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[LittleLiam]

Well Folks,

Four days to go before I leave the land of OZ for the Orient and finally start the journey to realise a dream I have had since I was a short seven year old with one leg shorter than the other since birth and a desire to be a pirate one day.



I found out about LL 6 years ago and there hasn't been a day since then that I haven't visualised myself taller and normal.   It is very hard to believe that I am about to do this as I have finally managed to save enough and a little extra for my return to survive until I find a job.

I expect to arrive bank in Australia at the end of the year 5 to 7 centre mitres taller taking me from 168 to 175 (or close enough).




In preparation I have spent the past two years getting my self healthy by giving up smoking and drinking completely.  I have also lost 15 kilos so far and studied Mandarin with a native speaker in Beijing over Skype.

All that being said I am very nervous and look forward to your support during this time as I don't expect a rosy ride.

[TRS]

All the best buddy! I look forward to your diary

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Really excited to get to read about your LL experience in the coming months!

[GeTs]

Good luck pal, btw get rid of that mask, it annoys me so badly, put something else please

[BeyondGenetics]

Hey dude

Am I getting this correctly, you are going to lenghten one leg only ? One of your leg is shorter than the other by 5-7 cms ?

Sorry if I misunderstood :p

Anyway, best of luck in your journey !

[Taller]

You have our support! I hope that your LL journey will prove rewarding in more ways than you can imagine. Best of luck!

[ShortyMcShort]

Finally THE new Beijing diary we've all been waiting for. Thank you and good luck MATE 

[KiloKAHN]

Great news! Wish you all the best, man. We're here to support you.

[LittleLiam]

Well folks,

I fly to China Tomorrow and said 'Au Revoir' to my girlfriend a few hours ago.

I repacked my luggage to reduce clothing and increase books. DVDs, vitamins, Protein powder and calcium etc

My right leg is only 2 centimetres longer so if I get 5 there and 7 on the left I'll be RIGHT ;-).  To be 173-175 will be magic.

In no time in history since Adam and Eve was this possible!

Cheers

Little Liam

[LittleLiam]

G'day all,

I have called a taxi to the Airport and this is a quick note (not sure when I'll be online in China ?) to say 'Au Revoir' as literally Im on my way now, having said all goodbyes to family and friends.  Nobody except you folks know i am about to do this. Not even my girlfriend. 

I am excited, and a little sad as I am also saying goodbye to an old me :-(.   There will be no excuses any more for being small.  I won't be a cripple and I may be more confident as I have been fairly cowardly all my life being shorter than most men.

As part of the plan to do this secretly I have worn lifts for many years (one higher than the other) and have never gone swimming, lawn bowling , to houses where you have to take your shoes off etc.

I will be coming home without lifts!!!!

I am unsure whether I will be coming back as a different man mentally perhaps also ?

For those considering CHINA for LL I have attached the letter I used to get my 90 day visa.  You need to bring 4 additional passport photos for your renewal visa while there.

Cheers.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Welcome to China!

[Orlando]

Good luck ! 

[KrP1]

Hey man . Good luck!! . Try to go to 175cm man. I think is a good height! How tall are you with a 2cm lift in the shorter leg? 168?

[Leo]

Good luck man. Looking forward to read you diary. Stay strong!

[LittleLiam]

Well folks,

I had my first operation yesterday and although I don't feel up to writing a lot right now I promise I will be more descriptive  of my experience just before, during and after the operation when I feel better.

The operation went well and although I did not sleep at all last night the pain is not extreme. No need for pain killers right now as I feel similar to what it is like after a tough soccer match.

It is still a bit unreal for me but meeting patients here who have lengthened 8 and 9 and are very happy is inspiring and exciting.

Feel free to ask questions as my mind should be clearer in the next few days.

 

[cavani]

congrats, so you are doing LATN?  how much are you paying?

[ShortyMcShort]

Glad to hear from you again

1/ Are they still doing the surgeries at the same hospital or where is it now?
2/ How many foreign patients are there atm?
3/ Who does the surgeries now?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Is Wang Bei as beautiful as I remember her?

