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[krin0610]

Sounds like a good place to be in and credit to you also for your pre-surgery preparation, this always helps.

Keep it up!!!


Tx

[ChrisIsaak]

I'm glad they're treating you well Chris, that place sounds like a grade A hospital.  I could go for some of that gourmet food you're having.

Do you think the correlation between your right leg's flexibility and mass and increased pain is significant?  I'm always curious how important pre-OP muscle training is.

The nurses are hot too     Close to my age, yet quite experienced.. I was surprised that they were so young. Everyone is so nice in the hospital, from the nurses to the doctors to the "uncle" who brings in tea everyday. (In Turkey we call middle aged/old men "uncle" and young men "brother/bro", it's a very common thing.. lol).

My guess would be that the correlation between pre-op training (flexibility and muscle mass) and pain is low. When I asked Dr. Inan why my right leg hurt while my left leg didn't, he gave an honest answer and said that it's a common thing that happens, that every bilateral patient has a "better leg". They started operating on my right leg first, so when they started working on my left leg, they already knew the medical obstacles they would face there.

The current pain level is around 4/10. Very manageable, very tolerable. But as Rtaller states on his diary on the other website, the pain (or let's say "nuisance") is constantly there. So you need to keep your mind off it and focus on other things, in other words distract yourself from the nagging feeling.

Dr. Guichet places great importance on pre-op muscle training. From what I've seen, Dr. Paley doesn't regard it as necessary as Guichet. Maybe if Leechlet asked whether this was a consequence of a required preparation for different nails (a ratcheting nail vs. a magnetic nail), it could be a very good question.

From what I recall, Dr. Guichet didn't want to do an IT band/Fascia lata release, whereas for Dr. Paley and Dr. Inan, this is a routine practice and is done when necessary during the surgery.

Sounds like a good place to be in and credit to you also for your pre-surgery preparation, this always helps.

Keep it up!!!


Tx

Thanks, and cheers!

Chris


P.S: Olivetree, sorry that I couldn't reply to you on our discussion about Breaking Bad. It was the night before the surgery and I was a bit nervous. Best wishes.

[ChrisIsaak]

Good news: Second-day Post-Op, the catheter is out. I felt very nervous when it was going to be taken out, but it only took a second. It hurt a lot more when they took out the "drainages" (is this the right word?), a.k.a tubes that were connected to my knees which collected excess blood to prevent my knees from getting swollen.

I'm using a white plastic pitcher called "the duck" when I need to pee. It's not very difficult. All I have to do is STOP thinking about everything else, and dream about the Niagara Falls, and the sound of water.. And then peeing becomes easy. It's all in the mind.

[ChrisIsaak]

DAY 3

- Instead of having a typical sleep regimen of, say, 8 hours within a fixed frame of time, I drift off to sleep and then come back in the weirdest hours. I sleep for half an hour maybe during the day, then I wake up. An interesting fact, however, is that I never feel tired at all. I'm almost always energetic and it feels good.

- My biggest problem at the moment is the pain in my right leg, and the way I keep coughing. I literally cough all the time. It begun a month before surgery and it still isn't over yet - it's a dry, repetitive, useless cough, and it keeps coming back. Initially it didn't bother me at all, it even echoed a certain charisma as I felt like a wounded Russian soldier in the Battle of Stalingrad, we're back in the 1940's in the Eastern Front of World War II, I have the urge to tell the nurses to hurry up with the treatmet so I can join my comrades back in the war. So мужественный and великолепный. No drama whatsoever. You know the characters always keep coughing in classical Russian novels. The Eastern Front is HARDCORE. Where's my flask of hot каша?

- Ahm.. Anyway. I feel a bit of a pain in my spleen, have no idea why but when I cough it feels like my spleen will explode. I contemplated why I have this pain, asked some people around, they said "Maybe you have some gas?", but it doesn't sound cool enough, so I'm dismissing that probability.

- The assistant doctor visited this morning with a team of six or seven. He introduced me to the lengthening device, whom I now call Huseyin ("Hussein").

Meet Hussein, fellas. Wittenstein sent him all the way from Germany and he'll be lengthening my bones. Sweeet. A former engineer in Germany, he suffered from frictional unemployment and turned himself into an electronic device.


