Patient Stories

Hayley

My Hip Dysplasia story is unusual because it isn’t even mine. I was training at a boxing club in Warrington, UK in 2014 when one of the trainers introduced me to a young woman called Hayley. Hayley was training for her first amateur boxing bout and mentioned off-hand that she suffered with a condition called Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip. My interest was piqued, so she told me all about her struggle with this condition (that I had never heard of) along with all of the painful procedures she has undergone since her diagnosis at the age of 5, as well as those still to come.

Her story of training despite all of this was particularly moving, and inspired me to learn as much as possible while documenting this, as well as seeking out other people effected by DDH at various stages of the journey. I spend the next few years traveling around the UK, speaking to doctors, surgeons, physiotherapists as well as patients and their families in order to gain a true understanding of the impact DDH had had and will continue to have on tens of thousands of people every year. This research eventually assembled itself into a film called A Mile In Her Shoes, which completed in early 2019. The goal of the film is to spread as much awareness of DDH as possible, particularly to very young sufferers for which the early months of life are so crucial in terms of prognosis.

Throughout all of this, Hayley has not once lost her positive outlook on life or her desire to help others in a similar position. She now has a young son, and continues to train harder than ever! She will very shortly have the full hip replacement her previous procedures have been leading towards, which will hopefully be the last major surgery she has to go through.

To learn more about the film;

amileinhershoesfilm.com
facebook.com/A-Mile-In-Her-Shoes-Film-317581275806345/?modal=admin_todo_tour
twitter.com/DuncanPatrickMc