Hi! I signed up just so i could reply to you. At first, before signing up,i was doing so to tell you to strongly urge your daughter to stop playing sports, but it took a minute to do the sign up process, and i changed my mind. You see,I am also one of those rare female patients with Leg Perthes, I was'nt diagnosed untill i was 11yrs old, i spent a year and a half in a leg brace.Also during that time i was admitted to U of M childrens hospital to be poked and prodded by what seemed to me, to be every doctor in the country. My prognosis was'nt good as i had already reached puberty before my diagnosis. After all the treatment and all the doctors there was never any improvement in my hip. Upon release (doctors gave up) i was told NEVER to play sports, to NEVER allow myself to be over weight, NEVER choose a career where i worked on my feet or involved heavy lifting, and to NEVER have children, the theory there being the hip would never tolerate the extra weight of pregnancy. Well i am now 46 yrs old,and I did ALL of those things. Im not going to lie,I am in Horrible pain now, i cant sit for long, any activity that involves long periods on my feet or alot of walking is out of the question and a good nights sleep is a thing of the past.There is a total hip replacement not far away for me. So now after giving you this awful news Im sure your asking me "why" well the "why" is because from what i gather hip replacement is in the future for most Perthes patients, so why not?? I chased my dreams, and i lived my life! I have a beautiful daughter and a handsome grandson and NO regrets!!
For me, hip replacement was in the cards before i could even understand what it was. I lived a very full and rich life pain free for many,many years, and now its time. My point being, we never know what our future holds,your daughter could give up everything she loves and still end up needing a new joint, or she could live her life to the fullest while she is pain free and maybe never need a hip replacement. As long as she understands the consequences, let her live!! Even with the pain i endure every minute of every day,i would not change not one single thing about my life! I wish your daughter, you and your family all the best!View Thread
Posted byStubburn(FromPediatrics: Steven Parker, MD)