A Chance to Dance After Hip Dysplasia

Chloe Thorne is organizing this fundraiser.

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My name is Chloe Thorne, and I am a 19 year old college student pursuing a career in dance. I am raising funds to help pay for my hip dysplasia surgeries.

I've been dancing all my life, and after several painful years of dancing in my teens at my local studio and in summer intensive programs, I was diagnosed with bi-lateral hip dysplasia during my senior year of high school in 2020. Just as I was being accepted into universities with quality dance programs and beginning my second semester of pre-professional training at Joffrey Ballet School, Dallas, TX, hip pain had become a daily thing. Pain was not only interfering with my ability to dance but also with walking, riding in the car, and my job as a hostess. By May 2021, after finishing my second semester at Joffrey, I could no longer do many things in dance or get through daily activities without hip pain.

A Periacetabular Osteotomy for each hip was my only chance to be able to dance again and avoid eventual arthritis and hip replacement in the future.

I learned that hip dysplasia is congenital, more common in females, and may go undiagnosed until young adulthood. It is often diagnosed in runners and athletes. It occurs when the acetabulum (the socket in the pelvis into which the femoral head fits) is too shallow to support the femoral head (the ball-shaped bone at the top of the femur or thigh bone). The instability creates wearing of the tissues and bones. The corrective surgery is a major one and involves the pelvis being broken into four pieces and shifted. There is a five-day hospital stay and a six-week recovery period before beginning several months of physical therapy.

After consulting multiple doctors, I went to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The extensive surgeries I need are not performed in my state of WV, and we met with Dr. Sankar at CHOP to find out if he thought the surgeries would enable me to pursue my goal of being in dance. He was optimistic about my being able to have good results. CHOP is an amazing place!

My first PAO was done in August 2021, and the second in May 2022. After each surgery, I have used a wheelchair and crutches for a few months and done extensive physical therapy to be able to walk and build up my strength.

While I faced surgeries, I also needed to make plans for college. I decided to attend Brenau University in Gainsville, Georgia as a dance major because of their great support for my hip issues. The school allowed me to postpone starting classes until the spring semester of 2022 to allow time for my first PAO surgery and recovery. Having had the second PAO in May 2022, I will return to Brenau for the fall semester and continue my recovery with physical therapy. In December, I will have a third, less major, surgery at CHOP to remove the eight screws from surgeries. My surgeon says I may register for dance classes for the spring 2023 semester!

As a dancer, living with this diagnosis has been a very challenging time in my life. I've gone through it all for a chance to dance.

High School Dance Reel: