Patient Stories

Laura


I was a baby when I was diagnosed with DDH. I had surgery when I was one so I don’t really remember anything about it. My mom said that without that surgery I would be confined to a wheelchair my entire life and I would not be able to walk. Now I am almost 19 years old. I have to have a hip replacement surgery in the near future and it is very scary for me. When I was younger, the doctors were trying to put screws in my hip so that I would not need the hip replacement surgery. For some reason, the way that I was growing the screws would not help me.

I always remember having to go to the doctor and crying because I hated going to the doctor. But hey, I got pretty good at doing x-rays. I was always so upset because all my friends didn’t have to go to the doctor and get x-rays. It made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Of course, there was.

I distinctly remember crying in the waiting room one time when I was little with my mom. My mom had several miscarriages before she had me, and I still had something wrong with me. I remember crying saying that I wish I were never born (dramatic, I know, but I was young). All because I had to go to the doctor.

I still loathe going to the doctor, but I have to go less frequently now. It does get better. I don’t have any pain in my hip, I just know that it is out of place. My right leg is about 1-2 inches shorter than my left leg. I have a limp, but it doesn’t stop me from dancing!