Now my man here has two buttons. "DOCTOR" is a testing button as far as I've understood, and "PATIENT" gives you the real deal - it lengthens the bone by sending signals through a transmitter.

The white part is placed on the skin...


...where the good doctor has marked during surgery.


What'd you think it was, a tattoo of the Anarchy symbol I got when I was drunk?
WE ARE THE 99 PERCENT.
(And the bottom fifth percentile when it comes to height).

- So, how does Hussein exactly work? When you press the "PATIENT" button, the small screen starts counting.. 1..2..3..4..and so on. You have to wait until it comes to 9, and then remove it. Each number is the activation of a mechanical step within the system of the nail. Lengthening is done 3 times daily on each leg. So you'll have to count to 9 for six times daily. Have to be somewhat qualified in math.

- You place a stethoscope next to the transmitter/receptor so you can hear a click, or some other sound, maybe a quack or a moo, who knows for God's sake I haven't used it yet. But it's useful in telling you the device has done the lengthening successfully.

- Let's now talk about toilet issues. *YOU MAY LEAVE NOW THINGS WILL GET DIRTY*. Um.. Actually, they won't.. I managed to take a dump on my 3rd day post-op. Two nurses lifted me to the wheelchair and I went to the bathroom. The wheelchair is a real display of genius in design. It's higher than the toilet and has a huge bottom in the middle of the seat, so you just need someone to roll it above the toilet, and you can guess the rest...


This funny thing here is called "the duck". It doesn't really look like a duck, but when it turns yellow, it actually does. Can you guess what it's used for?


Bandages & Daily Exercise, bending the knees


And the world is waiting outside...


ChrisIsaak

[KiloKAHN]

Excellent update ChrisIsaak. I hope I can get a wheelchair like yours after surgery after my visa is approved. Going #2 is one of the things I'm not looking forward to after surgery. The Fitbone looks neat too. It's almost like you're part machine with it in you. 

[BilateralDamage]

A hole in the wheelchair, who'da thunk it!!  Thanks for the update Chris.

[ChrisIsaak]

DAY 4
 
Good News and Bad News: Today you'll hear about the dark side of LL. Good for you, bad for me   

- The epidural tube was taken out this morning. Initially I was quite glad by finally getting rid of the uncomfortable feeling on my back, especially when I tried to sleep. Imagine trying to sleep with a pencil taped to your back. The bandages covering the epidural had started to come off after three days of sweat. When the nurse took the tube off, I was relieved. Now being able to move a lot freely in the bed, I cleaned myself with wet towels. Since I can't take showers at the moment, this should keep me clean for a while. I also keep changing t-shirts everyday. Make sure to have large t-shirts with you before LL. If you wear medium size, get large, or XL t-shirts. You must be able to wear them easily with all the tubes connected to your hands, back, chest, etc.

- However, after my newfound freedom in terms of mobility, I had to give up the positive aspects of the epidural, which is painkilling. My right leg constantly had a 5/10 pain today, and during a brief "trial training" session with my experienced physiotherapist, I had cramps twice (Pain 9/10). I howled from pain and kept cursing. I'm keeping my right leg covered up with many plastic bags filled with ice, it really offers an anti inflammory, analgesic relief. We have used three painkillers so far, Parol, Oksamen, and Contramal. Contramal (Tramadol) is the strongest among the three, it puts me to sleep within half an hour and makes me see weird dreams. It's not Percocet or Vicodin strong though. I believe Americans are luckier when it comes to acquiring drugs that have more strength. Europe has just too many regulations.

- If I could substitute my right leg with another good-ole-painless-left-leg, I'd be able to sleep sideways, or face  down. This is for certain. I managed to stay on my face down for a while, but the stinging pain on my right leg made me uncomfortable so I switched to lying down on my back again.

- A detail I forgot to write about is that all rooms appear to be single in this hospital. The hospital bed is amazing, you can adjust the height of the part of the bed holding your upper body, you can also seperately adjust the height of your lower body (legs), and lower or raise the bed in general (which makes it easier for wheelchair transfers). So there are 3 seperate controls on the bed.

