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[Android]

Floated the idea of meeting up with LAGrowin months ago, but he was still struggling with distraction. Now that he's done, he messaged me recently asking if I was still up to meeting. I said let's do it!

After a little planning he asked if it'd be cool if short2tall came along, more the merrier. We met up at a coffee shop this morning; had some fun conversations about the surgery, recovery process, and height in general. We talked for a solid two hours.

They were running a little late, but the weather was comfortable so I didn't mind waiting outside on a bench. Wasn't sure what they looked like, so I figured I'd look for two guys struggling to walk. To my surprise, a car pulled up and LAGrowin waved at me first; I asked how he knew it was me, he said "you were obviously looking around for someone."

LAGrowin drove there, and he had crutches while short2tall used a walker. LAGrowin is 43 days into the consolidation phase (day 3 with crutches I believe), short2tall just started his consolidation phase today. Their mobility was highly restricted and quite slow, so don't get your hopes up if you think you'll be cruising at a decent speed on walkers/crutches shortly after distraction.

Both LAGrowin and short2tall have known about CLL for several years (i.e. old forum Beijing craze days), but decided to finally do it. They were in awe about the effect that the added height has had so far, I didn't sense any hint of regret. They had interesting (and often funny) stories about how they're dealing with telling people in their lives about their journey.

Both guys were looking great, they were in positive spirits. They're in touch with fellow Dr. Mahboubian patients (some have diaries here, like Brb6ftTall, Optimistic1 and fallen774), so they have a good support group. Since they're in varying stages of recovery, this group is obviously helpful in managing expectations of what's to come.

To the doubters out there, they didn't give me business cards or pamphlets for Dr. Mahboubian's office. They were just down to earth guys that chose the same doctor around the same time. There's a guy in the support group that didn't start a diary, so it's not like they're forced to write one here. Give the conspiracies a rest and have some faith in coincidence.

It was great seeing them! I recommend others to meet fellow LLers if you can. It has added another dimension to the forums for me, it's good to know that there are people on the other end with real experiences, concerns, and goals. Best of luck to the both of them with consolidation and beyond!

Edit: added Optimistic1 in the section about the other patients. If you're reading this, we totally mentioned you too!

[Petite888]

Hi Android,

Sounds like a great meet up. I would love have been there.

Are you thinking about going with Dr M too? Are you still planning on this summer? I’ve been reading lots of his patients diaries recently, after ruling out my top 2 original choices and he does sound like a great option. The Main problem for me would be relocating to the states for 3 months.

[Honore]

Great story Android, thanks a lot. Can you share some more about what you talked about? And how has the meeting affected your view on (your own) operation.

[myloginacct]

Thanks to all of you for making the effort and making this possible. Anything that helps add major credibility to the stories posted here deserves appreciation.

It surely must not have been easy for LAGrowin and short2tall as they've just finished lengthening. Android may have had to travel from far too.

Maybe you guys should have recorded the whole thing and released it as an anonymous podcast (voice modulators used if necessary for anonymity). Would be interesting to have listened the discussion on height and the surgery itself, as each of you were a little bit taller/shorter than the other one.

[FormerKidd]

LAGrowin drove there, and he had crutches while short2tall used a walker. LAGrowin is 43 days into the consolidation phase (day 3 with crutches I believe), short2tall just started his consolidation phase today. Their mobility was highly restricted and quite slow, so don't get your hopes up if you think you'll be cruising at a decent speed on walkers/crutches shortly after distraction.

In his thread, LAGrowing said he was cleared to walk 5 weeks post lengthening?  (Which would be 35 days?)

[LAGrowin]

In his thread, LAGrowing said he was cleared to walk 5 weeks post lengthening?  (Which would be 35 days?)

Hi FormerKidd.  Yes was just cleared to walk on 5/15/19, 5 weeks post lengthening, so yes roughly 37 days.  Every muscle in my body seems to hurt due to the different movements I'm making now. I am definitely walking like a penguin, but getting better day by day.

[LAGrowin]

Android,  it was great meeting you in person and sharing LL info and some laughs. Thank you for making the time as well.   I wish you the very best in your LL goals. Great putting a face to the handle.

Also thank you for taking the time to share with the forum.

We will stay in touch for sure!

[KiloKAHN]

TFTI 

jk

[short2tall]

It was so great to meet up with these guys and share our stories in person. LAGrowin and I have met several times now, and it was awesome to be able to add Android to our group. Many of us on the forum regard him as one of the most active and level-headed members on here.

We spoke about a wide range of topics including our reasons for doing LL, our experiences thus far, and our future plans. It's so nice to be able to relate to other people with height issues etc. while going through this procedure, because you can feel very alone at times.