Seriously, I hope you're doing well but I know you're in good hands.  I'll give you the same advice I gave to Canton when he first got to Beijing:

1. Wake up in the morning.  Don't get into the habit of oversleeping and getting yourself into a situation where you'll be keeping weird hours.  Staying up all night and sleeping all day will make you more socially isolated than you already will be as an LL patient.

2. Eat 3 meals a day, even if you're not hungry.  At least try to eat something, even if you have to force feed yourself.  You need to eat during this stressful time for your body.

Remember those two things and I think you'll be all right.  You're in good hands.

[KiloKAHN]

Hey Liam, good to read that your surgery went well. It must help having other patients there with you going through the same thing. How's the food there?

[LittleLiam]

How long will I shoot for ?

I flew to guangzhou on the 1st sep to spend two weeks in china with Lisa , my online gf before traveling on alone to Beijing.  Meeting her face to face at the airport was exciting and good to have a friend in such a foreign land. We had met online and used Skype so we 'knew' each other and could already converse between basic mandarin and English. She was taller than I expected but I knew quickly by her she didn't find me height an issue and was physically comfortable with me.

For two weeks I emersed myself into Chinese culture speaking little English and ordering meals etc on my own. Lisa and I made a nice couple and we were noticed every where we went and folks approached us at restaurants asking how we knew each other and asking about me in particular. Chinese men constantly offer me cigarettes and ask where I am from and I am friendly in return but politely refuse their offer.

On Monday 15 sep I said goodbye to Lisa at the airport and flew to Beijing. She was crying and I was excited and prepared.

I arrived at Beijing at 5pm and within 15 minutes had collected my bags , found the driver with my name board and we were on our way through Beijings smogey streets to the new Yanda Hospital on the outskirts of the city.

We arrived at the impressive building , entered the below ground car park and took the lift to level 9 of the second wing. Two nurses sat at the ward counter and one was especially pretty. I was taken directly to my room and met my roommate, an international ll patient from Switzerland.

After taking a shower , getting into my hospital pyjamas and drinking a protein drink I had brought I had brought with me I was taken to the height measuring machine and I was 168.5 with my left heel slightly raised. I returned to my room ready to fast for my blood test and medicals the next day.

I spoke briefly with my roommate and he told me he was the only international patient until my arrival.  There had been an American and a japanise who returned to have their rods removed but they both left weeks before.


With

[Medium Drink Of Water]

That's cool how you visited Guahgzhou and immersed yourself in the culture first.  China was completely new to me and I didn't know ONE WORD of the language when I got to the hospital.  How did you first meet Lisa?

LOL @ the cigarette thing; that happened to me a bunch of times too.

Too bad it's just you and the Swiss guy as far as international patients go.  Wish they'd lower their prices back to 2007 levels.  But I'm sure you'll make plenty of Chinese acquaintances while you're there.

It's good to hear you're doing well so far.  Hope things keep going well for you.

[ShortyMcShort]

Wait what...? Didnt you say in an earlier post that you already had a girlfriend? Lol. Or did you mean online girlfriend or do you have both a real girlfriend and an online one, if so, nice!!

[LittleLiam]

I'm doing LATN and the cost for 4 months is 25,000 Euro. Although USD $33,000 has been advertised it is whatever the dollar equivalent depending on the daily posted Beijing rates is. So for me I got good rates on the dollar because I tracked for months and transferred foreign currencies as well as making a size able deposit to the hospital in advance to hedge against rate fluctuations.

[LittleLiam]

Rather than attend Chinese classes in my hometown I discovered a Chinese girl who was teaching mandarin over Skype for $20 per hour. She introduced me to Lisa who she went to university with and who had broken up with her Chinese boyfriend.

Over the course of several months Lisa and I skyped regularly and became good friends. I found her extremely attractive but also saw her as a friend and talked to her like I would my little sister. I also thought she was much younger as she dressed like a pretty teenager.

