My story begins with a ski accident at the age of 8. I broke my femur and needed internal fixation where metal devices were placed in the center of the femur to hold the bone in place until it heals for a period of 4 years. At 12, the metal plates were removed and my femur was healed. At age 13, I developed an Osteoarthritis, which entirely broke down my cartilage tissue because of the positioning of the screws; The blood flow did not arrive to the cartilage. In turn, that breakdown causes pain, swelling, and deformity to the extent that I was unable to walk properly because of the 7cm height difference between my legs.

I couldn’t undergo the hip replacement surgery until I was 18 because the operation wouldn’t succeed as long as I was still growing in height. And now …