“My mother knew something was seriously wrong as I kept falling. My knees gave in and I consistently complained of pain. I was 13 when I had my first full knee dislocation. I was doing hurdles and suddenly I couldn’t make it over the last one as my right knee just gave out. All I remember was that I kept screaming due to agonising pain in my knee joint,” she recalled.
After visiting doctors and specialists, who initially saw nothing wrong with her, she was eventually diagnosed with a rare condition called Pseudo-achondroplasia and Hypermobility Syndrome – which is characterised by chronic pain.
People with this condition have laxity within joints and elasticity of the skin as well. While this is normally a genetic condition, in Samuel’s case it’s not genetic and every week she experiences flare-ups that result in chronic pain and suxluxation (dislocations) on her major joints.
This article was originally published on IOL.co.za
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