I planed to visit both Lisa and my tutor 3 months after the operation but had advice from MDOW that I may not be that able bodied at that stage. So I decided to spend a 2 week holiday before the operation and Lisa met me when I came through customs.

For the first week we spent loads of time together as friends And although I found her very sexy I did nothing. I think I grew on her as she felt safe and laughed a lot at my bad mandarin. Although I lost a lot of weight and have a flat stomach I don't have a great body (no abs) and am average looking.

There was strong chemistry and we held hands and hugged and on the Saturday night after dinner and a couple of SWAN beers she came back with me.

The rest of the second week we were intimate every night and morning so leaving after the second weekend was difficult.

I've exchanged two emails with Lisa since coming to Beijing but I feel things will Peter out.

I have a girlfriend at home who I love and adore and miss terribly.  This thing just happened.

[KiloKAHN]

That brings me back to when I spent a week in Beijing as part of a language program and ended up hooking up with a waitress next door each night. Man those were fun times

[LittleLiam]

I slept really well on my first night at Yanda International Hospital and was awoken by the nurse for my blood sample. My room mate had told me where the canteen was so I went alone for a huge breakfast of eggs, soup and breadrolls with meat and veg inside.  I went  back to my room and was soon taken down for heart monitoring and x-rays. I returned to my room again and this time Ronne was waiting for me. She looks after the international patients and we had communicated a lot over the previous six months so it was good seeing each other finally. Ronne and I discussed again my requirements and sorted out financials and other stuff, including how I could Make use of the hospital gym during my stay. As a martial artist I explained my need to also keep my upper body fit and strong. Tomorrow when the medical results are available we are to meet the famous Professor Xia for the consultation.

[ShortyMcShort]

Lol you better hope your girlfriend doesnt stumble on here and read those posts  But since she knows nothing about your surgery, I think you're good, carry on

Could you also ask if they'll do externals only instead of LON/LATN and if so how much would it cost?

[LittleLiam]

Yes, you don't have to have nails and can continue to consolidate at the hospital for an extra $1,500 per month or go home and consolidate for as long as you like and come back for frame removals.

I've been given the option to Not have nails inserted.

[LittleLiam]

Wednesday morning and as usual I'm awake at 6am and starving , however the canteen doesn't open until 7am.  I do my morning stretches, calisthenics, pushups and isometrics and head into the bath room to smarten up for my consultation with Xia.

I forget to tell you folks that I met two chinese patients in the room beside the empty next room and had a chat about their experiences.  The skinny one is already 6 on his tibia and the stockier one is almost 4 on his femurs.   Neither have English names so I can't pronounce/ remember their names yet. However the femur guy painted a dim picture of the whole femur lengthening experience compared with tibia and explained it is more painful, restrictive in bed and sleeping , takes longer to recover and other stuff.   He had also done tibia lengthening 4 years previously.

I also discovered from my X-rays that my discrepancy spread across both femur and tibia and either way would be an improvement but not total perfect alignment.

[ShortyMcShort]

So externals only is the same price as LON/LATN? China does seem more expensive now than all those years back when it was like the Nissan GTR in that it was the bargain of the century. With $33,000 or so I could do the entire lengthening and consolidation phase(9-10 months) in either India or Russia and stay at a hotel or hospital respectively... Where as China is an extra $1,500 a month on top

Still a decent price for LON/LATN I guess

[LittleLiam]

So externals only is the same price as LON/LATN? China does seem more expensive now than all those years back when it was like the Nissan GTR in that it was the bargain of the century. With $33,000 or so I could do the entire lengthening and consolidation phase(9-10 months) in either India or Russia and stay at a hotel or hospital respectively... Where as China is an extra $1,500 a month on top

Still a decent price for LON/LATN I guess

I see china really as a single product at a package price and that is tibia lengthening (not femurs) with LATN for as long as you need

That's not to say you can't get femurs done or negotiate with extra months and no nail but their speciality is the above.