UPDATE: 151 days post op, 63 days post distraction
Life is good. My focus continues to be regaining strength in the glutes and hips along with a bit of stretching each day. My walk ranges anywhere from 70 to 90% depending on a variety of factors. On a full tank of energy, with my legs warmed up, my walk looks fairly normal. If you were to look really closely you might notice just a bit of an arch down my back (duck ass) and a very slight waddle. For context, in public people don't seem to notice anything off about my walk, and I've been on a handful of dates and they didn't mention anything about the walk.
I had my 1 month consolidation x rays reviewed and the doctor says I'm progressing as expected. I should be fully consolidated at the 3 to 4 month post consolidation mark, or in other words the 6 to 7 month post op mark. In the mean time I'm avoiding any running, jogging or high impact activities.
Mental and cognitive abilities are at about 90 to 95%, almost normal. I believe that cognitive abilities are a bit limited throughout consolidation as your body still needs to dedicate resources to regenerating the bone. Libido and sxx drive is at about 70% due to bone not consolidated and fatigue.
My height dysphoria is completely gone. Pre LL I was consumed with thoughts about height for at least 1 to 2 hours a day, and now I'm completely free of any body dysphoria.
Areas for Improvement
-Stamina - After walking at about the 2 mile mark fatigue starts to set in due to the weak glutes and hips. I'll either have to take a quick rest or resort to a bit of a waddle walk. When the fatigue sets in I would describe my walk at about 70%, some waddle with a wider gait.
-Strength - Glutes and hips are still a bit weak. A few practical real life scenarios where this comes out is getting up from seated positions where I still use my hand to push off. Another example is going up and down stairs where I still need to use the hand rails for support.
-Stiffness - I feel tight after getting up from a seated position throughout my hips and quads and as a result have a bit of a waddle walk. After walking for about 10 to 15 seconds to warm up the legs my walk begins to normalize.
-Speed - My normal walking pace is about 80%. Although it looks normal, I can't walk as fast as I did pre- op. It's fine for casual settings. For example, I went on a couple dates and the pace of my walk was fine in a relaxed environment where me and the girl were just casually walking around and enjoying the scenery, but in other scenarios that require a speedy walk, for example, crossing a cross walk when the meter is counting down or speed walking to and from meetings, is tough.
- Nerve pain / numbness - Unfortunately still have a bit of nerve pain and numbness in my left shin lingering around. It's improving every week and barely noticeable now. I suspect it will be completely going in the next few weeks.
Overall, I'm still very happy with the outcome and am thankful that I did this, pushed through the pain and conquered my dysphoria. Freedom of height dysphoria is a powerful thing. At times I still have those random moments where I say to myself "this was crazy, I can't believe you did this....." but for the most part the whole experience starts to become a distant memory and you get used to the new height fairly fast, life goes on and you just feel normal in your current state.