My journey began a year ago, Jan. 2008, with training for the military. My hip has bothered me on and off for the past year, but I thought nothing of it other than "usual" soreness from all the activities I have been involved in, which includes training for the Army, running, horseback riding and almost anything outdoors. I have lived a very active lifestyle and have been involved in sports my entire life. Training injuries and soreness have been common throughout my life and I thought the hip pain was just part of the job.
January 2009 came and so did another sporting event. Our ROTC battalion was headed to the University of Notre Dame to compete in a basketball tournament. The basketball tournament went well and the ladies team I competed on finished in 2nd place for our bracket. As I recovered from the long weekend, I realized that my hip was hurting worse then ever. Nothing was helping, so I decided to make an appointment with my sports doc.
An MRI was scheduled and the results came back with torn labral cartilage, a cyst and moderate bilateral dysplasia. Wow, I was shocked! I felt as if I had hit a brick wall at 90 mph. I was then referred to a hip surgeon, one of few, that treats and preforms osteotomy surgeries... his name is Dr. Kevin Schied at OrthoIndy. As I met with him, many options were discussed and we came to the conclusion to take the next step and have a PAO performed. PAO is short for periacetabular osteotomy. It means that the shallow hip socket is going to be broken, turned and repinned in a position that is better able to support the head of the femur. Cartilage will also be grafted because I tore the cartilage that cushions and lines the hip socket.
Since my diagnosis, I have been unable to run, which is my #1 passion! I have to admit that some days are worse than others, but I know without surgery I will be unable to continue with the activities that I love, as well as continue on in the Army. Pain is a day-to-day struggle, but I am taking the steps that are necessary to get back on top!
I hope through this blog that others are able to find help, ideas or an outlet for their dysplasia. I have found a lot of comfort and information through the stories of others and it is the reason in which I started this blog about my journey!
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