Topic: Diary: 1" LLD Femur - Stryde - September 2019 (Read 10229 times)

bgreeneee · « **Reply #62 on:** November 15, 2019, 09:52:19 PM »

Day 58 since surgery, almost 4 weeks post distraction
An update on my progress:

* I am still using a cane. I can get along without it for short distances, but my walk is much more natural with it so I maintain use for now. I don’t need a ton of support from the cane so hopefully I’m getting close to dropping it.
* I will be getting an X-ray in a few days to check on the bone growth
* PT has revealed just how much I have compensated with my “good” leg for so long. My gluts especially are very weak...this is definitely slowing my recovery. Quads and hamstring strength coming along.
* My knee flexion is about 140 degrees... more to go but functional
* I tried to stand on one leg at PT a few days ago... I’m definitely not ready for this. My balance is not good on the Stryde leg and I get a shot of pain kind of from the knee up. It took me a few days to recover from trying this, I just took it easy with no formal exercise
* I still have consistent pain in the quad when I do certain things. I’m not sure if it’s just generally strained/tight and needs time to heal or if it needs more strength or what. My PT doesn’t really know either.
* I’m not consistently on Advil or Tylenol now. I probably average about 2x a day, usually at least one of those is around bedtime
* I ride a stationary bike about 3-5 miles a day. It’s my favorite exercise, feels so much more normal than boring leg lifts :-)

Overall, I will admit to being a little down about my progress this week. Honestly, it’s hard to know what to expect but I wanted more. It’s hard to see daily progress but looked at over a couple of weeks I can see the small improvements in flexibility and strength. Did I expect to be walking without a cane by now...yes. In the grand scheme of things, a few weeks more won’t matter.

I was reading an daily reading/devotional from the Bible and was reminded to count my blessings. There is an old hymn that says to count your blessings and “name them one by one”. I did just that today. The mental battles don’t stop with distraction, easy to get down without the right focus...there’s so much to be thankful for!

bgreeneee · « **Reply #63 on:** November 19, 2019, 11:25:43 PM »

An X-Ray update. Bone healing coming along!!

1. Pre-surgery xray. Easy to see the discrepancy by looking at the top of the hips. The top of the left hip is not even on the xray since it's so much higher.
https://imgur.com/NNyxe5w

2. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 1. Good bone growth 4 weeks post distraction.
https://imgur.com/cnye5JK

3. X-ray from 11/18/2019 - Angle 2
https://imgur.com/k776qlT

bgreeneee · « **Reply #64 on:** December 12, 2019, 09:35:05 PM »

Day 83 since surgery. Almost 8 weeks post distraction.

* I am back to work full time as of Dec 4
* Bone growth is excellent, i’ll Post an X-ray from yesterday when I get a chance
* I’m starting to feel daily progress rather than weekly. I really feel like the muscles are healing so strengthening can take place. Pain in certain muscles has been a barrier but I feel daily improvement in that. One exercise I could barely do last week I can now do with ease.
* I am still carrying a cane but mostly walk without it. If I walk longer distances, I definitely still need it.
* I go to PT 1X a week. I get guidance and then I’m on my own. I’ve never had more than 1 PT a week

All in all, I’m far from back to normal yet but have no regrets! I’ll continue to post periodic updates...

loushmoo · « **Reply #65 on:** December 13, 2019, 09:05:07 PM »

thanks for the update! congrats and don't forget to keep doing PT

Hamza · « **Reply #66 on:** January 13, 2020, 08:21:04 AM »

r u able to run ?

bgreeneee · « **Reply #67 on:** January 20, 2020, 04:19:08 PM »

Hi Hamza-
I can certainly light jog a little if needed but I’m not ready for running. It’s been 4 months since surgery, about 3 since the end of distraction. I can easily walk miles at this point, my main cardio and repetitive motion is a stationary bike and an elliptical. All my other rehab is still focused on strength, balance, and flexibility. I work out about an hour a day and do little exercises throughout my day impromptu. Most the time the average person wouldn’t notice my walk is in any way abnormal...but walking for me is still pretty deliberate so I wouldn’t say I’m back to normal walking yet. My knee was in stable before the surgery so that is definitely a challenge in rehab. Muscle tone on the leg is looking/feeling good. I just keep plugging away at strengthening...long answer to a short question...my goal is to be running by March.

Hamza · « **Reply #68 on:** January 21, 2020, 09:35:58 PM »

Quote from: bgreeneee on January 20, 2020, 04:19:08 PM

Hi Hamza-
I can certainly light jog a little if needed but I’m not ready for running. It’s been 4 months since surgery, about 3 since the end of distraction. I can easily walk miles at this point, my main cardio and repetitive motion is a stationary bike and an elliptical. All my other rehab is still focused on strength, balance, and flexibility. I work out about an hour a day and do little exercises throughout my day impromptu. Most the time the average person wouldn’t notice my walk is in any way abnormal...but walking for me is still pretty deliberate so I wouldn’t say I’m back to normal walking yet. My knee was in stable before the surgery so that is definitely a challenge in rehab. Muscle tone on the leg is looking/feeling good. I just keep plugging away at strengthening...long answer to a short question...my goal is to be running by March.

We r almost on the same track. I ll contact u in March to compare both progression.
wish u all the best

bgreeneee · « **Reply #69 on:** May 29, 2020, 02:59:01 AM »

Hello all-
It’s been quite a while since I’ve given an update. This Covid thing has not been great for my recovery with no access to PT or a gym. So I’d say I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked. But I am certainly moving forward, I’m mostly doing biking for therapy, about 50 miles a week or so. I’m not running much yet...but I didn’t run too much before :-) I’d say I’m 75-80% of my presurgery condition with room for improvement with more work. No one who sees me walking would have any idea I had a surgery but I can still tell. I deal with some pain still in muscles as I work them...I need to do some more stretching...again part of the consequences of me not hitting the gym like I was before the covid shutdown.