- I'm watching Hollywood superhero movies for motivation (Yesterday's film was Captain America, today I watched Thor, chosen based on my particular fondness of Scandinavian mythology). I kept laughing at how superheroes are always portrayed by tall guys (I'm not jealous, haha) and how Captain America had this "We need a small guy at heart, but we need to make yer tall and buffed for the upcoming scenes son" attitude. Because short men can't face Nazi zombies 

- I'd appreciate it if LL vets could give an insight about how (or when) this terrrrible pain on my right leg will pass. How was your post-op pain, and did it get any better, or did it actually get worse once you started lengthening? I might have forgotten to write this down before, but the doctor had told me that they had to release the Fascia Lata/IT Band on my right leg during surgery to ensure flexibility, but they didn't do it for my left leg since it was already sufficiently flexible. It feels like a muscle-straining pain rather than a broken-bone pain, anyway.

[ChrisIsaak]

Excellent update ChrisIsaak. I hope I can get a wheelchair like yours after surgery after my visa is approved. Going #2 is one of the things I'm not looking forward to after surgery. The Fitbone looks neat too. It's almost like you're part machine with it in you. 

Hey Kilokahn,

I'll be getting two wheelchairs. One with a hole in the middle (same as in the pic) for going to the bathroom, and another, regular wheelchair.. since I can't meet friends on a chair with a hole in the middle at the hotel's lobby/bar, hahaha..

The Fitbone is neat. I have a "positive perception" against things made in Germany and in the US. Especially cars and tech stuff. I hope lengthening won't hurt much. 

A hole in the wheelchair, who'da thunk it!!  Thanks for the update Chris.

No probs 

[Taller]

I think 5'8 for a guy is a decent height, but mostly if you live somewhere women are shorter than here.

Jenslarsen, what would you consider to be "tall" and "average" where you live?

ChrisIsaak, congrats on your achievement and hard work up until this point! And thanks for introducing a new doctor and lengthening nail to the forum. Would you say that your hospital could be a viable option for a foreigner? Has Turkey been significantly affected by the instability in neighboring countries? I will be traveling to Turkey this summer for non-LL related reasons, but may consider consulting with your doctor if I have sufficient time.

[ChrisIsaak]

DAY 7 - END OF WEEK 1 (UPDATES)

- Finally moved into the hotel. I was afraid that the bed would be uncomfortable after the hospital bed which was adjustable for height, incline, and position - boy was I wrong. So please allow me to make a broad generalization. Hotel beds are always comfortable. Something is always comfortable when you pay for it.

- Pain in the right leg is gone. GONE. Sometimes, when I make a wrong move, it comes back, the tingling, mischievous cramp/pain dares to show its face as if playing pick-a-boo, but I control it. I haven't screamed or cursed in the past 2 days. I had to bite the pillow once not to make a sound out of the cramp pain, but the constant nagging pain is gone, which made a HUGE difference - - I can sleep sideways now. And on my face down. It's such an amazing convenience I missed, thank God. LL teaches you to take little things for granted, that's for sure!

- I must say that femur lengthening with an internal device is like driving a Bentley, or Rolls Royce. All you have to do is have some patience. People might feel prejudiced since the device isn't weightbearing, but what does weightbearing mean anyway? Maybe a bit more comfort in making wheelchair transfers, walking with a walker (albeit very slowly), and a good precaution to avoid muscle atrophy. First of all, even if a device is weightbearing, I'd like to argue that you still need someone to help you and always be there for you during LL. This is not an emotional need really, although it has that benefit as well - it's a straightforward physical need for help. Secondly, the first PRECICE wasn't really weightbearing (It wasn't, right? I recall some debate about that.) but with vigorous PT, muscle atrophy can be avoided and the nerves/soft tissue will adapt to the newly lengthened bone. Just my two cents - I have absolutely no concerns regarding this matter.

