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[Bane]

This question was likely discussed before, but please keep in mind I've only registered on this forum for one month and I don't have time to search through hundreds of old posts. A little on my background. I work as a software engineer, and since March I have been working from home because of the pandemic. WFH is going all fine and everyone in my company has been just as productive WFH as working in the office.

My question is, if I were to get femur lengthening with Stryde nails, is it feasible to WFH during the lengthening phase, after taking a few weeks vacation/ sick time after surgery? For example, suppose lengthening takes 12 weeks and I follow this plan.

3 weeks off work (using vacation or sick leave), starting the day before surgery.
Remainder of the lengthening phase (9 weeks): WFH 4 days a week, take 1 day a week vacation/sick/unpaid.

Will that be a realistic and feasible plan, especially for a software engineer? Is the pain or poor quality of sleep going to be too much of a hinderance during WFH? I talked with one Stryde femur CLL patient and he said this is feasible. Any thoughts?

[FormerKidd]

I took a month off after my surgery and then did WFH for the remainder of the lengthening.  You'll need to make sure your schedule can accomodate daily PT visits and periodic stretches, and make sure you have a comfortable spot to work from -- it's best if you keep your legs straight so you might want to do some work lying on a couch rather than sitting at a desk.

There's definitely going to be some discomfort for a while, which maybe not everyone can deal with, but your productivity may be lowered for a while.

Rather than four days/week, maybe go for reduced hours each workday?

[ghkid2019]

I took a month off after my surgery and then did WFH for the remainder of the lengthening.  You'll need to make sure your schedule can accomodate daily PT visits and periodic stretches, and make sure you have a comfortable spot to work from -- it's best if you keep your legs straight so you might want to do some work lying on a couch rather than sitting at a desk.

There's definitely going to be some discomfort for a while, which maybe not everyone can deal with, but your productivity may be lowered for a while.

Rather than four days/week, maybe go for reduced hours each workday?

Plz check pm daddy

[init1alove]

I took a month off after my surgery and then did WFH for the remainder of the lengthening.  You'll need to make sure your schedule can accomodate daily PT visits and periodic stretches, and make sure you have a comfortable spot to work from -- it's best if you keep your legs straight so you might want to do some work lying on a couch rather than sitting at a desk.

There's definitely going to be some discomfort for a while, which maybe not everyone can deal with, but your productivity may be lowered for a while.

Rather than four days/week, maybe go for reduced hours each workday?

Hey FormerKidd,

For that a month off, did you use FMLA (unpaid medical leave)? Or use  more flexible paid timeoff？

One more SDE here, 1024！

[StrydeNailChallenge]

This question was likely discussed before, but please keep in mind I've only registered on this forum for one month and I don't have time to search through hundreds of old posts. A little on my background. I work as a software engineer, and since March I have been working from home because of the pandemic. WFH is going all fine and everyone in my company has been just as productive WFH as working in the office.

My question is, if I were to get femur lengthening with Stryde nails, is it feasible to WFH during the lengthening phase, after taking a few weeks vacation/ sick time after surgery? For example, suppose lengthening takes 12 weeks and I follow this plan.

3 weeks off work (using vacation or sick leave), starting the day before surgery.
Remainder of the lengthening phase (9 weeks): WFH 4 days a week, take 1 day a week vacation/sick/unpaid.

Will that be a realistic and feasible plan, especially for a software engineer? Is the pain or poor quality of sleep going to be too much of a hinderance during WFH? I talked with one Stryde femur CLL patient and he said this is feasible. Any thoughts?

Dear Stryder2021,

I would like to share my experience here:  If you get lucky and your pain level is like what I have experienced on my right leg, the plan you mentioned is feasible and in fact you may be able to do much more!
However if you get unlucky like me and your pain level is like what I have had on my left leg, then there would be times, you would have a hard time focusing! If you take a nerve medicine like Gabapentin, that would make things even worse! You may start forgetting deadlines, and have a hard time with work. When it comes to coding, there are parts that I am sure you'd find as no brainer, so you should be able to do them with 10% focus, but in case of serious debugging, you may have a hard time. In any case, I recommend doing the CLL surgery during COVID-19 times when we have the chance to WFH; cause this surgery could be so tough, it would most likely surprise you on how difficult it is to handle. Doing the surgery during COVID-19 may make things just a few bits better!

Hope this helps!
SNC

[Bane]

Thanks StrydeNailChallenge. I am pretty confident my WFH plan will work out. I've also talked with a few other patients and it seems feasible. Of course there is no way I can work at 100% during distraction phase, but 70% to 80% is feasible, and my manager at work is aware of my future plans and understands.

I picked the name Stryder2021 because sometime in the first half of 2021, I will be going through femur lengthening with the Stryde nails. It will be in the US with a famous and reputable doctor. I'll be writing more details, even possibly a diary, in the near future as the time approaches.

[FormerKidd]

Hey FormerKidd,

For that a month off, did you use FMLA (unpaid medical leave)? Or use  more flexible paid timeoff？

One more SDE here, 1024！

Just regular paid leave.

[Bane]

Your advice was helpful as well, FormerKidd. If any LL patient tries to WFH during lengthening, make sure you tell your manager of your plans. You don't have to tell your coworkers, but at least tell your manager. This is so your manager can plan the staffing better (which is important as a software engineer as Agile is common) when you are lengthening. Also, if complications come up and you have to take a few more days off than anticipated, your manager will understand.

My large company even has a policy to be friendly toward employees who go through a transgender surgery, and encourage transgenders to be open and feel welcomed to the workplace after surgery. So why should I or anyone else feel ashamed to go through CLL and feel like I have to hide it from my coworkers? Just as if an employee feels wronged and can take anti-discrimination legal action for feeling belittled for going through a legal transgender surgery, I will surely take anti-discrimination legal action if I feel belittled and discriminated against for going through a legal CLL surgery.