The story of Vanessa
My name is Vanessa Sickles And I was born with legg calve perthese disease. I always had leg pain for as long as I can remember. It was found that I had LCPD around 1992 at 10 years old. I went to doctors and went through wearing the petrie casts which did little to improve my hip. I had to learn to walk again after I wore the casts for months and then was given a brace. I went through many years struggling to manage my pain til I resorted to street drugs. Which carried ne down a bad path for many years. Now at 42, clean from drugs for 6yrs. The disease has popped its ugly head again. Now I have mobility issues, chronic pain, osteoarthritis in my left hip, I hurt everyday if I move… I hurt. I feel young on the inside but the outside not so much. I struggle with depression, ptsd, and anxiety ,which, I believe were due to the ongoing pain and traumatic events I’ve went through. I need a hip replacement. For me to get one I need to lose weight and I emotionally find comfort in food. I’m struggling. I used to love to ride bikes but now I struggle with my left leg getting onto a bike. I just want others to know that are experiencing this that: I SEE YOU. All these years I felt alone with this. Now that we have social media, I am finding a handful of others like me who understand. It helps alot to be heard.