![EXCLUSIVE: Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller doesn’t flinch as a gymnast SOMERSAULTS over her during an outing to an LA beach. The reality TV star, 55, bravely lay back in her wheelchair as the muscular shirtless performer ran towards her then vaulted above her. Miller, who shot to fame as the star of hit show Dance Moms, has been using a wheelchair after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from her spinal cord after reportedly being diagnosed with a form of cancer called Burkitt Lymphoma. Miller’s visit to the beach in Santa Monica, CA, saw her talking to a man and a woman dressed in workout gear before giving him a series of dance lessons. An onlooker said: “Abby was in great form and started giving the guy dance lessons. "She was teaching him to move and how and when to move his feet and it seemed he was struggling to get the hang of it. It was like she was back on the show Dance Moms and was shouting orders at him to ‘move to the side’ or ‘back right’. She appeared to be trying to teach him ballet just like she did to kids on the series. “It looked the guy had some gymnastic training and so afterwards they did a stunt where he ran at her and somersaulted directly above her.” Miller spent eight seasons on Dance Mom and previously taught Joelle Joanie “Jojo” Siwa. In 2017 she was sentenced to 366 days in prison for bankruptcy fraud. 31 Aug 2021 Pictured: Abbey Lee Miller. Photo credit: KAT/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA782922_021.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://preprod.hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Abby-Lee-Miller-Spotted-In-Wheelchair-MEGA-1.jpg?quality=100&w=282)
![EXCLUSIVE: Dance Moms star Abby Lee Miller doesn’t flinch as a gymnast SOMERSAULTS over her during an outing to an LA beach. The reality TV star, 55, bravely lay back in her wheelchair as the muscular shirtless performer ran towards her then vaulted above her. Miller, who shot to fame as the star of hit show Dance Moms, has been using a wheelchair after undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from her spinal cord after reportedly being diagnosed with a form of cancer called Burkitt Lymphoma. Miller’s visit to the beach in Santa Monica, CA, saw her talking to a man and a woman dressed in workout gear before giving him a series of dance lessons. An onlooker said: “Abby was in great form and started giving the guy dance lessons. "She was teaching him to move and how and when to move his feet and it seemed he was struggling to get the hang of it. It was like she was back on the show Dance Moms and was shouting orders at him to ‘move to the side’ or ‘back right’. She appeared to be trying to teach him ballet just like she did to kids on the series. “It looked the guy had some gymnastic training and so afterwards they did a stunt where he ran at her and somersaulted directly above her.” Miller spent eight seasons on Dance Mom and previously taught Joelle Joanie “Jojo” Siwa. In 2017 she was sentenced to 366 days in prison for bankruptcy fraud. 31 Aug 2021 Pictured: Abbey Lee Miller . Photo credit: KAT/MEGA TheMegaAgency.com +1 888 505 6342 (Mega Agency TagID: MEGA782922_032.jpg) [Photo via Mega Agency]](https://preprod.hollywoodlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Abby-Lee-Miller-Spotted-In-Wheelchair-MEGA.jpg?quality=100&w=440)
Abby Lee Miller is cancer-free, but it’s been a long and hard-fought journey for her to get to this point, and she talked all about it during her interview on The Wendy Williams Show on July 10. Abby explained that, before she was finally diagnosed in April 2018, it took SIX different doctors to figure out what was wrong. She spent THREE days in the hospital with no diagnosis before finally sending herself to the emergency room. “I had a severe pain in my neck and upper back,” she explained. “My arms were flailing around. I can’t sit down, can’t go to the ladies room, can’t lay in bed, can’t stand in the shower. I constantly have to me moving. It was starting to blind me.”
At that point, a spinal surgeon gave her an MRI. She was sedated during the procedure, but it didn’t stop her arms and legs from moving around, so the MRI proved in conclusive. “In 24 hours, I was in intensive care, paralyzed from the neck down, in the fetal position,” she said. After that, doctors diagnosed her with a spinal infection, for which she had to have emergency surgery. The procedure left her with a scar down the length of the entire back, and has kept her wheelchair-bound ever since.
In the end, it turned out that she didn’t have a spinal infection at all — she had a rare form of cancer called Burkitt Lymphoma. “[The wheelchair] is [actually] a result of the Lymphoma choking my spinal chord,” Abby revealed. She also added that the cancer was so aggressive, and she was only expected to live for weeks or even days after her diagnosis.
Abby completed ten rounds of chemo, which included “24 hour a day bags, for six days straight,” she explained. Now, she’s continuing to relearn how to walk, and previously said in an interview with PeopleNow that she plans to be on her feet by September. First, though, she has one more surgery planned for July — a knee replacement. “I’ve had two different therapists say there’s no doubt,” she said. After how far she’s already come, we definitely have faith!