Editor’s Note: This account was written by Adrienne Towsen, MD, orthopaedic surgeon, mother, and accomplished international ballroom dancer. It is a source of inspiration.
This is dedicated to all single working moms and single parents out there, in General.
Let me show you what’s possible and what can change in 10 years…which, by the way, will go by in the blink of an eye.
In 2016, I was:
- Divorced for 12 years with a 15-year-old daughter and a 13-year-old daughter.
- An orthopaedic surgeon in private practice with great partners for 10 years and building a solid reputation in my community.
- Starting to date someone for the first time since the divorce…it didn’t last.
- Without a passport.
- In love with watching Dancing with the Stars but it never even crossed my mind to take a dance lesson…it was work and my kids, and I was extremely content…but knew once they were off to college and beyond, life would change.
My life in 2026:
- I am divorced and single for 22 years with a 25-year-old and a 23-year-old.
- My 25-year-old lives in Iowa and recently got engaged to her high school sweetheart. The 23-year-old lives in LA and is hobnobbing with celebrity kids while working at Christian Louboutin and a photography gallery.
- Nine months ago, I left the “comfort” of my private practice of 19 years due to it becoming unsustainable due to the entry of private equity.
- After a short period of uncertainty, I decided to open my own clinic and shift gears into performance medicine and health optimization.
- I am writing this from a beach chair in Dubai where I am for the third time to compete in a pro-am ballroom dance competition with my Italian dance teacher whom I only see five times a year. Otherwise, we do lessons via Zoom.
- I have a passport which I got in 2018. It is almost full, thanks to much international travel with my kids and for dance. I have now been in 17 different countries all since age turning age 46.
My point: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
I felt defeated after my divorce which became official during my fellowship. I was unsure as a young surgeon with young kids and feared I could never give my best to both.
I was extremely anxious the first time we traveled out of the country, but it got much easier with each trip.
I never thought I would be able to count music or master the “lock step” in chacha. Now I do 14 different dances at a high level and compete internationally.
I was lost at first when one daughter moved partway across the country and the other moved the rest of the way. But now we hop on planes and see each other as much as possible.
I could not be more scared about starting my own business, but I am doing it anyway.
And you know what, at the end of the day, I raised two amazing humans without another parent (but with the help of mine). There is no greater success story than that.
Keep going…you never know what you are capable of and what the future holds.
Trust me, I could never have imagined any of the things I listed in 2026 when I was still living life in 2016.
