“Everything is temporary! The pain. The emotion. The situation. Whatever it is in life that's getting me down, it's only temporary because everything changes all of the time! Those thoughts got me through my PAO recovery, to be honest, and looking back over my recovery it is what'll get me through next one! Knowing it isn't forever!”
These are Josie's thoughts all the way from the UK! Josie is very wise, but it took her time to have this "ah ha" moment cemented in her mind! In fact, “temporary” does not feel “temporary” while you’re in it! It feels like forever!
Josie’s pain was far from temporary - it was something she felt as she grew up and into her teen years. She was in constant pain. Her legs would give out and other times her “legs would stop [her] in [her] tracks from the sheer agony". She would be unable to continue walking. She finally got some answers in the form of a diagnosis when she was 15. She was told that she has hip dysplasia. For those of you who don’t know what hip dyplasia is, it is complicated. In layman’s terms, the hip socket does not provide enough coverage for the head (ball) of the femur. The socket is too shallow which causes problems with hip stability.
So, the next step on Josie's journey took her from one medical term to another. PAO for short, but the technical term is Periacetabular Osteotomy. It is a tough surgery with a much longer recovery than just your basic hip scope! She did not have the surgery until she was 24 – 9 years from diagnosis. Lots of pain and a ton of challenges that she had to overcome on her way to her first surgery. One of those challenges was accepting the truth of the diagnosis. When she faced the truth, her mind would become an emotional, scared wreck. She got through it though, and she now knows that she did it once and she can do it again with her other hip.
Reflecting back on her first surgery, she is most proud of getting through her surgery and recovery in spite of having to do it alone. She faced her fears and achieved strength and confidence which was also evident in her ability to walk again! She plans on getting back into running when she can and she is optimistic that her story will give hope to others as they see her journey and struggles that she also shares on Instagram. It is her story and one that she hopes people can wrap their head around and see that, even with the challenges, success is always possible!
Follow Josie on Instagram: josies_hip_dysplasia_journey
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