4-Year-Old Born With Hip Dysplasia To Take On Mini Run

A four-year-old girl who was born with no ball or socket on her hip and was forced to remain in the same position for three months after an operation to treat it will take on a running challenge to celebrate her recovery.

Little Perrie Royle, from Failsworth in Oldham, was diagnosed with severe hip dysplasia when she was 15 months old.

The condition meant she could not walk properly and would be confined to a wheelchair if she did not undergo a major operation to rebuild her hip.

Perrie had surgery when she was less than two years old just before Christmas where her pelvis had to be broken to make the hip more stable and then pins were inserted.

She spent three months in total at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and was confined to a body cast for that time in both hospital and at home, known as a SPICA.

The SPICA stretched from under her arm down to her legs, meaning that she had to stay in the same position for the whole three months.

Perrie managed to make a recovery and her parents Danielle, 32, and Jamie, 30, decided to ask her if she wanted to take part in the Simplyhealth Junior and Mini Great Manchester Run to help raise awareness about her condition.

Perrie will also be joined by her cousin Isabelle Miller on the 1.5k distance of the Mini run.

Danielle, who works as a cord blood collector, said: “Perrie still has reduced mobility and she has never ran or walked this far before on her own but she has a huge determination to complete the event with her cousin.

“We first began to notice that something was wrong when Perrie started trying to walk as a baby. She would drag her leg along behind her and after we took her for an X-ray, we found out she had full hip dysplasia.

“She had to undergo a six hour operation to rebuild her hip and was given excellent care by the hospital and a new chance at living a normal life after her surgery.

“She goes back annually to the hospital for x-rays and assesements and there is a chance that she could get early arthritis in the future, so running this event is a massive achievement for her.

“I don’t think a lot of people know about the effects of hip dysplasia and how a lot of the equipment, such as special chairs, has to be paid for by the families.

“It made us realise that there will probably be some people who cannot afford that luxury and we wanted to make people more aware about the condition.”

Perrie will take on Manchester’s biggest children’s running event on Saturday 27 May which is part of a packed weekend of sport in the city.

Over 2,000 young runners will take to the Etihad Campus for the Simplyhealth Junior and Mini Great Manchester Run before the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run on Sunday 28 May, which features a 10k and the brand new Half Marathon distance.

Perrie will be raising money for Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a military bereavement charity, as her uncle Dale Miller is in the armed forces.

Dale supported the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity for Perrie when she was in hospital and Danielle says that Perrie wishes to thank him by completing an event on her own.

Danielle added: “Although Perrie’s mobility is still affected, she likes to keep active and being healthy is an important lesson that we want to teach her in life.

“We also think that her journey is an inspirational one that will hopefully give other families dealing with hip dysplasia hope that children can still live a positive life and achieve their goals.”

Entries for the Simplyhealth Junior and Mini Great Manchester Run are now open: Greatrun.org/Manchester