Toward the middle of my Junior season, I fractured my hip socket, and tore my labrum, and played the rest of the season and playoffs. I knew I wouldn't be able to make it through another off season of training and full game schedule if I did nothing about it. So my family and I sought out the best hip surgeon we could find. Through our research with elite runners and athletes, we found Dr. Tom Ellis. Unfortunately, the surgery that I required was going to take 6-8 months of recovery time, which meant that I might miss my senior season. Despite it being a two and a half hour drive to get to the office of Dr. Ellis, I knew I was seeing the best, and boy were the long drives worth it. Dr. Ellis and his team communicated with my parents and I about every step of the process. I know he had other patients, but I felt like I was the only one. They were able to work around my schedule as a busy Junior/Senior and we did virtual sessions to accommodate the two and a half hour distance. I did exactly what Dave Kholrieser told me to do and despite some twists and turns in my recovery; I was back on the field by game three. We are in the middle of a playoff run and I have committed to play college football at Denison University. Without Dr. Tom Ellis and Dave's help, I don't know where I'd be today.
My husband and I married in 2016 with a bucket list of traveling and hiking plans. Shortly after our honeymoon, I started to experience pain in my left hip. The pain eventually became so bad that I was not able to walk through the grocery store. After trying physical therapy and a few other doctors, I was finally referred to Dr. Ellis and in July of 2017, he diagnosed me with Hip Dysplasia in both hips, but it was worse in my left. I underwent my left PAO and labrum repair surgery in November 2017. I was finally recovered and feeling ready for physical activity again by the summer of 2018, but I was starting to feel the same pain that I had felt in my left hip, in my right hip. In the spring of 2019, I decided to see Dr. Ellis about my right hip and I scheduled my right hip PAO and labrum repair in June. This recovery was much easier and I was cleared to start running by November of 2019! Finally I was healthy and my husband and I decided to book our first hike, to Patagonia.On March 9, 2020, we started an 8 day, 80 mile, backpacking trip through Torres del Paine. We saw mountains, glaciers, forests covered in moss, drank glacier water, and loved every second of it! Once we finished our hike through Torres del Paine, we were supposed to go to Argentina to hike more, but unfortunately with Covid-19, we were not able to make it into the country and had to cut our trip short. But most importantly, I was able to make it through the whole hike through Torres del Paine with no hip pain! Thank you so much Dr. Ellis and his team for everything you have done for me! My husband and I are already planning our next hike and we wouldn't be able to do any this without you!