- Being patient for 3 months isn't an issue, and never will be an issue to a 5'5 (165 cm) guy like me who spent so many years (more than five) waiting to do this. It's like wanting to be an astronaut, wanting to go to space for years, dreaming about it - then suddenly waking up and finding yourself in a spaceship. The painkillers at the hospital made me see the weirdest/funniest dreams of all time. One of the painkillers is called "Contramal Retard" (will be sharing its pic tomorrow) and it turned me into a retard for sure. In a particularly memorable nightmare, I found myself in a stable instead of my hospital room, lying down on haystacks rather than the hospital bed.. I looked around for the nurses, but a truck driver with a mustache was taking care of me.. He sorta looked like Mario actually. I asked for painkillers, but he said *with a Jeff Bridges tone on "True Grit"* "Sorry but I can't healp 'ya son, wanna get yer engine filled?"

- At the moment, I feel like a Hollywood star who just checked into a hotel rather than a LL patient. I had prepared for war, and found myself lost in gluttony. Now if you excuse me I'll shut my trap, since I'm afraid Bigfaker will make a voodoo doll of me and insert a little needle to my right leg when appropriate.

- Hotel photos and X-rays will be uploaded tomorrow (please forgive my lazy ass for not uploading them now, but it's already 2 AM here). If I can manage to do it, I intend to shoot a video of me lengthening with the Fitbone sometime - I hope I can capture the sweet mechanical rotation sound of the nail. Currently, I don't feel anything in my legs while doing the lengthening.  It takes less than 2 minutes. I lengthen three times every day - 8 AM, 4 PM and midnight. 8-hour intervals.

[ChrisIsaak]

P.S: Dear moderators, why are the photos I upload are always small? Initially I adjusted them for "Forum and message boards" on the image upload site (I used postimage.org), then I readjusted the size for "15-inch monitors", but it made no difference.

How are things for people who log in from their computers? Can you access the larger originals of the photos I share?

I'm terrible with technology   

[jerry]

@ChrisIsaak,  a few of them don't pop up into the larger version.

[ChrisIsaak]

ChrisIsaak, congrats on your achievement and hard work up until this point! And thanks for introducing a new doctor and lengthening nail to the forum. Would you say that your hospital could be a viable option for a foreigner? Has Turkey been significantly affected by the instability in neighboring countries? I will be traveling to Turkey this summer for non-LL related reasons, but may consider consulting with your doctor if I have sufficient time.

Great questions, Tall!

My hospital (Istanbul Cerrahi) has many international patients. Most of the ones I've seen here are from Middle-Eastern countries, from Azerbaijan, and so forth. Many Europeans also travel to Turkey to get more basic cosmetic/correctional surgeries (lasik laser eye surgery, for instance). Having relatives received care in European countries and the United States, and having received medical care in the US myself as well, I would categorize these as such.. (My opinions are subjective and by all means please feel free to disagree)

United States (Best in the world, latest medical technology, but terribly expensive)
Europe (I still don't know much about Europe's medical system, however..)
Turkey (My argument is that Turkey is both CHEAPER and BETTER than Europe in medical services)
*Nevertheless, this is a broad generalization.
Other Countries (India and China seem to be cheaper, but I wouldn't prefer to do LL there.. My opinion of India is that they have very good doctors, but the nurses' training isn't on par with them.)

The only problem you would have in Turkey is the language barrier (as in any other country). Which, in that case, I would probably be around to help you out.

I don't find Dr. Inan's internal femur price very competitive (around €50,000-55,000) since it's close to its European counterparts (Guichet, Betz), but for people who know you get what you pay for, perhaps it could be an insight. Especially to some inexperienced friends in here who made heated arguments like "Why didn't you go to Paley or Guichet?!? You idiot?!?" LOL. The answer is simple - because I'm getting the same quality of service here. The same level of safety. Similar facilities. Everything is on par, if not better. I apologize if I sound arrogant, but it's the truth.

I don't understand, for instance, why people think about getting the Salamehfix (which they'll have to keep for months on their legs) for LL rather than get LON on tibias done here for €25,000. Same price. Takes way less time to heal. Similar price to China, way better hygiene. Simple math.

In the world of politics, Turkey is a  hole. It's governed by 5-year olds. The country's dynamics are very different than Europe or the US, we are so used to political turmoil that we don't even care about it anymore. We often joke about people committing suicide in Scandinavian countries because it's too boring. Every week (Sorry, did I say week? I meant day.) we have a new political scandal, a new debate, be it the war in Syria, abortion, or the recent corruption scandal (including gold smuggling to Iran as a means to break the embargo and government officials accepting bribes) that hurt the stock exchange severely in a matter of hours. We Turks say "It's SUCH an entertaining country actually, if only we weren't its citizens!" (Although I'm a US dual citizen - ha!)

