Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On the 15th March 2019 we found out our little Harriet had Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). Often detected at an earlier age, where non-surgical treatment can take place, Harriet was diagnosed at 3 years and 4 months, meaning she needed surgery. And 2-3 months in a spica cast (whatever one of those is).

It all hit like a tonne of bricks. 

Unfortunately, there wasnt a great deal of information available from the hospital and we knew no one who had been through this.

Louise found the Steps website though. It had more help and advice than anywhere else. She even called them up to ask for more advice, which of course they provided and they even sent us out information packs to help us prepare for what was to come - from what to take to hospital, what to expect during the stay there and how to cope when you get home.

What came was anything but easy. I will never, to my dying day, forget the anguished look on Harriet's face after her surgery or the cries that accompanied it. Nor her occasional frustration of not being able to move around at first in the spica, or her disappointment of not being to run around with Ollie (our dog) in the garden when we first got home.

I'll certainly never forget the stress of keeping a spica cast clean and dry (but that's more to me being a massive worrier).

We're lucky to have a supportive family, we had help if needed it. 

We're luckier to have a resilient, cheerful and amazing daughter. Who handled everything that was thrown at her with a sunny disposition that I wish we could bottle and sell (we'd make a fortune!).

Harriet underwent her surgery at Sunderland Hospital on 29th April 2019. And was in her spica for 12 weeks, cast in a sitting position and unable to stand or walk for that entire time.

She walked again, unaided 24 hours after the cast was removed, to the amazement of all (we were told 3 weeks until she could stand on her own).

That help and advice from Steps was crucial for us in those early days. It allowed us to prepare for something that we had never heard of before.

To be able to give back to them now, to allow them to help others as they helped us and as well as help them raise awareness of DDH (and other conditions that impact the lower limbs), is super important to us.

And I cant think of a more fitting way to help them than by running the GNR, to show that we don't take walking (or running) for granted.

Please support if you can.

John

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.