A little about me

Hi, My name is Mary Lynn. I started this blog in order to help others also going through hip dysplasia. Whether you are 16 or 60, hip dysplasia is a hard thing to go through. There is constant pain and difficulty in daily activities. I hope my experiences can help.

Here's a little background on what I have been going through:

I have been having hip problems since I was 12 years old. When I was 12, I went to the doctor because I couldn't put any weight on my hip without extreme pain. They couldn't find anything wrong with me and sent me on my way with no answers. I had to be on crutches until I found out something to help. Fortunately, a woman I ran into hours after the doctors appointment was a dance instructor. She said her girls would have the same type of pains. She suggested that I go to a chiropractor in order to help. Her advice really helped. After going to the chiropractor, my pain was minimized and I didn't need to use crutches. At the time, I thought I finally found what my problem was and how to fix it.

I kept going back to the chiropractor for a period of 8 years with the same pain in my hip. The chiropractor would help for a short period of time but the pain would always come back. I remember nights where I would wake up from the pain and days where putting any weight on my hip would be excruciating.

This past summer I decided that I wanted to train for a marathon (I know crazy right?!). I have run in the past and was in Cross Country in middle school. I signed up for a marathon training course with my boyfriend in order to complete the marathon in a healthy and supportive way. During the training, I was going to the chiropractor every 2 weeks. Being so used to the pain in my hip, I ran through it. The most I ran during the training was 14 miles! I ran this non-stop which was a really big milestone for me. I went to the chiropractor two days before that run and had no pain the day of the run. The next week was our 16 mile run. On this run my hip started hurting around mile 3 but I kept going until I got to mile 12 (I was stubborn). I decided that I couldn't go any further because of the pain. This time the pain was much different than before.

Since the pain was different, I decided to go to a "real doctor" instead of going to see the chiropractor. The doctor sent me to physical therapy for about a month. When my pain was not getting any better the PT decided I should see the doctor again. I was sent to get an MRI and found that I had a stress fracture and ganglion cyst in my hip. I was put on crutches immediately. This was only the beginning.

After being sent to three different surgeons over a period of 6 months, the third one finally knew what was going on. I have hip dysplasia and need PAO surgery.