Susan Low, 48, had always attributed her aches and pains to age. So when she started feeling pain in her hips, she tolerated the discomfort. "The throbbing pain comes on and off in my hipbone. When it's not painful, I can do most of the things I enjoy. When it's really bad, I can't walk, I can't get out of my chair. I can barely stand up straight. My body would be bent into an ‘S'."

In 2006, Susan went to see a doctor in a government hospital about an unrelated problem.