Shakira

Shakira in Pre-Op with Meaghan Cooper (Recovery Room Nurse) and Chris Espinel (Translator)

Shakira (age 19) was one of this week's first adult patients, and received a Dupuy S-ROM hip replacement from our adult surgical team yesterday morning.

Shakira came to CAMTA after three years of excruciating pain in her left hip, which was the result of a congenital dislocation that meant her hip had been outside of its normal socket her whole life. Until she was 16, Shakira had walked with a limp but otherwise felt like a normal girl. More recently, as the pain developed, Shakira's activity was severely limited so that she could no longer play sports or even walk for two blocks.

Shakira being assessed in clinic by Dr. Angela Neufeld (Anesthesiologist)

Shakira's X-ray showing Congenital Dysplasia of the Hip

Shakira lives in a house full of women with her mother, Marcia, her sister, and her 18-month-old daughter Amelia. She is especially grateful for this surgery because of how it will allow her to care for her daughter, and is looking forward to being able to walk pain-free, go to school, get a good job and provide her daughter with a better life. Shakira wants to be a nurse after she finishes her education, and hopes that her daughter – who is already very bright – will be a doctor one day. Had she not been able to get surgery from CAMTA, Shakira says that she had very few – if any – other options for surgery and would likely have had to just accept her fate. Learning the story of this beautiful young woman and the role that orthopedic surgery will play in her life is a poignant reminder of how important mobility is in allowing people to achieve their goals.