affects of Burkitt lymphoma, a rare and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma that doctors discovered during an emergency back surgery in 2018.

This week, the star reflected on the life-changing day on Instagram. “Today, April 13 is the Anniversary of the last time I WALKED,” she captioned the post. “In horrific pain, I made it into a Doctor’s office and then across the street to a hospital for a sedated MRI ... techs had to remove me from the imaging machine after 15 minutes because my arms & legs were flailing about uncontrollably!”

To provide more context, leading up to that point, Miller was experiencing unexplained neck pain. And in 2020, she told Entertainment Tonight that she saw six doctors in 10 days, who she claims ignored her symptoms. By the time she got an MRI, it was nearly too late.

“Over the next 24 hours my blood pressure dropped to 23 over 17, my kidneys started to fail, and I became paralyzed from the neck down,” Miller wrote on Instagram. She was admitted to emergency surgery for what was assumed to be a spinal infection, but doctors discovered and removed a cancerous mass that was “choking” her spine, she explained in a previous post, which is why she still can’t walk on her own today.

Thankfully, Miller is making strides in physical therapy, having “walked into the weekend” using a walker in a recent Instagram video. And most importantly, after enduring additional surgeries and 10 rounds of spinal tap chemotherapy, she is now cancer-free.

“It is only befitting that today I film the final footage on my very own documentary talking about everything that happened to me... coming to you soon,” Miller concluded in her post. “Thank you all for your continued prayers and support🙏🏼.”

Burkitt lymphoma can affect the jaw, bones of the face, bowel, kidneys, ovaries, and in some cases may spread to the central nervous system, per the Lymphoma Research Foundation. The foundation states that because it’s extremely aggressive, diagnosis is frequently a medical emergency “requiring urgent hospitalization and rapid treatment.”

We’re so glad Miller finally received the proper care, and we wish her well as she continues to heal.