We are always working with families and their Spica Warriors and every week we plan to bring you another DDH story.
Tales of bravery and inspiration.
Kids who push the boundaries.
Parents who deal with issues and events that can take them to the brink.
Here at Spica Warrior we applaud and admire you all and in 2016 want to start really helping to make a difference.
Kirs Amels is from New Jersey, and this is her story:
I’m a mom of a four-year-old girl who has hip dysplasia. She was born with it, and it’s taken nearly four years to correct it- even with early detection and treatment.
I was also born with HD, so I had her checked at birth, and she was put into a special harness the next day. It fixed her left hip in two months.
It’s taken eight surgeries, nearly eleven months in body casts (called spicas) and many more months in other braces and harnesses for the right hip, but hers is an unusual case. We live in the USA, in New Jersey, not far from New York City. My daughter’s surgeon is the head of pediatric orthopedics at NYU. Hip dysplasia, though a simple mechanical problem of the hip socket and femur head not fitting together properly, is nothing to mess around with. It must be caught and treated early on, and by a doctor with experience in pediatric hips.
Because she had the right surgeon and the proper care, my daughter can run and play with her friends at preschool, and at four years old, is a good enough swimmer to have been invited to join the local swim team.
Kris is a contributing author to the third book in the NY Times Bestselling series, “I Still Just Want To Pee Alone”, and has two essays in the upcoming book about Hip Dysplasia and PAO surgery, which you can read about here: http://thepaoproject.com/