‘I was overwhelmed with emotion. I was told many times this day wouldn’t come’

For some, hockey is a simply a social sport. For others, it is all about the competition. But for Sophie Stokes, hockey is both of those and much more. It has provided the motivation to keep her battling through the darkest days of illness.  

Now a first-year Bristol University student, Sophie grew up an avid hockey player in Stourport, Worcestershire.

That all came to a grinding halt in early 2020 when an MRI showed torn cartilage around her right hip and an inflamed lower spine. Further investigation, delayed by the onset of Covid-19, confirmed Sophie was suffering from hip dysplasia. 

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