Hey everyone! It's been almost a month since my last update, and almost 5 months to the day since the surgery. I'll say that it feels like FAR more time has passed than that, but things have really been picking up. The past month has been crazy for me as I went from trying to slowly transition back to work to now working double time to make up for time lost while I was lengthening.
In this case, no news is good news. I'm happy to report that my walking is improving gradually. If someone reminds me I will shoot a walking video to give you some sense about how walking looks 5 months to the day post-surgery. I just recently completed my last physical therapy session (which was a combination of my insurance finally putting the breaks on PT plus my physical therapist saying she thought I'm now at a place where she's comfortable with my progress). To be clear, I'm not 100%. It's still a little hard to get up from low seats. I'll use one hand to give myself a slight push from the seat. Also, my gait is much better but it takes a few steps before it looks normal. I can walk much further now - I was at an amusement park and my phone shows I walked 5.8 miles in a day! I was a bit premature in thinking I could handle a roller coaster. I haven't felt pain in my legs for a while -- but I sure experienced that pain while I was on the roller coaster! I think I'll wait a while longer before attempting that again.
I'm not sure exactly when I'll get my next round of x-rays, but I'll update when I do. With no pain and gradual improvement everyday, I have no reason to believe there are any issues with healing.
I never posted this in my last update - but
here is a composite image showing the 3 times I was measured standing next to Dr. D. Do note two things. One, that Dr. D. is wearing shoes in the first 2 of 3 pictures -- he does not in the last image which is why he looks shorter. I am not wearing shoes in any of the pictures. Two, and I just noticed this, his scale only has 10 ticks between each foot, not 12. So, it's a bit over an inch between each tick, which is a bit
/r/mildlyinfuriating 
Anyway, the first picture is 2 days before surgery, the second picture was about 2 months after surgery, and the last picture was about 4 months after surgery. I lengthened about half a centimeter after that picture was taken.
Hey
CodyTheDog,
Hey VerticalPush! Thanks for making this diary.
1. For people who don't live near Las Vegas, is there any cost advantage to going with Dr. Debiparshad instead of Mahoubian?
When I first was quoting prices, I got quotes from Dr. D., Dr. M., and Paley. At the time, Dr. M was $10,000 more expensive than Dr. D. I also liked my interaction with Dr. D. much better. Dr. M. reduced his price after I paid my deposit, but from what I gather he charges extra "if you need" to cut your IT band. But if you're lengthening past 1 inch, that is a requirement. Keep in mind I'm working on months old datapoints here - I have no idea what his total cost is now. Dr. M seems like a very good option, especially when you read the great diaries on here, but I have no regrets in my decision. Factor in cost, how you feel about the doc, location/cost of living, etc., and go with your gut. The odds are strongly in your favor that you will achieve your goal with any of the American doctors.
2. What apartment / caretaker service did you end up going with and why?
I did not use any caretaker. I think I'm one of the very few that didn't. This worked out because their recommended caretaker never got back to me. I got some quotes from some online services, who were very quick to respond, but I decided that I would wait and see how I felt the last day I was in the hospital. You'll want to go back through my earlier posts in my diary to see some of the tradeoffs that involved and the major risks you'll need to consider. Looking back at it, I was probably a little crazy. But the way I figure is that if you're the kind of person who pays good money to have someone saw into your legs to get an extra 3 inches, you're already half way there.
3. What are some costs you didn't expect?
I was very fortunate - I had no costs I didn't expect. I did have some money on reserve but that margin was very low. I was prepared to have to spend up to $5,000 for Dr. D. to re-break my bone in my most recent visit, but it was ultimately not needed. I guess the closest to unexpected costs were the flights to Vegas after I was able to return home. I had no idea how many times I'd need to go back there. I was averaging a flight every 3 weeks up till a month ago. In the grand scheme, that expense was peanuts.
4. How much total money would you budget for Stryde internal femurs with Dr. Debiparshad?
Thanks!!
Assuming surgery costs of about $75,000 (I have no idea what he charges now but I'm assuming a slight bump over what I paid nearly half a year ago) and after factoring in hotel costs, I think it's very doable for $80,000 "all in" if there are no complications. We're making several assumptions - one, you're doing PT at home so you get a break on how much you owe Dr. D. Two, insurance is covering most of your medications. Three, you're able to find better deals on hotels than the "sticker cost" of one of the 3 hotels they recommend. Four, no caretaker (again - that is risky). Five, you don't need to go back to Vegas more than every 3 weeks. And finally - I'll repeat the biggest assumption of "no complications" -- which isn't really a fair assumption to make. You should be able to "generate" another $5,000 or so - at a minimum - if there are complications and your insurance wouldn't step up. It's not cheap. In my case, by the way, I just recently got another ~ $1,000 bill to my PT back at home - apparently the $20 they were charging as my copay the entire time wasn't enough to make up for the gap between the cost of therapy and what the insurance company paid. Expect something similar if you do PT at home.
Hope this is helpful! It is a life changing decision. Let me tell you how exciting it is to wear normal shoes and not boots all the time -- and how amazing it feels to not have to stick lifts in my shoes. There's no question I made the right decision.
Author
Topic: My Vertical Push with Dr. Debiparshad (Strydes in Femurs) (Read 25240 times)