It was a grim winter day and I had just left my physiotherapy appointment. The physiotherapist told me I would be lucky if I went back to walking pain-free again and that I should forget doing any of the sports I loved. ​

 

One week before that, my surgeon consultant suggested a hip surgery. My cartilage was degenerating beyond what was "normal" for someone my age and doctors ran out of other ideas. ​

 

I was terrified. I was also angry, because it felt unfair. I felt terribly alone. My flare ups would come and go. At my worst, I could not walk. At my best, I was sort of okayish - making me think I was going insane, and making everyone around me think that "I wasn't so bad after all". ​

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After 3 years of trying to make sense of it, I finally did. Through functional medicine and nutrition I learnt what helped my body, what harmed it, and how to heal raging inflammation which was wrecking not only my hip joints, but also my gut.