The medical world is different. When you're safe in your hospital room with the best trained doctors, nurses, and staff, you don't care about Prime Minister Erdogan babbling something which will surely lower the stock market again. When the room service brings you a $10 pizza worth $50 by taste (following the recent devaluation of the Turkish Lira against the US Dollar) you know that everything will be fine. The TV has international channels. You open up CNN and sit on your back. It suddenly stops being "LL war" and becomes "3 month holiday in lalaland".

Please let me know if you travel here. I'll be traveling to the West Coast (San Fransico, San Diego & Los Angeles) during the summer, probably also to Johannesburg, South Africa, but who knows, perhaps I might be here. I'd love to show you some hospitality! 

[ChrisIsaak]

@ChrisIsaak,  a few of them don't pop up into the larger version.

Jerry - thanks,

I'll try to reply to your PM as soon as possible.

Cheers,
Chris

[OldieButGoldie]

I don't understand, for instance, why people think about getting the Salamehfix (which they'll have to keep for months on their legs) for LL rather than get LON on tibias done here for €25,000. Same price. Takes way less time to heal. Similar price to China, way better hygiene. Simple math.

I think one huge advantage of the Salamehfix is that no nail is inserted compared to LON.
Am I mistaken? Please correct me if I am wrong, I'm not an expert in tibias...
But if it is correct what I have stated I would prefer the Salamehfix because I would be afraid of permanent knee damage by doing LON...
Tibia experts, please correct me!!

[Claude]

You sir as correct, it has no nail inserted and thats why you have to carry the device for around a year most of the time.

[Claude]

are and not "as"...
So another consequence of that may be that the scars are less visible but im still waiting of pictures of those scars.
GoodFootBaller told us he will post pictures of his legs when he comes back.

[Sweden]

Weird. You have to carry the frames a year or so but Diso is removing her frames in 2 months or so. You can walk with the Salamehfix, but NOT with the monorails so her callus is poor.
There is an accident waiting to happen.

Anyway, that's her problem.

With a nail inside your bone you will have aches in your knees every morning.

[ChrisIsaak]

Today I found out that two of my favorite celebs, Usher Raymond and Joaquin Phoenix, are also 5'8 (173 cm). After LL, I will have absolutely no excuses to regard my new height as insufficient. I'll workout like mad at the gym and build the body that I've always wanted. I can already feel the motivation. The "Who cares, I'm 5'5 anyway, no one will care about my physique and muscles" loser attitude is already gone. This has been the best part of LL so far. I'm not even standing on my feet yet, but I already know it's the best decision I've ever made in my life.

[Claude]

Thats good man, but i think no one really cared that you were 5'5 it was just in your mind since most people only care about themselves.

People had a great life at 5 feet or even under, it just depends on your mind.

Yo Sweden, the maaan  , of course the fact that its weight bearing is also important -)
I think Salameh has the best cost/quality-method ratio
You find weird that he didn't post his scars pics yet ?

Diso will always find a solution no matter what happens.

[Sweden]

Women definitely cared before.

[Claude]

Not all women, but do you want to F... all of them ah ah ?   

[KiloKAHN]

P.S: Dear moderators, why are the photos I upload are always small? Initially I adjusted them for "Forum and message boards" on the image upload site (I used postimage.org), then I readjusted the size for "15-inch monitors", but it made no difference.

How are things for people who log in from their computers? Can you access the larger originals of the photos I share?

I'm terrible with technology   

Most of the photos lead to their larger images when you click them, though the last two images you posted wouldn't lead to their larger image when I clicked on them. For images that I want large on the forum without having to click to lead to a larger image, I find that imageshack is good for that purpose.

[ChrisIsaak]

UPDATE

For the past two days I've been feeling very worn out & tired. I sleep all day & all night, and only wake up for the daily PT, food, bathroom needs, medication (antibiotics) and the daily lengthening (3 times). I will upload the photos when I feel a bit better. My apologies if I have delayed responding to private messages.

