KUWAIT: Dalal Al-Rashed had suffered from Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) for almost 20 years, but overcame the odds with a successful surgery carried out by competent medical professionals. Relating her story, Rashed said that her journey with DDH began with her birth. She, unknown to everyone around her, suffered from a genetic dislocation of the hip. At a year and six months, her parents noticed something unusual with her, which began a long road of surgery after another until age three.

Though Rashed sought treatment abroad in Germany, from age four onwards, it was decided that physical therapy was mandated for the rest of her life. "I always wondered since childhood why I had to wear shoes different from my peers and why I was not allowed to take part in PE class?" reminisced Rashed.

Rashed developed a rebellious spirit at 16, refusing to wear the special shoes for her condition in an effort to avoid the sympathetic gaze of others.Going against the grain, so to speak, Rashed began to feel unbearable physical pains, which led her to seek surgery as a way out despite the risks of the medical procedure. She indicated that the operation, carried out by a skilled medical team, was a success, enabling her to throw her crutches away and enjoy life to the fullest.

On Rashed's condition, Dr Mansour Sadeqi -- a Specialist Orthopedic Surgeon -- indicated that the operation came to fix the severe case of DDH that the patient suffered from, noting that Al-Rashed would now be able to walk normally without the aid of crutches. He noted that operating was a solution to DDH, saying that it provided the best results and a promise of healing.