I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right place, it really falls between categories. Here seemed best.
My dd2, my youngest child, had a condition called Perthes Syndrome as a small child. Basically the blood supply to her right hip joint died off, and so the ball of her hip died and crumbled away. She was on strict lack of weight bearing for 5 years and her hip ball started to grow back. When she was 10 they said it was ok and she started walking, playing out with her friends again.
She was fine throughout the lower part of secondary school and was discharged from the hip clinic. They said if there were more problems after age 15 to call the Young Adult Hip Clinic. Which we did when she was just turning 16 as she started to limp again. She was seen and the X-rays and CT scan showed that instead of her hip bone growing back as a ball, it had grown as a cylinder and was causing arthritis to develop in her hip. The consultant said that they were t looking at joint preservation (the kind of surgery Andy Murray has had to let him keep playing tennis) but joint replacement.
She's been in real pain for 2 years. She's seen the pain physiotherapists and the chronic pain clinic doctors. She limps, can't go out with her friends (though she really pushes this one!!) and is on regular tramadol for the pain.
Today she saw the hip doctor again. She was 18 2 weeks ago. He'd previously said that as you can currently only have 3 hip replacements in your life that she wouldn't be eligible until she was 30. But today he's agreed to put her on the 2 year waiting list, so by the time she is 20 she should get a new hip to see her through the next 15 years.
I'm delighted.
I just wanted to tell someone, dh is working overnight and I've been crying with relief (she's off out with her really lovely boyfriend). I myself have a chronic pain condition, I'm on amytriptaline, cocodamol and pregablin as my nerves are dead in my legs and cause huge amounts of pain. Finally, someone is going to do something to really help my baby.
Sorry to go on.