Cheers,
Chris

[ChrisIsaak]

Someone has asked me about pain. Here's my answer:

I wouldn't call this feeling "pain". Ever had a toothache? Imagine having the same feeling in your leg. It's not painful at all, it gets annoying though, because it's almost constantly there. PT helps a lot. I do PT every day for an hour with a therapist who has worked with Dr.Paley in Baltimore a couple years ago, so he's a specialist for limb lengthening cases.

[BilateralDamage]

What have you been doing to pass the time Chris?  Made friends with any fellow LLers there?

[ChrisIsaak]

What have you been doing to pass the time Chris?  Made friends with any fellow LLers there?

Hey BD!

- I'm just chillin' at the hotel. Most of the time a family member is with me so I don't have a lot of time to login and post my inner reflections. I had a bit of an argument recently with my parents though. "You know, you really should leave me alone for a couple hours everyday" I said. I feel more comfortable when I'm by myself.. ( for a few hours.. then it gets cold and boring  )

- I took a shower by myself for the first time. It felt great. What a relief, after so many days..

- I've gained 254 exp. in bed-to-wheelchair & wheelchair-to-toilet transfers and can absolutely take care of myself at the moment without any help. The knowledge of this (not being dependent even though I'm not weightbearing) has been the greatest relief of all.

- I read the news every day, follow some stocks I've invested in, I watch TV to keep myself busy. I'll pick up Game of Thrones from where I've left it (Season 2) sometime soon, I guess.. I'm watching Sherlock (the contemporary one with Benedict Cumberbatch) whenever I catch it on TV. I Skype with some friends who are currently abroad. And days seem to go by 

P.S: Haven't met fellow LL'ers since there is no place here like a patient guesthouse. Each patient is isolated and finds their own place to stay. The locals go home and others stay at a hotel or rent an apartment. I've seen other patients at the hotel but they're not LL'ers. I've heard there's a prospective LL'er who wants to meet a current patient, but we'll see..

[ChrisIsaak]

DAY 14 - END OF WEEK 2 (UPDATES)

- For those who perhaps thought I sugarcoated things about LL, or wrote a flowery account of what I'm going through, I'd like to state that everything isn't as easy as I make it seem. There is pain from time to time. Usually I go to sleep around 1 AM, and almost always wake up around 3:40 AM. The rest of the night is painful, unless I take additional pain medication. I try not to, but I do when I have to. Contramal (Tramadol) really helps.

- My family insisted that I needed someone to stay and take care of me at all times, so they shifted their schedule accordingly. I lost my temper during the past few days, even threatening to throw the TV remote controller. I'm glad my family's there for me when I need it, but I don't want someone staying with me at all times. I'm a strict person about my own schedule and I can take care of myself. When others (even distant relatives and friends) want to visit, I try to avoid them. I wanted this journey to be a self-reflectory one. Not 47262 people in a room wishing me to get well soon. The reason why I haven't been able to write an update recently is this. I've been dealing with so many people I don't have the proper time for myself. And you don't want that during something like LL. I don't want to crawl in front of others from pain around 4 AM, I want to face the pain myself, I want to beat the   out of the pain myself. People try to help; they hold the doors when I go to the lobby for breakfast every morning, it's a kind gesture and I understand it, but nevertheless I can't help but be annoyed from extra kindness. I'm not the kind of guy who asks for help often. I like to take care of things myself. I went through with this surgery to free myself from others' subliminal judgement of regarding me as insufficient or less competent (vertically challenged). When people assume the same thing because I'm on a wheelchair, it doesn't help. I'm strong, but not strong enough to accept weakness. Weakness of any sort.

- I take a shower every day. It's a great relief. I bring the wheelchair to parallel to the sitting stool on the handicapped shower, I switch seats, then I push the wheelchair to a distance where it won't get wet, but a distance close enough I can reach. Then I place the towels on the wheelchair. I take the shower in "pulses" -  head first, upper body later, legs last. Leave one minute intervals between each part. It feels cold but I have to, in order to let the excess water go down the drain and avoid messing the bathroom floor. I shave before my ex-girlfriend visits. She's an amazing girl and I have to be the same. I put on some perfume. I'm not letting go of myself. I'm a normal person who can do all sorts of things with his wheelchair. A 5 minute task may take 15 minutes, true, but the job gets done.

