Teenager faces fears after overcoming rare condition

A teenager who was left in agony by a rare and debilitating knee condition is now pain free and has abseiled down St Thomas’ Hospital following successful surgery.

Lacey Ward, 18, was unable to walk for more than a few minutes without pain, couldn’t take part in P.E. at school and had to give up hobbies like dance and drama.

Now she has braved the 160 foot drop from the roof of St Thomas’ Hospital to raise money for Evelina London Children’s Charity, and thank the “amazing” staff who got her back to doing the things she loves.

Lacey, from Dover in Kent, first noticed pain in her knees when she was aged 5 and at primary school. But it took countless medical appointments and 9 years before she was diagnosed with miserable malalignment syndrome at her local hospital.

Miserable malalignment syndrome is a rare condition where the thigh bone (femur) is rotated inwards, but the shin bone (tibia) rotates outwards, and the kneecap does not move smoothly in its groove. This leads to knee pain and instability in the knee cap.

Lacey, who is a student, said: “It affected my everyday life. I couldn’t walk very far. I couldn’t do much sport and if I did, I would end up in A&E afterwards. I had pain every single day and night.

“When I got the diagnosis, I remember feeling really sad and breaking down in tears because I didn’t know what was ahead of me.”

Lacey was referred to Evelina London Children’s Hospital and placed under the care of consultant orthopaedic surgeon Arash Afsharpad. Following a number of specialist tests the decision was taken to operate and perform an “osteotomy”. This is a surgical procedure to realign the bones of the knee to reduce the pain and increase stability in the joint.

It involves cutting the shin bone or the thigh bone and in very severe cases, both bones. The alignment of the bone is carefully adjusted by either removing a wedge of bone or cutting the bone to create a gap until the desired alignment is reached. The new position is then secured with metal screws and a plate, which will hold the bones until they heal.

Lacey had surgery on her left leg in August 2024, when she was 16, and her right leg in March 2025. She had her final operation to remove the metalwork from both legs in March 2026.

Her 10-year-old brother, Corby, has also been diagnosed with miserable malalignment and is under the same team at Evelina London.

Lacey has now fully recovered and said: “I can walk for a good hour without any pain. I’ve gone back to doing theatre and have danced in a couple of productions. I can run normally again!

“The care from Evelina is amazing. They got me through my diagnosis when I thought nobody was able to help me. The staff are amazing and make sure you’re always ok. If you’re worried about something they won’t just leave you but help and calm you down.”

“And now they are helping my brother as well as he’s got the same condition. I want to give back what they have given to me.”

Lacey has also received support from the chronic pain and psychology teams at Evelina London. Her mum Kat said: “When we got her diagnosis we felt relieved because finally someone was going to do something. For years we were told it was growing pains and so it was important that Lacey was believed. People at school used to tell her she was faking it to get out of P.E.

“When we saw Mr Afsharpad, he said straight away ‘I recognise this problem. I can help you if you want me to.’ He’s been absolutely amazing.

“I felt like everybody in the hospital cared, regardless of their role, they seemed to genuinely care.”

Donations to Evelina London Children’s Charity help fund pioneering research, therapeutic play, family support and enhancements to the hospital environment that go beyond core NHS funding.

Rob Halkyard, Executive Director of Evelina London Children’s Charity, said: “Abseiling the height of ten double decker buses is an achievement for anyone – but it’s especially impressive given how difficult physical activity was for Lacey before. Taking on this challenge shows how far she’s come since her diagnosis, and the extraordinary things patients will do to thank the exceptional Evelina staff for their care.

“Well done to Lacey and to everyone raising money for the Evelina London Children’s Charity at this year’s abseil.”

After completing the abseil, Lacey said: “When I reached the top preparing for my abseil I felt very nervous. I was also very close to backing out and not wanting to do it, however, I’m really glad I did and pushed myself to face my fear.

“During the abseil it was so much fun. I still felt nervous but I managed to relax a bit and get more confident with the rope on my way down. The views were absolutely amazing, I really enjoyed it and would definitely do this again next year!

“Afterwards I felt very proud of myself as I pushed through my fear and completed it. It was very high and I didn’t think I could do it but I’m so glad I did.”

To support Lacey, visit her fundraising page.