Refusing limits: Emmett Blum’s swim to success

Emmett Blum isn’t letting his diagnosis define him. 

Blum, a junior at Council Rock High School North, has hereditary spastic paraplegia, or HSP, a rare progressive neurological condition that causes muscle weakness and stiffness in the legs. It is similar to cerebral palsy and results from the progressive degeneration of the corticospinal tracts, affecting the nervous system’s ability to control leg movements. 

Currently, no treatments can prevent, slow, or reverse HSP. However, treatments are available to help manage symptoms. 

He was diagnosed at age 10, but his mother, Carmen, suspected something was wrong when he was in kindergarten. 

“He was falling behind his peers,” she said. “The doctors blew it off, but when he was nine I took him to an orthopedic surgeon.”

That specialist told them the issue was neurological, but it took another year to get the correct diagnosis. 

“CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) finally gave us the proper diagnosis,” Carmen said. “It took so long because it’s so rare. 

“When I found out that it was neurological, that’s when it hit me but after a year of possible diagnoses and most of them having very poor life outcomes, I was surprisingly okay with this because it has a normal lifespan. It was a bit of a relief compared to the other outcomes we were presented with.”

Emmett was less concerned than his family. 

“I was honestly too young to understand what was happening,” he said. “It’s just something I’ve learned to cope with, although it gets worse as you get older.

“I still keep up with regular people in a lot of things, so it doesn’t really bother me too much. I don’t think about it at all.

“I do realize that it will get worse as I get older, but I’m not thinking about that right now. I figured by the time I need a wheelchair, I’ll be too old to do much of anything, anyway, so I just focus on what I can do now.”

He is 17 now, and his symptoms have gotten worse over time, but it hasn’t stopped him from participating in sports. 

His first sport was soccer.

“I really enjoyed playing soccer, but it got to the point where I physically couldn’t do it anymore,” he said. 

Instead of lamenting the loss of soccer, he moved on to wrestling. 

“I really liked the practices and I liked winning,” he said. “It feels really good when you do it yourself. I like solo sports more than team sports because you get that feeling of accomplishment when you win. Obviously, you take the losses harder, too, but winning is a really great feeling.”

Wrestling is no longer an option for him. 

“I was getting injured too much, so I knew I had to give it up and find something else,” he said. 

He turned to swimming as his next choice. 

“I thought I could beat the (high school state qualifying) times in swimming so I thought I’d try it and I think I’m doing pretty good,” he said. “I can’t get injured doing this, so it seemed like a good idea.”

It certainly was a successful decision for him.

Blum recently completed the high school swim season with a pair of bronze medals at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. He competed in the Class 1 Para events, posting a time of 27.69 in the 50-yard freestyle and 1:02.91 in the 100 freestyle. 

He also was second in both events at the District One competition.

He is the first athlete from Bucks County to compete in PIAA and District One para swimming.

“Doing practice with the high school team was really good because almost everyone was better than me so it gave me a lot of reasons to push myself,” he said. “They’re all really nice, too. They’re faster, but they’re not putting anyone down. They were very encouraging and they made me want to work harder.”  

He started swimming with the Pennsylvania Center for Adaptive Sports (PCAS) and also goes to the YMCA and swims by himself. 

“PCAS is at the West Chester YMCA so it’s a haul and they have swim practice on Sundays,” he said. “That’s the one day of the week where I can rest. 

“I usually don’t practice with them, but I go to their meets, so I get to hang out with everyone then.”

He recently also competed at the Baltimore Para Classic in Baltimore, where he had a personal best time in the 100 freestyle and also competed in the 50 freestyle, and is considering entry at the 2026 U.S. Paralympics National Swimming Championships, June 11-14 in Boise, ID.  

At home, he is the older brother of sisters Minna, 14, and Vera, two, and brother Nolan, 11.

“I like being an older brother,” he said. “Once I got my driver’s license, I started taking them to their sports practices.”

His mother thinks he’s a great older brother. 

“He really is,” she said. “He’s fantastic with his siblings. He’s such a good example of not giving up for them and he loves them no matter what they’re doing. He’s the one they look up to and his optimism and determination trickle down to them.”

He sees himself as a typical teen. 

“I have friends, I do my homework, I have a life,” he said. “I’m planning on going to college. Socially, it’s not a big deal. I’m sure some people look at me differently, but everybody doesn’t like somebody.”

He doesn’t see himself as an example or leader.

“I just do what I want to do,” he said. “That’s the best advice I could give anyone.”