7/30/23
As of today I have reached 8.0cm on my femurs, leaving me with only 10 days left of lengthening before I reach my goal. I can’t believe I’ve made it this far, but the process has truly been hell. The night time is still significantly more painful than the daytime, but with wise management of painkillers I’m still surviving. I’m grateful I chose not to use the painkillers until the end of this process so at least in my last ten days they should continue to work for me. I’ve seen a lot of patients here abuse these painkillers and eat them like candy even as early on as 3cm in. Right now, I’m not really able to walk at all anymore, so I can only move around using my wheelchair. I stay in bed for 22 hours of the day and only get up to do physical therapy or to go to the bathroom.
For those considering aiming for the full 8cm or further, you really have to be committed to this process and also have good flexibility. As of right now, I’ve only met one other patient at the clinic who managed to get the full 8cm. It’s not impossible to do, but I think almost everyone else couldn’t handle the intensity of the pain past a certain point. For me, the pain became significantly worse after 6.5cm. Furthermore, many patients’ ligaments and/or muscles get too short and they are forced to stop for their health.
I’ll upload my x-rays next week to see where my consolidation is at and any final measurements before my removal surgery on the tenth of August. I really can’t wait for this all to be over.