See the video here of me last weekend at the Grand Canyon. If you listen to my wife breathing hard while holding the camera, you’ll see that I’m in better shape than her now :-)

I’ll post another video in a few months...

Movie · « **Reply #70 on:** May 29, 2020, 08:18:51 AM »

Looking great bgreene! that light jogging looked very normal as well as your walking gait. hope you continue to make great improvements.

Hamza · « **Reply #71 on:** June 06, 2020, 02:03:39 PM »

Perfect !
Keep training, stretching and do squat with gym ball on wall.

Ghostfish · « **Reply #72 on:** June 07, 2020, 07:27:12 AM »

Wow you look great!! bgreeneee!! Looks like better than me before my surgery.

Enjoy your life! wish you the best and happiness!!

bgreeneee · « **Reply #73 on:** July 10, 2020, 06:33:05 PM »

Hi all-
Good news on my front. I've definitely pushed through a plateau, still more to go but these past couple of weeks my muscles are just feeling better. I am starting to incorporate jogging into my routine. For the first time I actually started working on some easy sprints. I'm not as young as some of you here lol...I was exactly an olympic sprinter before! Here's a short youtube of my progress.

Also, I finally got an x-ray, first one since Feb since the covid thing has made access to care much more difficult. Doc says bone is fully healed, says to schedule the nail removal in September. I'll post an xray at some point...I actually haven't even seen it yet.

k1erz · « **Reply #74 on:** July 11, 2020, 12:13:04 PM »

This is really impressive. You’re doing excellent judging by these videos.

I’m curious about how well you think someone could recover from an 8cm lengthening on both femurs.

Would you recommend doing it based on your experience and recovery?

bgreeneee · « **Reply #75 on:** July 21, 2020, 04:15:21 PM »

Hi k1erz--8 cm is a tougher journey than mine for sure since I only did ~2.7cm. There's others on here who are going to be more qualified to advise you on that. I'm getting closer and closer to getting back to where I was but am not there yet. I'd say 80% and feel like I'm still making forward progress. I still hope to get to 100%. Good luck on your decision and journey!

bgreeneee · « **Reply #76 on:** July 21, 2020, 04:18:17 PM »

It's been about 9 months since the end of my distraction (finished growth Oct 2019). Here's the latest xray from about a week ago. Doctor says bone is good to go, I'll be scheduling rod removal in probably October.

https://imgur.com/gallery/u4ZxXoT

azman · « **Reply #77 on:** July 28, 2020, 06:59:07 PM »

Quote from: bgreeneee on July 21, 2020, 04:18:17 PM

It's been about 9 months since the end of my distraction (finished growth Oct 2019). Here's the latest xray from about a week ago. Doctor says bone is good to go, I'll be scheduling rod removal in probably October.

https://imgur.com/gallery/u4ZxXoT

That’s awesome. Please keep us posted.

Thank you for referring me to Dr. F.

Hamza · « **Reply #78 on:** August 11, 2020, 09:37:54 AM »

https://imgur.com/rAHWlha

My xray 10 months of LLD correction of 9 mm with solid nail

bgreeneee · « **Reply #79 on:** September 25, 2020, 06:44:18 PM »

Hi folks--I'll be getting my rod out on 10/5. It's been just over a year since my surgery. No regrets!

bgreeneee · « **Reply #80 on:** October 06, 2020, 07:00:52 PM »

Rod removal complete! Much easier of course than the original surgery but still pretty sore on day 2 at incisions. I’m just icing and elevating mostly today, I can walk but use a cane. I’ll let folks know how fast I’m back to presurgery condition.

Movie · « **Reply #81 on:** October 06, 2020, 07:09:29 PM »

congrats man! yes do keep us updated !

Hamza · « **Reply #82 on:** October 08, 2020, 05:24:12 AM »

Quote from: bgreeneee on October 06, 2020, 07:00:52 PM

Rod removal complete! Much easier of course than the original surgery but still pretty sore on day 2 at incisions. I’m just icing and elevating mostly today, I can walk but use a cane. I’ll let folks know how fast I’m back to presurgery condition.

I ll remove the nail after a couple of months with Dr Betz.
when u r fully recovered, let me know how does it feel when u walk and run without the nail inside ur thigh,
does it feel better ? lighter ? more balance ?

good luck

HeightGain · « **Reply #83 on:** October 08, 2020, 08:53:10 PM »

Great diary and really insightful comments of your journey.

bgreeneee · « **Reply #84 on:** October 12, 2020, 05:17:03 PM »

It’s been almost a week since the rod removal. Overall, this is of course a lot easier than the original surgery but I would say I got caught thinking it would be easier than it is. There’s been a lot of deja vu in the first week with lack of sleep and the just the feeling of being stuck waiting for it to get better. I had made so much progress, especially in the last month, that it’s a little mental battle to go backwards. I mostly limp around with no cane but still use a cane if I’m walking more than a 100 feet or so. I’ll continue to update on how fast I regain more normalcy!

So, my advice, get mentally prepared for this one. Yes, it’s easier but it’s no walk in the park. See the very end of my YouTube video for pictures of the incisions and fairly significant bruising.

readyprecisestryde · « **Reply #85 on:** October 12, 2020, 08:00:02 PM »

Thank you for the video update and hope you feel 100% soon

Limb Lengthening Forum

Author Topic: Diary: 1" LLD Femur - Stryde - September 2019 (Read 10229 times)