- Another cause of stress recently has been all the people with good intentions bringing in sweets, desserts and food. I understand the good intention beneath, but results are more important than intentions. One can easily gain weight during LL, a period with lesser mobility than ever. Therefore, I finally decided to switch to my old "athlete's menu" with extra focus on protein in a daily meal. My dietitian will prepare daily menus according to my basal metabolic rate. A typical daily meal consists of breakfast-snack 1-lunch-snack 2-dinner. This will bring a new level of discipline to my current state, a thing I'm trying to elevate. I want things working like a clock - every meal at a certain hour. Routine yes, boring maybe, but good for boosting metabolism.

- A funny thing happened today. It started to rain in the hotel. Inside my room. The ceiling started leaking water. It's a very good 4 star hotel actually, what a terrible thing to happen on their account. Anyway.. Apparently a pipe was broken down upstairs. They'll fix it tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, I'm switching rooms for the night.

- I was lengthening a wee bit faster than 1 mm daily to avoid premature bone consolidation during the first week. Today we slowed it down to its normal rate, 1 mm daily. Here are the post-op X-rays of my legs showing the Fitbone nails. Notice how thick they are in diameter. This minimizes mail breaking/bending risk, which is one of the reasons why I chose Fitbone over the Precice. Nevertheless, I admit that Fitbone isn't a popular nail in cosmetic lengthenings. It's usually used in leg length discrepancy surgeries (on a single leg) since it's not weightbearing and is relatively expensive. I thought I had taken the photo of my most recent X-rays showing the amount I distracted, but apparently I haven't. Couldn't find them on my iPhone camera roll. I'll upload them as well, as soon as possible.




No pain, no gain. Bring it on.

[ChrisIsaak]

Here's a video I just uploaded, showing how I lengthen with the Fitbone. If you listen carefully when I zoom in on my leg, you can hear the sound of the electromechanical nail.

[Smallguy]

Cool. Thanks for the update. If your LL journey goes out well, I may coming all the way to Turkey to see your doctor for femur later this year.

Stay focus and don't let the small things (like family) bog you down.

[ChrisIsaak]

Guys - there's something I'd like to share with you. I apologize for not uploading as frequently as I used to, but the simple reason for this is that everything has become pretty much routine - every day is the same one way or another. Apart from not walking and doing my lengthening regimen (as shown in the video), I continue my normal daily life every single day. In other words.. I honestly don't know what to write about. I could write a ton about other stuff, for instance I got out of the hotel and went back home after a disagreement in terms (they didn't allow me to bring food from outside.. bull , eh?) and now I'm looking at another hotel to stay in (since they have handicapped rooms that make it more convenient especially to take showers, even though I can do pretty much everything at home as well) or alternatively looking for an apartment residence to rent (I was going to move out on my own anyway, might as well do it now.. I can totally take care of myself living the  wheelchair life, without any help by others) but it wouldn't be very relevant to LL.

Everyone has a different LL experience. I read about LL for many years, but never came to understand the true aspect of it, or its true essence before I actually went to the operation room and went through it. Sometimes I wake up with an annoying stiffness in my legs, but apart from that, I'm just shocked that everything has been a piece of cake so far. I really had prepared for agonizing, torturing pain, I prepared myself to go through hell. What I found I needed instead was the patience to avoid boredom during lengthening. That's the only problem - boredom.

I'm still constantly annoyed by people trying to running errands for me even though I never asked for anything. I wish everyone around me had their legs broken (with a minimal fracture like mine) and actually experienced firsthand how f**king EASY it all is. When I read the forums before I was an LL patient and when someone didn't update his diary very often, I would wonder "Is anything going wrong with this guy?" What I found out instead was, sometimes there's very little to say, simply because nothing is going wrong.

I'm not complaining 

Quote of the day: Pain is weakness leaving the body

I guess I had no real weakness (except for my usual temper) before LL. Maybe that's why it has been so painless so far.

I want to return boxing. I want to do crossfit again. I want to lock myself into the gym. I just can't wait to finish this and leave it all behind.