Both our daughters, Lucy and Alice, were born with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH).  Basically this means that the hips had not developed properly and were dislocating.  If left untreated would have meant they were permanently disfigured and unable to walk properly.

With Lucy, our eldest, this was devastating.  We hadn't even heard of this, let alone known how to deal with it.

When Lucy was 2 days old we were informed that she was to be fitted with a Pavlic Harness.  This was to worn at all times, for about 3 months.  The harness would hold the hips in place to allow them to develop properly.

You can imagine how shocking this was for us.  Alot of the things that we had hoped to take for granted were gone.  We couldn't bath Lucy, "skin to skin" contact, that is so strongly encouraged, was gone.  Even feeding her was abit of a juggling act; I was always frightened that I was squashing her hips.

With Alice, because her condition was worse, she had her harness on for 4 months.

Needless to say this was a pretty traumatic time and I especially felt isolated. 

It would have been so helpful if I'd known about Steps Charity.  Steps is a non -government funded charity, which offers help and support for all those affected with lower limb conditions.  I wanted to raise some money for them so that perhaps there will be other parents whose child is diagnosed with this doesn't feel quiet so isolated and lost.

For both Lucy and Alice the Pavlic harness worked and they are now 5 and almost 3 years old and spend most of their time dancing and running.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. And feel free to come along and cheer me on on the 2nd May 2010.  

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.