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My Ups & Downs. Walking the South Downs, differently-abled.

So picture this… I come back from a walk only to find that my FitBit has categorised half of it as ‘outdoor cycling’ and half of it as ‘sport’. This happens to me quite often, because where walking is concerned, I’m differently-abled. I was born with severe Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips (DDH for short). In plain English that means that my hip joints didn’t form properly before I was born. I can walk but it’s not something I do with ease or speed and definitely not with grace!

I’m writing this blog to share my own journey with my funny walk – in an open, vulnerable way. Being ‘different’ has been a positive and a negative in my life. It has definitely shaped who I am. My unusual hips are not ‘who’ I am - but they are part of my story. Where I go, they go and so does their impact. And now I’m going to walk 100 miles of the South Downs Way – to see how far I can take my different walk – and my blog. I hope you enjoy reading about it. You can also follow this blog on Facebook @WalkingJill

These hips weren’t made for walking

By Jill Pringle November 25, 2018December 17, 2018 In Personal, South Downs Way, surgery, Walking 1 AdultDDH, Buriton 0

JillPringle Hips Xray DDH hip displaysia

Yet here I am having just completed two more days and 12.5 miles walking my hips along the South Downs Way. I’m very grateful that I have the mobility, time and support to do so.

Left hip, right path. Getting me walking with hip displaysia.

By Jill Pringle August 17, 2018 In Personal, surgery, Walking 1 DDH, hip displaysia 0

Right path south downs way signpost alfriston

Recently I found myself overnight in Alfriston which, as it happens, is directly on the South Downs Way. I had a spare hour or so and decided to walk along the path that I will return to at some point on my 100-mile walk.