Patient Stories

Cat

I was born in 1983, and my legs were not frogged as normal babies usually are. They were out straight. The doctors told my mother, Grandmother, Grandfather and Father that my hips were out of socket and that a pillow brace would help that. It helped my left hip pretty good, but with every growth spurt I had the right would come out the femoral head growing straight instead of an angle, and the socket they found out later was deformed badly. They did not officially call it displasia till I was about 2.
I remember being in braces, and having surgery every other summer. Those were the summers I dreaded most because I couldn’t go play with friends or swim in a pool. I tried my hardest to hide my displasia even from doctors and my family. They new better. From 2 months old to about a year old I had several closed reductions, after a year I had open reductions which then over the years turned into ostiotomies. My right leg after that was always an inch or more shorter than my left. My back grew to compensate and I ended up with Scoliosis. My second to last major surgery was called a salvage operation and was done in San Diego California by Dr Richard Santore. He warned that it was not a fix all operation. I was 18 when that was done. At the age of 24 I had a full hip replacement on the right side. While it has helped with my hip movement and prevent it from popping out, I have more pain and issues with my back and the already several damaged nerves on my right thigh. I do believe my pediatric surgeon Dr. Richard Shindel used some of my x-rays at conferences discussing the hip issue.. I Never knew there was a foundation like this one. All these years every one looked at me weird when I told them about my hip issue. “Thats only in big dogs.” No. I can prove it with saved pins and plates, photos, x-rays, and huge 3-ring binder full of medical records about it.