Eva

👋 We’re excited to introduce you to another one of our Move-A-Thon participants — Evangeline.

Eva and her family are passionate about raising awareness of Hip Dysplasia and other hip disorders because of their first hand experience with the difficulties that come with a late diagnosis. This is why Eva and her Mom did not think twice about signing up for the Move-a-thon!

👧 Eva was diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia at 6.5 years old. Her right femur was completely dislocated and she hardly had a natural hip socket. After her late diagnosis she has undergone multiple surgeries and will require a full hip replacement as an adult. Eva is active, fun, and resilient, despite living with the burden of Hip Dysplasia.

She can walk for about 15 minutes before the pain kicks in starting at her hips and extending all the way down to her toes. She also gets pain in her ribs and her lower back as her body compensates for her right hip. She has learned to cope and make adjustments, even if that means having to walk faster and then sitting down to rest, or talking to distract herself from the pain.

💬 “Never in a million years could I have imagined the road that our family would be led down, the tears, the planning, the pain, the sleepless nights, the worry about what the future holds and what her future looks like. The strength and courage and bravery that she has shown, the resiliency she has to move forward everyday.

To think this could have been treated in infancy with a brace and she probably would be fine now with normal hips, breaks my heart. To know that no doctor checked her hips when she was a baby simply because ‘there were no risk factors’ frustrates me.”