Every day, Rakayah Chadwick wakes up to her daughter Lilly screaming. While this may sound like a normal morning to anyone with a small child, that couldn’t be further than the truth.
That’s because Lilly doesn’t stop screaming. A painful condition means her hips are dislocated constantly – leaving her in agony at all times.
“I’m stressed,” Rakayah, 25, told the Manchester Evening News. “I break down a lot of the time when I look at her. We’re the ones at home listening to her scream every day.”
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Lilly Barry was born with developmental dysplasia of the hip, known as DHH, a condition where the ball and socket hip joint fail to develop normally.
If left untreated, DDH can lead to pain in the hip and the development of osteoarthritis – making it vital to detect the condition early.
Rakayah and her partner, Andrew, claim 15-month-old Lilly was supposed to have an operation to put her hips back in place in December 2022. They say she needs the procedure before she reaches 18 months to avoid joint problems in adulthood.
But they claim the operation has been pushed back on multiple occasions – and with only three months left, Rakayah and Andrew fear they are rapidly running out of time.
“We’ve got until the end of September to have the operation because her bones will change and leave her permanently disabled,” Rakayah, who is from Denton but now lives in Rishton, Lancashire, said.
“She’s at the age now where she’s showing her anger. She wants to be put on the floor but as soon as you put her down, she screams. She’s trying her best to learn how to crawl. It’s horrible.”
While Lilly’s condition can sometimes be treated wearing a fabric splint called a Pavlik harness, sadly this did not work for the tot and surgery is her only option.
The family claim an operation was first arranged for December, only to be moved to January without explanation. They say the consultant dealing with Lilly left the hospital around that time, further delaying the process.
And with the clock ticking, the worried parents are now desperately trying to get answers from bosses at Royal Blackburn Hospital while also trying to see if another hospital can perform the operation.
The family say they have been left frustrated by hospital delays and little communication, since submitting two complaints and contacting their local MP.
As for now, the parents have no idea when to expect Lilly’s operation – or if it’ll even take place.
“Because my daughter is not even top priority on the waiting list, her operation might go over September which we can’t have,” Rakayah said.
“It will leave her completely disabled until she’s an adult and then she will need complete hip replacement surgery.
“I also had hip dysplasia as a baby and my mum knows it's completely normal for babies to be in pain with this condition as I also screamed every day in pain for months on end.
“They are completely fine leaving her disabled, unable to crawl or walk and screaming in pain every day. Every time I tell [the hospital] she’s in pain, they tell me it won’t be anything to do with her hips, yet they don’t live with her every day and watch her scream.”
Dr Jawad Husain, executive medical director for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We appreciate that waiting for surgery is a worrying time, especially when it involves someone so young.
“While we can’t comment on individual cases, we would reassure Lilly Mae’s family that treatment, including options for surgery, for hip dysplasia is available at any point in a person’s life.
“We will continue to work with Lilly Mae’s family to help her receive the care she needs, when she needs it.”