Something we all agreed on was that although we all started out at different heights, we will all be equally content with our new heights. I really urge anyone considering LL to meet up with a patient or veteran if at all possible.

[Android]

Are you thinking about going with Dr M too? Are you still planning on this summer?

Not with Dr. Mahboubian, no. But from what I gathered from them, he sounds like a great doctor. Very personable and easy to talk to.

Can you share some more about what you talked about? And how has the meeting affected your view on (your own) operation.

An interesting topic was about how time estimation was way off for them. Often on the forums you hear "for X cm, X months," but it's not an exact science so be prepared to take longer than you think. As mentioned, having a private support group of similar patients helped them manage expectations, so I recommend others to do the same.

Meeting them affected my views on the operation in a good way. They really did go through hell, saying that it was quite painful at times (especially the legs tightening in late stages of distraction), but they were satisfied with the outcome. That gave me comfort, and I'll know what to look out for during my own journey.

It surely must not have been easy for LAGrowin and short2tall as they've just finished lengthening. Android may have had to travel from far too.

Maybe you guys should have recorded the whole thing and released it as an anonymous podcast (voice modulators used if necessary for anonymity). Would be interesting to have listened the discussion on height and the surgery itself, as each of you were a little bit taller/shorter than the other one.

Picked a spot half way from each other, so it wasn't too bad. I made sure to research online beforehand to find places that had decent parking. The coffee shop itself was tiny, but there was an outside patio so I think it worked out well. Naturally I asked for their orders and brought the coffees for them. 

Thought about taking a photo of our feet with crutches/walkers in the frame (with permission of course), but nah. Just not used to taking photos of people, much less just their legs. We lived in the moment.

Android,  it was great meeting you in person and sharing LL info and some laughs. Thank you for making the time as well. I wish you the very best in your LL goals. Great putting a face to the handle.

My pleasure, thanks for the offer! I'll definitely reach out in my time of need (and inevitable boredom).

TFTI 

jk

Are you in LA?? I'd love to meet if you've got the time!

It was so great to meet up with these guys and share our stories in person. LAGrowin and I have met several times now, and it was awesome to be able to add Android to our group. Many of us on the forum regard him as one of the most active and level-headed members on here.

We spoke about a wide range of topics including our reasons for doing LL, our experiences thus far, and our future plans. It's so nice to be able to relate to other people with height issues etc. while going through this procedure, because you can feel very alone at times.

Something we all agreed on was that although we all started out at different heights, we will all be equally content with our new heights. I really urge anyone considering LL to meet up with a patient or veteran if at all possible.

Thanks short2tall, really had a great time! Definitely sound advice.

[Honore]

Thank you Android, they comforted you and comforted me(us).. this is truly a great post and off course thank you too LAGrowin and short2tall

[KiloKAHN]

Are you in LA?? I'd love to meet if you've got the time!

Sure, I'm in the Hollywood area.

[Android]

Oh, another thing I remembered. Both LAGrowin and short2tall had troubles posting x-rays because there were a few barriers.

• They're not given by default, you have to request them: sharing x-rays on the forum just isn't a priority, especially if it's a toxic environment. Posting to prove a point seems trivial when you're going through so much.
• They give you a CD: they were using newer laptops that lack an optical disc drive (an increasingly common trend), so more work was involved.
• Strange image formats: short2tall mentioned it in this post, but the file formats were most like proprietary ones used with the x-ray imaging software. Best guess was that it was a mistake since the x-ray tech was new at the job.

Also, LAGrowin showed me a pre-op photo of him standing next to Dr. Mahboubian when he was 5'6". He was clearly shorter than the doctor, and LAGrowin now towered over me! Technology is amazing.

[LAGrowin]

Thank you Android, they comforted you and comforted me(us).. this is truly a great post and off course thank you too LAGrowin and short2tall

Glad to hear this Honore,  I know it has been my goal to help shed some light where doubt might exist.   I am sure I can speak for short2tall as well.  Great down to earth individual.

I hoped for the same before my surgery and as I was researching. I wanted to chat with an actual LL patient or veteran in person to help alleviate some of my fears and doubts.

Android was a great guy. Informed, intelligent, and and sensible. Glad we got to meet.

[Johnson1111]

Yep I will meet up with whoever when I’m going through LL seems like it’s a good way to solidify and prove diaries to be true if nothing else. Especially with all the fake accounts running around here. Good to see you guys doing well post surgery and that everything went smoothly.

[fokid]

very nice. meeting people in real life is way better than reading online for 1000 hours.

if you and kilokahn meet maybe help him make a video of him running

[LAGrowin]

very nice. meeting people in real life is way better than reading online for 1000 hours.

if you and kilokahn meet maybe help him make a video of him running

It most certainly is.  I was able to speak to a recent LLer before my surgery and as you say, so much more valuable than reading for hours.