A Long Journey and a Beautiful Full Circle Moment: Missy’s Story

When she was just 4 months old, Missy was diagnosed with developmental hip dysplasia.

Living in a small town in Alaska, her parents were referred to a pediatric orthopedic specialist in Anchorage, hundreds of miles from home. There, she spent a week in traction, a treatment that gently stretched and positioned her hip in an attempt to guide it back into place, before being placed in a body cast for several months.

As time went on, the cast began digging painfully into her tailbone. Concerned about her discomfort, her parents took her to the emergency room, where the cast was removed despite her orthopedic surgeon’s recommendation that it remain in place.

At 18 months old, Missy and her family traveled from Alaska to Fresno, California, where she underwent two open hip surgeries within one week in an effort to correct her hip displacement. After spending six months recovering in Fresno, they returned home to Alaska. Unfortunately, the surgeries did not achieve the desired outcome, and she was left with a two-and-a-half-inch leg length difference.

When she was 4 years old, Missy’s family physician in Alaska, Dale Trombley, M.D., recognized that she needed specialized pediatric orthopedic care and referred her to a Shriners Children’s outreach clinic in Anchorage. There, she met the Shriners medical team and was soon referred to Shriners Children’s Portland for a comprehensive evaluation. After consulting with her parents, the specialists recommended another open hip reduction surgery, a decision that would ultimately change the course of her life.

"Every doctor, nurse, therapist and staff member we encountered at Shriners Children's Portland cared for Missy with such compassion and dedication," Roberta, Missy's mom, said. "They didn’t just take care of her medical needs – they supported both of us during a very difficult and uncertain time in our lives."

That surgery took place during a memorable weekend in June, coinciding with Portland’s annual Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade. That year, the parade’s grand marshals, Disney characters Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, made a special visit to Shriners Children’s Portland.

“Even though I had just come out of surgery, I was determined to get dressed so I could meet them,” Missy recalled. “It was such a magical, joy-filled moment that I’ll never forget. The next day, I was featured on the front page of The Oregonian.”

Over the next several years, Missy returned to Shriners Children’s Portland multiple times each year for follow-up appointments. When she was 10 years old, doctors determined that slowing the growth of her stronger leg would help equalize her leg lengths as she continued to grow. That procedure was performed at Shriners Children’s Northern California and proved to be a critical step in improving her balance and mobility.

“Shriners Children’s didn’t just heal my hips. They gave me mobility, freedom and confidence,” Missy said. “The care I received allowed me to walk, dance and play like any other child.”

Years later, Missy’s orthopedic surgeon, Dennis Brown, M.D., explained that the reconstructive surgeries and years of specialized follow-up care she received at Shriners Children’s preserved her hip anatomy, ultimately making a total hip replacement possible.

At age 20, Dr. Brown performed a successful surgery on Missy, implanting a Zimmer Biomet hip system.

“I’ll never forget those first steps,” Missy said. “After spending four months using a walker, I was finally walking normally for the first time in my life.”

Inspired by her own journey, Missy studied surgical technology and built a career in the operating room, first as a surgical technologist and later as a surgical nurse. For more than 15 years, she cared for patients undergoing surgery before transitioning to the medical device and pharmaceutical industries, where she continued to help improve patient outcomes through innovative technologies and therapies.

She married, raised a family and eventually settled in Clovis, California. Today, she serves as the board president of the Fresno Discovery Center, where she is passionate about expanding educational opportunities, inspiring curiosity in children and giving back to her community.

In a remarkable full-circle moment, 25 years after receiving her hip replacement, Missy shared her story at a Zimmer Biomet event, reflecting on the profound impact Shriners Children’s had on her life and the care that made her future possible.

“Without the care I received at Shriners Children’s, I would not be walking today,” Missy said. “They didn’t just change my childhood. They preserved my future.”